Welcome to my blog! My name is Austin Hall and I’m a high school English teacher with a passion for both books and helping students discover the joys of reading. In 2013, I read Penny Kittle’s book, Book Love. It completely revolutionized my teaching approach, and I haven’t looked back. From my extensive classroom library (2,500+ books) to daily booktalks to stepping back and providing my students both choice and time when it comes to reading, the development of the reading lives and identities of my students is at the forefront of my instruction.

While reading is a focal point of all my classes, this is most intensely the case in Strategic Reading, a senior elective, reading workshop based course that I designed and developed in 2015. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 school year, I was selected as a recipient of the Book Love Foundation Grant (listen to podcast of Penny Kittle calling to inform me that I had won here – starting at the 12:44 mark). This led to an influx of over 500 books into my classroom library and allowed me to take my reading workshop to the next level.

I created this blog to be more intentional as a reflective teacher. One of my favorite mantras is that “we make time for what we value.” Reflecting on my teaching – particularly where reading, writing, learning, and leading intersect – is important to me. Teacher Guybrarian allows me to do just that.