As a #Read4Fun reading hero, Oona has been with us from the start! Her dedication to literacy and fostering a love of reading with both students and educators shines through not only in our twitter chats, but also in our #Read4Fun Voxer community and on Wednesdays during #ShelfieWednesday. Oona has been a secondary English teacher since 1996 and believes in the importance of providing diverse books in our schools and in our lives. Since she has four young children at home, life for Oona is very busy. Audiobooks have been a great way for Oona to keep up with her reading life. She says that out of every five books she reads, four of them are audiobooks. "I listen to downloaded audiobooks on my commute and on the phone at every opportunity: when I'm cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, weeding the garden, doing laundry, putting on make-up... you get the idea." #Read4Fun is incredibly grateful for Oona and her dedication to reading and to our community of readers!
What has been your favorite experience from participating in the #Read4Fun Chat?
As an English teacher, I've always been profiled as a "book nerd," and it's easy (and wrong) to think that we Language Arts teachers only love a book by "beating it with a hose to find out what it really means," to quote the poet Billy Collins. I don't read every book with post-it notes or highlighters -- it kills the love of reading in no time to give students and colleagues the impression that the only reading that matters is close reading. Close reading has its purposes, for sure.
What four words describe your #Read4Fun reading identity?
Choice, breadth, reflection and sharing.
What book or character from a book has most impacted you in your life?
My answer to this question may very well change tomorrow, but with that said... I'm going to say the title female character in Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I teach teenagers, and I was one, too. I was on the margin just like Eleanor was, but I had more assets than she had. Her silence in the midst of struggle takes me back to the kid I once was, the one who wouldn't share the embarrassing things that happened to her for fear of... fear.
How has #Read4Fun influenced you as an educator?
I think the #ShelfieWednesday initiative within the #Read4Fun community has been a game changer. I started by taking a picture of the book I was reading and sharing it out. Then I moved on to tagging my co-workers in my shelfie tweets and asking them what they were reading. Then I noticed other #Read4Fun community members using Periscope to do book talks on Wednesdays, which has me thinking that it would be great to Periscope my book talks whether it's Shelfie Wednesday or not!
Who would you like to invite to take the #Read4Fun Challenge?
I'd like to invite my friend and colleague Christina McCabe (@_camccabe) to take the #Read4Fun challenge. She's up to it!
You can connect with Oona during our #Read4Fun chats and also on Twitter at @oonziela. Join Oona and the rest of the #Read4Fun friends on Voxer by texting "@weread4fun" to 81010. Interested in joining our crew of Reading Heroes? Complete this SIMPLE FORM and we will be in touch!
What has been your favorite experience from participating in the #Read4Fun Chat?
As an English teacher, I've always been profiled as a "book nerd," and it's easy (and wrong) to think that we Language Arts teachers only love a book by "beating it with a hose to find out what it really means," to quote the poet Billy Collins. I don't read every book with post-it notes or highlighters -- it kills the love of reading in no time to give students and colleagues the impression that the only reading that matters is close reading. Close reading has its purposes, for sure.
What four words describe your #Read4Fun reading identity?
Choice, breadth, reflection and sharing.
What book or character from a book has most impacted you in your life?
My answer to this question may very well change tomorrow, but with that said... I'm going to say the title female character in Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I teach teenagers, and I was one, too. I was on the margin just like Eleanor was, but I had more assets than she had. Her silence in the midst of struggle takes me back to the kid I once was, the one who wouldn't share the embarrassing things that happened to her for fear of... fear.
How has #Read4Fun influenced you as an educator?
I think the #ShelfieWednesday initiative within the #Read4Fun community has been a game changer. I started by taking a picture of the book I was reading and sharing it out. Then I moved on to tagging my co-workers in my shelfie tweets and asking them what they were reading. Then I noticed other #Read4Fun community members using Periscope to do book talks on Wednesdays, which has me thinking that it would be great to Periscope my book talks whether it's Shelfie Wednesday or not!
Who would you like to invite to take the #Read4Fun Challenge?
I'd like to invite my friend and colleague Christina McCabe (@_camccabe) to take the #Read4Fun challenge. She's up to it!
You can connect with Oona during our #Read4Fun chats and also on Twitter at @oonziela. Join Oona and the rest of the #Read4Fun friends on Voxer by texting "@weread4fun" to 81010. Interested in joining our crew of Reading Heroes? Complete this SIMPLE FORM and we will be in touch!