English/language arts students have the privilege of being “transported across the globe, back in time or into the future” as they read poems, plays, novels, and articles because classrooms are “spaces of discovery, possibility, and participation where students learn to empathize with experiences of people like and unlike themselves” (Beach et al, 2017). These students [...]
This week, October 7-13, is Mental Illness Awareness Week. October also happens to be National Bully Prevention Month with the 11th being National Depression Screening Day. (World Suicide Prevention Day was September 10) To honor this, my Classroom Library display and all my book talks for the month focus on mental illness, wellness, [...]
Over the past five years, I have built my classroom library from just 104 books to over 1100 high-interest young adult literature spanning from realistic fiction to nonfiction to fantasy & sci-fi to historical fiction. While I routinely do Book Talks each week--among other things--to get kids interested and engaged with my classroom library, I [...]
As an ELA teacher, I do a lot of reading. During the school year I try to read as much Young Adult Lit as possible so I can share it with my 8th graders, but during the summer I read more adult titles and I try to squeeze in at least one professional title. Last [...]
It's summer vacation which means that most of the Secondary ELA groups I am in on social media are full of teachers asking for recommendations for books to add to their curricula. I am a big believer in the power of books to change hearts and minds, so my suggestions lean toward YA literature that [...]