There is good stuff in here.īeginning with an overview of what minilessons should offer, Franki invites teachers to fall back in love with lesson planning.

Flipping through Franki’s book, gave me hope. While unread books pile up around my house-judging me for not reading them-Franki’s book offers stress-free, accessible learning. Knowing Franki’s work like I do, she always gives me practical, smart ideas. Just 90 pages long, it’s the perfect-sized book for overwhelmed teachers who want new ideas, but have little time. When Franki Sibberson’s new book, The Joy of Planning: Designing Minilesson Cycles in Grades 3-6 appeared in my mailbox, I confess that the first thing I noticed was how short it is. Exploring the latest thinking about teaching reading matters to me, but it’s hard to find the motivation for reading such books when I would rather grab 30 more minutes of sleep after a hectic week.

When research-laden professional development books arrive in the mail during October, they stack up on my office floor collecting dust until a holiday break. This time of year, however, when teaching demands most of my mental energy, I admit to doing what my students often do-selecting shorter books over long ones. Years spent studying reading research built up my stamina for dense books full of educational theory, too. Epic fantasy tomes, doorstop-weight textbooks, fat dictionaries-there is something about reading a hefty book that fills me with accomplishment.

Bored nothing to do peter spier