Reflecting on their work gives students an opportunity to look back at what they have done, examine the processes and strategies they used, and think about the importance of their effort and growth. Literacy coach Lynne Dorfman explores ways to cultivate metacognition.
Teacher, author and adolescent literacy consultant Cris Tovani guides us through her 6Ts (Topic, Target, Task, Text, Time, and Tending) as she tells the story of her first virtual literacy workshop – with 7th graders who are studying the Sahara Desert. Engagement? CYA!
Once you begin Reading & Writing with English Learners, you won’t want to stop. Better yet, you’ll begin looking at your lesson plans, figuring out how to fit in all the fresh ideas you’ve gathered, writes high school EL teacher Emily Francis, who recommends it for K-12.
Articles / Feel Good Books / Reading / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly · Published 08/17/2020 · Last modified 11/14/2024
When middle grades kids look back to this time, Megan Kelly wants them to remember finding refuge in books. In this post she highlights graphic novels, short stories, mysteries and more she plans to share with her students to help them feel good and reduce their stress.
Reading teachers work hard to meet the needs of individual students in small groups. Yet many students struggle while reading self-selected books. Meghan Duermit and Sunday Cummins offer ways to build stronger bridges of support from guided instruction to joyful independent reading.
Students at ages 9-13 still want to hear their teachers read aloud, want to sit on the rug, want to engage in stories. Jennifer Sniadecki and Jason DeHart share evidence that picture books are also an effective way to teach figurative language and other ELA standards.
Helping students learn to read and love to read are two of the most important jobs of any teacher in the middle grades. You can’t do either without having robust libraries with books of all types, subjects, and levels. NBCT Rita Platt can help you build your collection.
What the Robbs have done so well is share their experiences as researchers and as educators and provide detailed procedures, anecdotes and insights to guide teachers as they help students become avid readers, writes teacher educator and middle grades veteran Linda Biondi.
Developing a schoolwide culture of reading, like any change initiative, takes commitment, leadership, collaboration, communication and consistency. Literacy leaders Laura and Evan Robb describe a model middle school that is “full of reading” and share 10 starter ideas.
Learning to read hard nonfiction is a life skill, says principal Rita Platt. It allows students to dive deep into content, enriches vocabulary, and can be a jumping-off point for developing lifelong pursuits. Platt shares strategies her school uses to spark interest.
