About the Book

Streamline formative assessment for readers in just minutes a day. With What Do I Teach Readers Tomorrow? Fiction, learn how to move your students forward in their reading with this 4-step process—lean in, listen to students’ talk about books, look at their writing about reading, and then make teaching decisions based on what they′ve conquered and what challenges they need to take on next.

This practical approach shows you how to notice when readers are doing mostly literal, "right there" on the page thinking; when they are doing "over-time" synthesizing across a text; and when they are ready to kick into high gear and connect ideas across texts and real word themes.

The authors provide next-step resources for whole-class, small-group, and one-on-one instruction, including:

• Tips for what to look for and listen for in reading notebook entries and conversations about books
• Reproducible Clipboard Notes pages that help you decide whether to reinforce a current type of thinking, teach a new type of thinking, or apply a current type of thinking to a new text
• More than 30 lessons on understanding characters and themes, meaningful note taking, strategy use, and more
•  Reading notebook entries and sample classroom conversations to use as benchmarks 
• Strategies for deepening the three most prevalent types of thinking about characters: Right-Now Thinking (on the page), Over-Time Thinking (across a picture book, a chapter, or a novel), or Refining Thinking (nuanced connections across text and life themes)
• Strategies for deepening the three most useful types of thinking—frames, patterns, lessons learned—about themes
• Online video clips of Renee and Gravity teaching, conferring, and discussing what fiction readers need to do next

With What Do I Teach Readers Tomorrow? Fiction, discover how to move your readers forward with in-class, actionable formative assessment. Your readers are showing you what they need next—lean in, listen, look, assess.

"Goldberg and Houser – both former staff developers at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project – have perfectly combined theory and practice to help teachers put students first in their decision-making process. Best of all, they’ve provided the tools necessary to assist teachers in making those decisions become a reality right away."
— Reviewed by Pam Hamilton for MiddleWeb

Table of Contents:
Foreword Acknowledgments A Quick-Start Guide for Easy Access Chapter 1: Each Classroom Moment Is an Instructional Decision Acting Without a Script: Embracing Our Role as Improvisers Answering the “What Next?” Question Intentional Teaching: Decision Making With Students at the Center Self-Reflection Questionnaire: What Type of Decision Maker Are You? Decision-Making Styles Three Common Teaching Habits Let Students Be Your Guide Getting Started: An Action Plan Chapter 2: Decisions About Book Selection Making a Choice to Read Aloud a Fiction Text Thin-Slicing Fiction Texts Picture Books and Wordless Books Short Story Collections Novels Graphic Novels Ways to Engage Students in Fiction Read Alouds Chapter 3: Decisions About Reading Notebooks Why We Really Use Writing as a Tool for Understanding Current Reality: Why Students Write About Reading in School Lessons That Wake Up Writing About Reading How to Collect Thinking in Notebook Entries Self-Reflection Questionnaire: Reading Notebooks What We Might Let Go of When Asking Students to Write About Reading Reading Notebooks: An Action Plan Chapter 4: Decisions About Discussion The Benefits: Finding What’s True for Us in Texts and Life Teach Students to Have Meaningful Conversations Making Decisions Based on Student Conversations Effective Fiction Conversation Characteristics Moves for Analyzing Text in Diverse Ways Self-Reflection Questionnaire: Student Conversations What We Might Let Go of When Asking Students to Talk About Their Reading Authentic Fiction Discussions: An Action Plan Chapter 5: Decisions About Understanding Characters Why Understanding Characters Is So Important What Other Reading Skills Fit With Understanding Characters? What to Look for When Students Study Characters Thin-Slicing Students’ Thinking About Characters Decide What to Teach Next Studying More Than One Character Harnessing the Power of Partnerships and Book Clubs Understanding Characters: An Action Plan Chapter 6: Decisions About Interpreting Themes Why Interpreting Themes Is Important What Other Reading Skills Fit With Interpreting Themes? What to Look for When Students Interpret Themes Decide What to Teach Next Interpreting Themes in Multiple Texts Interpreting Themes: An Action Plan Chapter 7: Becoming Confident and Intentional Decision Makers Appendices Appendix A. Fiction Book Rating System Appendix B. Some Favorite Fiction Texts Appendix C. Clipboard Notes: Reading Notebook Entries Appendix D. Clipboard Notes: Student Conversations Appendix E. Understanding Characters Appendix F. Clipboard Notes: Types of Thinking About Understanding Characters Appendix G. Interpreting Themes Appendix H. Clipboard Notes: Types of Thinking About Interpreting Themes References Index