Reading Without Limits: Teaching Strategies to Build Independent Reading for Life

Q&A with Maddy Witter, author of Reading Without Limits

Q. If a school has limited resources, what can you share that makes significant impact?

A. Fun and rigor doesn’t have to cost a cent. Take for example an activity that I recommend in Reading Without Limits. Research shows that kids remember the beginning and end of lessons best. After you finish the lesson, ask students to summarize what they learned by writing a Tweet about it, using 140 characters or less. On the flip side, if you want to increase resources for your kids, I'm really impressed by the online charity "Donorschoose" that connects donors to classrooms in need.

Q. Why do you include little details like how to decorate a classroom in your book?

A. Oftentimes it's the little details that make the biggest impact. What message do you want to convey to your students every day? For instance, messages could include the importance of higher education, character goals, or that learning is fun. At the school where I was a founding teacher, KIPP Infinity, homerooms are named after alma maters of the teachers, and teachers hang college pennants on their walls. Inspirational quotes are painted in the hallways to promote character strengths. To promote lifelong learning, teachers can set up comfortable reading nooks in their rooms that look like a café. Kids will respond to how you show the message oftentimes more than if you tell them. Plus, then your classroom looks really cool.

Q. How does your book address the Common Core?

A. Reading Without Limits is aligned directly with the new Common Core State Standards. Chapters are dedicated to teaching difficult texts so that all learners may understand the complicated nuances. Plus I share how to make hard work fun! Additionally, teachers need to teach more nonfiction to prepare scholars for their collegiate and career futures. We were very aware of this need at the school I cofounded in 2005. So we included a nonfiction reading class in every student's daily schedule. Reading Without Limits shares the strategies we used at KIPP Infinity that built strong readers (of all genres, especially nonfiction). English and content teachers will be able to weave these kid-friendly strategies into their already existing curricula.

Q. What's one thing every new teacher should know?

A. Building stamina among your students is essential, so that they can deliberately practice what you teach for long periods of time. But you need to start small. I liken it to push-ups: it's better to do three perfect push-ups rather than thirty sloppy ones. In the same way, it's better that you can get a class of kids working with excellent stamina for three minutes rather than thirty minutes with hands in the air, wandering eyes, and talking. Once you have three minutes of great stamina, then you can make it four, five, six. When you incrementally build on what's working, students will feel so much more successful.

Q. Are there any advantages to 'teaching to the test'?

A. Kids who read a lot make dramatic gains in literacy, but the reality is that sometimes great readers aren't strong test takers. In addition to showing how to build lifelong readers, Reading Without Limits provides kid-friendly, structured recommendations that prepare students for taking the test. Test prep can be stressful for kids and teachers alike, and it shouldn't be that way. Reading Without Limits gives you the tools you need to meet those tests head on. I also share tips for school leaders on how to weave test preparation into curricula rather than letting it take over the school.