ABOUT ME
My name is Jill; I am a mom to three teenage boys, wife, teacher, dog momma, and an avid reader. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I have loved reading since I was a kid, and I have likely read many thousands of books over my lifetime. I have been teaching for 20 years. I am currently a Junior High Language Arts teacher (gr.7-9) and have previously taught preschool to grade six. I have always been passionate about reading in my classroom and tried to fill my classrooms with books. Five years ago, I started my Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Pedagogy focusing on literacy. In one of my early courses, I read Donalyn Miller’s book The Book Whisperer, and it entirely changed my perspective of reading in my classroom. As I continued my coursework, I continued to deep dive into reading in schools. I have met many wonderful educators worldwide in my studies and now follow many of the top reading professionals on social media. I have continued to read picture books, middle grade, and YA novels prolifically (dare I say that my husband now cringes every time he sees the mail truck drop off boxes of more books). Not only have I been reading a lot of books for kids,
but I have also read so many great books about reading that continue to push my teaching and understanding of reading in schools. I always tell my kids (aka students) at the beginning of the year that my primary goal with them is to get them to love reading and become lifelong readers.
A year ago, I started Straight from the Bookshelf on Instagram and Facebook. I started it mostly to keep track of books that I was reading and share it with friends and family. Happily, it has continued to grow, and I love that I get to share books with people from all over the world.
If nothing else, I hope you come away with a few book titles to read or share with the young readers in your life.
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