Pernille Schmidt Ripp (@pernille) — Bluesky Profile

1 month ago

Lessons in Genre—and in Failure We have been studying genres in 3rd grade. Something so simple, and yet such a powerful key to unlocking yourself as a reader. For some students, these classifications are crystal clear; they already have the language that wraps around them as readers. For others, the designations are murky at best—confusion between fiction and nonfiction (which I completely understand in this day and age), and even what it means for something to…

We turned our tiny classroom library into a space students could navigate—sorting books by genre, wrestling with fiction vs. nonfiction, and learning through messiness. A lesson in reading, teaching, and yes… failure. But worth every minute.

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1 month ago

This Is the Work This week, I was invited to sit down with with Dr. Sarah Sansbury, Leah Gregory, and Janette Derucki for the Can’t Shelve This podcast (releasing February 10th). The invitation was simple: come talk about reading culture. About what we actually do in our classrooms and schools that either invites children into reading or quietly pushes them away. That kind of conversation is my favorite.

This is the work. Not forcing reading or offering rewards, but building spaces where children feel safe enough, curious enough, and seen enough to want to read. Before we change students, we have to change the conditions we create around reading.

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2 months ago

One breath at a time I have the lung capacity of a 70-year-old. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a genetic deficit in my lungs and liver. One that can lead to emphysema, asthma, and a whole list of other things no one hopes to casually collect. It made sense. Walking up the stairs while talking would leave me breathless, still does. And yet, hearing that my lungs were not the way they were supposed to be was a quiet devastation.

Supporting children who struggle isn’t about fixing everything. It’s about showing up, noticing, and taking small, meaningful steps — building trust, safety, and connection while honoring realistic expectations in the classroom.

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2 months ago

Quiet, ordinary, enough I'm on my second cup of tea of the day. Waiting for my husband to come home so I can head out into the world with our youngest, giftcards burning a hole in her pocket. We woke up in the dark, but knowing that we gained 5 minutes of sunlight already. We lumbered into awakeness through pages read, quiet conversation, and a plan for this second to last day of the year.

On the cusp of a new year, I reflect on quiet moments of survival, presence, and ordinary joy — in parenting, teaching, and life. Sometimes the bravest work is simply showing up, noticing, and offering steadiness to children and ourselves, one small moment at a time.

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2 months ago

So much of it is manufactured urgency, well put

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2 months ago

Thank you so much, Matt. It was so nice to sit in the quiet and write those words.

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2 months ago

"we forget that gathering in schools is also meant to simply gather us."
Exactly this.

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2 months ago

The Work That Still Works It has been ages since I have written here. Not created content, not shared ideas, but simply written in the ways that I have been writing for so many years. A familiar refrain, a coat that fits just so, but left forgotten in a closet because who has time to take it out? It seems I moved to Denmark and forgot parts of myself.

In a world pushing more, faster, and louder, I’ve been returning to what actually works: slowing down, building community, and protecting children’s humanity in our classrooms. This is a quiet return to that work.

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4 months ago

The Thinking Classroom in ELA Next week, in my 3rd grade Danish class, we’re starting something new — or maybe something old, just done differently. We’re bringing the Thinking Classroom to our literacy work. I have seen the excitement from it in math, which made me wonder; how can we model the same concept but within ELA (or DLA in my case 😊). So in true Pernille fashion, I asked if anyone was interested in seeing the slides with prompts I had made in either Danish or English, and it turned out that, yes!

Starting something new — one Thinking Classroom prompt each week. Quick, curious, and made to spark talk and connection during literacy time. One whiteboard, three kids, endless thinking

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11 months ago

Loving this year's Global Read Aloud selections from @pernille.bsky.social! Is your school signed up to participate?

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10 months ago

The 2025 Global Read Aloud kicks off on October 6, 2025. This is one of our favorite reading events every year.📚

You can click on each book cover to find the Global Read Aloud Books in @follettcontent.bsky.social Titlewave.❤️

buff.ly/NkBk8bL

#TLSky #EduSky #tlchat #futurereadylibs #edchat

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5 months ago

Our school was awarded a grant to buy books so our whole K-6 school can participate in the Global Read Aloud. We’re excited to partner with other classes around the world reading the same books. I can’t wait to see all the connections we make. 🌎 📚 @theglobalreadaloud.bsky.social #GRA2025

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5 months ago

I am thrilled to hear this!

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5 months ago

Global Read Aloud Choices 2025 #GRA25 In these continued times of turmoil I have looked to the past and the present for hope. I don’t think I am the only one. When the world around us seems to lose its way, we look back upon othe…

PLUS, join in on Global Read Aloud this month, which has chosen Oge Mora as this year's picture book creator! Each week, read along and join in the discussions for one of Oge Mora's fabulous books, including SATURDAY and Caldecott Honor book THANK YOU, OMU!
🔗: theglobalreadaloud.com/2025/04/07/g...

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6 months ago

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi book cover and global read aloud selection description image

KAREEM BETWEEN by Shifa Saltagi Safadi is now out in paperback! Happy #BookBirthday to this incredible winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and 2025 Global Read Aloud Selection 📚

Click the link below to download the FREE guide!
penguinschoollibrary.com/KareemEdGuide

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5 months ago

Boost you read aloud with drawing prompts – some ideas I'm a doodler. Facing long meetings or tasks where I need to intently listen, I instinctively reach for something to draw on—not as a means of escape, but as a way to focus. I know I am not the only one. Doodling, when done mindfully, has been shown to boost attention and cognitive processes. It helps in information retention, reduces mind-wandering, and provides a creative outlet that promotes stress reduction.

I’m a doodler. For me, drawing isn’t distraction—it’s focus. With the Global Read Aloud about to begin, I’m sharing ideas for how mindful drawing can deepen read-alouds, spark conversation, and build understanding. Curious how? Click to read more.

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5 months ago

My 13 year old just told me I am a cool mom because I used to be in a motorcycle gang.

This is not true.

But I will not correct him.

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5 months ago

In case you need me to tell you this, whatever the Clown Car says about autism today, it's going to be a bunch of shit. Read autistic writers and researchers if you actually care about us. We are legion and live it.

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5 months ago

7 games to promote brave questioning When I first moved back to Denmark, I had the privilege of working in marketing—a completely different field from teaching, but somehow familiar. Everything was new: teams, assignments, routines. It was exhilarating, exhausting, and, unexpectedly, deeply thought-provoking when I considered my work as a teacher. One of the first things I had to learn, fast, was how to ask questions. I knew very little, every day I was surrounded by people who knew far more than I did, even those fresh out of school.

Asking questions is brave—especially for kids in a world of AI, bias, and peer pressure. In this post, I share 7 play-based ways to help students practice curiosity, take risks, and feel safe wondering, experimenting, and learning together.

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6 months ago

12 New and Forthcoming Books by Indigenous Authors by Nel Aldrich from Bookstr. PEEK: “Here are 12 new or soon-to-be-released books by Indigenous authors, ranging from memoirs to fantasy epics, to an anthology about a legendary fry bread diner.” bookstr.com/list/12-new-... #BookSky

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6 months ago

Anthropic Authors’ Rights Class Action – Author Contact Page – Lieff Cabraser

We urge all authors who believe their books may have been unlawfully downloaded by Anthropic to visit the website and provide the requested information.

www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...

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7 months ago

Conversation with a 2nd grader today - translated from Danish

Her: Hi Pernille, I have a question
Me: Yes…
Her: Why when you get old do you get large knockers?
Me: Well, we continue to develop as we grow older
Her: You must be really old…

Happy first day of school 🤣

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7 months ago

1. Planning self directed time for the afternoon of PD day 1 bc the morning is district run

2. Putting must know content in the AM of PD day 2, and giving teams time the rest of day 2.

Reflecting on what to spread out over staff mtgs, what can be an email, what are team leads best suited to share

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7 months ago

This is excellent leadership

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7 months ago

Admin and school leaders: how are you protecting your staff’s time and load capacity during back to school PD?

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7 months ago

First day of PD and I am so overstimulated. So many small decisions discussed, so much conversation, so much sitting. It was all needed but my brain was not ready for that much stimulus at one time.

Time to chill with my kids and then CrossFit to clear the mind before going back tomorrow.

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7 months ago

The First 20 Days of Reading – Free tool to kick off reading for the year I go back to work tomorrow. A month off with big plans of all the things I was going to do, and so many things I didn't. I didn't plan really. I didn't read PD books, or watch webinars, or delve into education shorts. I have not stressed, mostly. Instead I have read, I have cooked, I have gardened, I have explored, I have napped - so many glorious naps.

Ready to kick off the year with joyful reading? I’ve created a First 20 Days of Reading calendar to help you build reading stamina & community—one day at a time. It’s full of simple, powerful activities you can use right away! 🌟 #readingculture #pernillerecommends #backtoschool

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7 months ago

Oh I am thrilled to hear it can spark new directions. I was so inspired by the newsletter myself❤️

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7 months ago

It’s Not That They Can’t Read… – looking at imposter syndrome and reading identity How many times have we heard a child say, “I’m not good at reading”?Or watched one put a book back on the shelf, saying, “This is too hard for me,” even though we suspected that they could read it — if only they would give it a shot? Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what stops kids from fully stepping into their reader identity.

What if a child’s “I can’t read this” is really self-doubt in disguise? Inspired by Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s work on imposter syndrome, this post offers practical ways to support students who don’t feel like real readers—yet. #pernillerecommends #readingidentity #literacysupport

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7 months ago

And more here

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