Reading With Purpose: Selecting and Using Children's Literature for Inquiry and Engagement

Reading With Purpose is a book that provides a framework and teaching ideas for using recently released children's and young adult literature to build a culture of inquiry and engagement from a text-first approach. It is organized according to four purposes for selecting and using literature: care for ourselves and one another, connect with the past to understand the present, closely observe the world around us, and cultivate critical consciousness. Each chapter includes classroom stories, accessible research, reasons for why this matters now, and criteria for selecting for this purpose.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 22 December 2023
Publisher: Teachers' College Press

From the acclaimed authors of the widely popular blog and invaluable resource for educators, The Classroom Bookshelf, this groundbreaking book presents a comprehensive framework and innovative teaching strategies for leveraging recently released children's and young adult literature to foster a culture of inquiry and engagement, emphasizing a text-first approach. Designed to empower K–8 teachers to tap into their inner reader, make deliberate text selections for their students, and create joyful and purposeful literacy learning experiences, Reading With Purpose is a transformative resource.

At the core of this book, the organization is structured around four fundamental purposes for selecting and utilizing literature: nurturing care for ourselves and one another, connecting with the past to gain insights into the present, closely observing the world around us, and cultivating critical consciousness. Each chapter is filled with captivating classroom stories, accessible research, compelling reasons for why this matters in today's context, and rigorous criteria for selecting literature that aligns with these purposes. Additionally, a final section offers teaching invitations that seamlessly pair with suggested books but can also be adapted to any high-quality book teachers may already have in their classrooms.

Key Features:

Expands upon significant insights from esteemed thought leaders, encouraging teachers to establish their own reading identities to empower their students to do the same.

Offers a straightforward and sustainable framework that teachers and teacher educators can immediately adopt to make more purposeful text selections.

Provides a wealth of teaching ideas, captivating narrative anecdotes from diverse classrooms, student work samples, and thought-provoking reflective questions.

Compiles a comprehensive list of recommended, recently published children's and young adult literature that aligns with the themes and objectives of the book.

By embracing the power of literature and employing these pedagogical approaches, educators can inspire a love for reading, cultivate critical thinking skills, and create engaging learning environments that empower students to thrive in their academic and personal journeys.

Dimension: 229 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780807768501