Last week school started and a whole new group of 8th graders filled the desks in my classroom. Besides talking about the syllabus, creating a social contract, and handing out all of the many things parents have to sign, my biggest goal was to get a book in the hands of each student. [bctt […]
Literacy
From Book Tastings to Blind Dates: How to Encourage a Love of Reading in Secondary Classrooms
As a first-year English teacher, there were lots of questions that I hadn’t expected to have to answer in my classroom. The most surprising question, however, was this one: [bctt tweet=”“Do I have to read in this class?” ” username=””] Now, in my head, there are many sarcastic and snarky comments that I could think […]
Word Sorts: A Pre-Reading Strategy for Frustrated Students and Teachers
If I were to ask my middle schoolers what the hardest subject is for them, I can tell you right now, a majority (especially sixth graders), would say science. Even though my kids typically love science labs, they despise all of the reading that accompanies them. When I talk to students about what makes reading […]
Disrupting Thinking: Stop Focusing on Leveled Reading
Each summer I try to squeeze at least a couple professional books into my summer reading pile. This year, I knew I wanted to read Kylene Beers and Robert E Probst’s new book, Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters. Teaching my 8th graders not just to read, but to love to read has been my main goal. […]
Getting my Struggling Readers to Thrive in the Content Areas
How do you get your struggling reader to succeed in the content areas? This was my dilemma as a fourth-grade teacher. I was frustrated for my struggling students. They experienced failure in almost every class because they struggled in literacy. I worked hard over the years to get every student to meet my objectives. With text […]
Why What Teachers Read Matters
This summer I had the privilege of sitting in on interviews for a new ELA teacher in my building. In my fourteen years in the district, this is the first time I have been able to take part in something like this, and since the hired person will be my classroom neighbor and part of […]
Boosting Critical Thinking Skills Through Guided Reading
by: Candice Yamnitz Guided reading: HOT stem posters, language objectives with higher DOK questions, and lesson plans designed with student thinking in mind, OH MY! In my dual-language 4th-grade classroom, we were set! The students were going to be critical thinkers. This eventually did happen with 100% of my students, but it wasn’t the whole […]
Teaching the Environment in the Social Studies and Humanities (and Everywhere Else)
When we get close to the end of the year I like to leave my students with a bit of reflection for the future. In a matter-of-fact and “non-preachy” way, I tell them that the most crucial issue that their generation will inherit is the environment. In fact, despite what students hear from many political […]