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What grade do you teach?: I loop between 3rd and 4th.

What are your favorite read-alouds?: I am a huge fan of Chris Van Allsburg. My favorite books are...
The Stranger
The Wreck of the Zephyr
Widow's Broom
Sweetest Fig

What are your favorite "professional" book?: Starting From Scratch, by Steven Levy was - by far - the most inspirational book that I have ever read.

In the Company of Children by Joanne Hindley is still my favorite introduction to the workshop model of teaching. Many books have come out since, but none have captured the workshop like this one.

Tribes by Seth Godin has very little to do with teaching, but it is about leadership and building communities. I was truly inspired by the book on many levels.

John Otterstedt's Blog

Hello world!

Today marks the official debut of opensourcereading.com. It is an idea that has been swimming around my brain for a while. However, for some unexplainable reason, it became an obsession last night. I drew a line in the sand and set out to determine how I could make this dream become a reality within 24 hours.

From humble beginnings...

So, what is the vision? My goal is to create a living, breathing web-based reading program. It will begin with a few resources that I have… Continue

Posted on September 30, 2008 at 7:46pm — 2 Comments

Comment Wall (6 comments)

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At 8:14pm on November 26, 2008, G. Goldberg said…: Thanks for the welcome comment. I bet it was great working with Carl. He is such a wonderful teacher and I learned a great deal from him too. I just shared this site with a bunch of teachers... trying to keep it spreading fast!

At 9:52pm on October 23, 2008, Leigh Porod said…: John,
This is such a wonderful idea! Thank YOU for putting this together!

At 10:06pm on October 22, 2008, Tav Jinivizian said…: Johnny, so glad to see that the total number of members now spans TWO pages! not bad for 2 weeks huh? Now let's get rid of this awful blue background and pick something to make that header POP!

At 9:35pm on October 22, 2008, Sharon said…: *snicker
It is true - huge dork, here, and proud of it!
This site is a great idea - hopefully you'll get a bit turnout and it will work the way you're envisioning!

At 7:19pm on October 17, 2008, Lesley Carter said…: Hey John,
Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm a former elementary teacher. I taught K, 1st, and 4th grades for 10 years before coming to Ridgewood as a Library Media Specialist. I still consider myself more of a teacher than a librarian at the moment. But I do have lots of ideas for resources. John A. from your school took my Journey in Writing course and recommended to the sight. So I'm happy to give my two cents worth in regards to literature. Hope I can be some help.

At 4:42pm on October 14, 2008, kara said…: I invited 7 teacher friends. yay. hopefully we'll get a good response!

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What is the reading workshop?

Often referred to as reader's workshop, the reading workshop model is a method of teaching reading whereby students often read self-selected texts. The ultimate goal is to give students the skills needed to become independent, lifelong readers.

There are many "gurus" out there who have their own slants on the reading workshop. Perhaps the most famous proponent is Lucy Calkins of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

The Open Source Reading site does not follow the teachings of a specific guru. Rather, we hope to present a wide array of materials that might be used by anyone who is putting self-selected texts at the forefront of their reading program.

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