Great Habits, Great Readers
Our students aren’t born knowing how to decode words, make inferences, and cite evidence. In truth, great reading grows from great habits—a deeply learned set of skills and strategies that students can access the instant they begin reading. Great Habits, Great Readers is about the choices we as K–4 literacy instructors can make to teach every one of our students the habits of skillful reading. It outlines those strategies, systems, and lesson types that bring the habits of reading to life, creating countless high-quality opportunities for students to practice one of the most complex skills humans can learn.
This book, and the Reading-by-Habit model it proposes, provides concrete guidance. Great Habits, Great Readers is not just about finding the right texts (though we’ll cover that); it’s not just about making discussions more text-dependent (though we’ll address that, too). At its heart, the Reading-by-Habit model is about transforming that moment when a child gets something wrong into an opportunity to teach the habits that will help him or her get it right. Inside this book you’ll find:
- The Reading-by-Habit model, which builds a bridge between the rigor of the Common Core and the real-life needs of your class
- Five types of lessons: Read-aloud, comprehension skills, phonics, guided reading, and independent reading
- The tools you need to address the Common Core across your literacy block in a sustained, meaningful way
- Rich resources—from 40+ video clips to Professional Development workshop scripts to show you what truly game-changing reading instruction looks like
Praise for Great Habits, Great Readers:
“Great Habits, Great Readers brings the Common Core to life through real children, real teachers, amazing results, and an absolute clarity about what is needed in our elementary school classrooms. This book is a complete roadmap to excellence.”
—Mark Murphy, Secretary of Education, Delaware Department of Education
“Bambrick-Santoyo and his colleagues have proven it’s possible to create extraordinary schools for the children who need them most. In this book, they do something even more important—they show us how. Every educator in America should read, discuss, and act on the ideas in this book.”
—Timothy Knowles, John Dewey Urban Education Institute Director and clinical professor, University of Chicago
Great Habits, Great Readers
Our students aren’t born knowing how to decode words, make inferences, and cite evidence. In truth, great reading grows from great habits―a deeply learned set of skills and strategies that students can access the instant they begin reading. Great Habits, Great Readers is about the choices we as K–4 literacy instructors can make to teach every one of our students the habits of skillful reading. It outlines those strategies, systems, and lesson types that bring the habits of reading to life, creating countless high-quality opportunities for students to practice one of the most complex skills humans can learn.
This book, and the Reading-by-Habit model it proposes, provides concrete guidance. Great Habits, Great Readers is not just about finding the right texts (though we’ll cover that); it’s not just about making discussions more text-dependent (though we’ll address that, too). At its heart, the Reading-by-Habit model is about transforming that moment when a child gets something wrong into an opportunity to teach the habits that will help him or her get it right. Inside this book you’ll find:
- The Reading-by-Habit model, which builds a bridge between the rigor of the Common Core and the real-life needs of your class
- Five types of lessons: Read-aloud, comprehension skills, phonics, guided reading, and independent reading
- The tools you need to address the Common Core across your literacy block in a sustained, meaningful way
- Rich resources―from 40+ video clips to Professional Development workshop scripts to show you what truly game-changing reading instruction looks like
Praise for Great Habits, Great Readers:
“Great Habits, Great Readers brings the Common Core to life through real children, real teachers, amazing results, and an absolute clarity about what is needed in our elementary school classrooms. This book is a complete roadmap to excellence.”
―Mark Murphy, Secretary of Education, Delaware Department of Education
“Bambrick-Santoyo and his colleagues have proven it’s possible to create extraordinary schools for the children who need them most. In this book, they do something even more important―they show us how. Every educator in America should read, discuss, and act on the ideas in this book.”
―Timothy Knowles, John Dewey Urban Education Institute Director and clinical professor, University of Chicago
About the Author
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo is the managing director of North Star Academies, nine schools that are part of the Uncommon Schools network. He has trained school leaders worldwide in his work at Uncommon Schools and for New Leaders. He is also the author of Driven by Data and Leverage Leadership.
Aja Settles and Juliana Worrell are the founding principals of North Star Academy’s West Side Park and Fairmount Elementary Schools, also part of the Uncommon Schools network.
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