Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms
By Jarred Amato
(Corwin Literacy, 2024 – Learn more)
Reviewed by Beth Hippen
If I had the time, Just Read It would be a book I might have written. Jarred Amato does a fabulous job of explaining how to structure an independent reading program in a middle to high school classroom. He not only explains the process well, he also gives concrete examples of how to do activities and writing prompts. I found myself dog-earing pages as I read to refer back to.
Amato clearly states why independent reading is important to getting students to be readers, and how connecting writing to books help students become better writers. He developed the WRAP (write, reflect, analyze, participate) method to allow students to wrap-up their reading at the end of a daily fifteen minute quiet reading time.
Amato progresses through the school year with examples of fall reading surveys, end of quarter/semester self-evaluations, and end-of-the-year activities that can be used right from the book. He gives examples for each step to help us actively understand his activities and theories.
Amato clearly states that there is room for both choice reading and whole class reads in the school year. Many teachers are required to use specific novels in each grade level. He establishes how this can happen in the classroom and gives the examples of using Night and Fahrenheit 451.
This book can be valuable for a seasoned teacher like myself or to a new grad just starting off. I liked how Amato explained book tastings to expose students to many types of books, and how choice reading and writing can allow for students to move at their own pace.
He also does a good job of checking in with students and shows us how it’s possible to run conferences and check-ins on a regular basis. The detailed Table of Contents allows the reader to quickly find the information needed to use in the classroom.
Just Read It is set up in such a way that the teacher-reader can pick it up this reference guide at any time and put it to work – making it really useful in the classroom. I love the author’s comment that teachers should “meet readers where they are, build confidence, and continue to support them on a reading journey that will hopefully last long after they leave our classroom.”
Beth Hippen has been a teacher for 38 years, teaching everything from Kindergarten to P.E. to 4th-8th grades. She has also been a librarian and Assistant Principal. Beth currently teaches grades 6-8 Reading and Language Arts classes at a small Catholic school in Robbinsdale, MN.
“I have been teaching here for 30 years and love my community,” she says. “I have over 3000 books on the shelves of my classroom for students to read – as made “famous” in a song commissioned by my husband – “Mrs. Hippen Reads” by Peter Meyer.
