Planning to launch a literature circles experience requires teachers to begin with the end in mind. Considering what we want kids to know and be able to do at the end of the journey is a good place to begin, and rather than focusing on teaching specific books or titles, attending to identified skills and essential questions lends meaning and purpose to the work that will be done. Students should be reading books that are appropriate…
I’m a tremendous fan of literature circles. I used them frequently in my own classroom and enjoy learning more about the varied ways to maximize their potential. Many of the teachers that I’ve been working with this year have begun launching literature circles in their own classrooms, and witnessing the energy that builds in response to their efforts is pretty inspiring. Great things can happen when kids are invited to talk with one another about what…
Laura Nicosia, who I follow on Twitter and elsewhere, has tagged me for this fun little meme that has been winding its way around the web. Many of the bloggers I keep up with daily have shared seven things about themselves as well, and I’m enjoying learning more about the people I’ve come to rely upon so much over the last year. So, here we go with the rules: Link your original tagger and list…
There is a whole lot of practice testing going on this month in New York State. Teachers with the best of intentions have put aside the work that they love best so that they may, in their minds, serve kids well by preparing them to take a standardized test of one kind or another. I understand their concerns. We would all feel a bit irresponsible asking students to do battle without arming them properly. But…
Are you using Glogster? It’s a favorite with the teachers and students I work with, and it’s easy to see why. This funky little tool has the potential to engage kids in about a million different ways, and while it was created for the general public, there are treasures to be found by scrolling through the school glogs. It’s also a piece of cake to use. Think about how the following examples might inspire your own…
Providing choice, time, and access to great books goes a long way toward motivating kids who would rather not be reading, but as @steveshann reminded me on Twitter last night, community is everything and conversation is where it begins. Informal conversation. Communities build around books and reading rapidly when we invite kids to share their honest opinions about what they’re reading. I remember watching this happen with Go Ask Alice, the Harry Potter series, The…
This week’s posts have focused on reluctant readers and three factors that teachers might consider in their efforts to hook kids on books. I’ve shared my own experiences with providing choice to young readers and carving out class time for pleasure reading. Today, I wanted to share some ideas and resources that might help you get great books into the hands of the kids you hope to inspire. Books are a treat. They are gifts.…
Nurturing a passion for reading begins with providing choice, but making space within the school day for kids to read the books that they choose can be a challenge as well. Many schools build DEAR time into the daily or weekly schedule by using time during homeroom or lunch or revamping the schedule to make space for reading. As an English teacher, I was a huge proponent of reading workshop. These days, I get to…
Provide Choice. Provide Time. Provide Access to Books. Sounds easy, I guess. I know from experience that it isn’t though. Consider the first factor: providing kids choice in terms of what they read. Few people would question the logic that suggests kids who are allowed to choose their own reading material are more likely to actually read it. Yet, many teachers are still making MOST of the reading choices for their students and finding themselves frustrated when kids…
Teachers spend a good amount of time focused on struggling readers. We analyze standardized tests, keep running records, and monitor progress in an attempt to diagnose and respond to the needs of students who require added support in order to be successful. So much so, I speculate, that we sometimes find ourselves with little time to attend to one of our other responsibilities: helping kids fall in love with reading. What are your earliest experiences with books and reading?…