Educators everywhere have embarked on a school year unlike any other. In the spring, we were in survival mode, doing everything we could to stay afloat and be there for our kids. We learned from that experience and started this year feeling a little more sure of what we were doing. If you’re anything like… Continue reading Recalibrating This School Year
Tag: teach reading
Finding my people
I’ve been struggling lately. For about a year, I’ve felt a little confused, a little stagnant, and a little lost. I’m a goal-oriented person, and having achieved a few over the last year, I didn’t have a new one in mind. It was frightening. I’d been sitting in that place with no direction for awhile.… Continue reading Finding my people
The Power of Fantasy Novels
The shifts being made in literature, specifically young adult literature, in the past few years have been fantastic. While there are still huge gaps and underrepresentation, the direction it is headed is hopeful. The fantasy and dystopian genres, in particular, are doing an incredible job of shedding new light on current happenings in our world.… Continue reading The Power of Fantasy Novels
The Smartest Person in the Room is the Room
Being at NCTE is a surreal experience. I have spent the last few days surrounded by passionate, dedicated professionals, incredibly talented authors, and nearly my entire professional library—live and in the flesh. I’ve sat it sessions with educators from all over the country and learned from their expertise on social justice, LGBTQ rights, literacy development,… Continue reading The Smartest Person in the Room is the Room
Teaching Text Evidence with Movie Trailers
Teachers all have lessons they create that they’re proud of. These lessons typically teach valuable skills in a new, innovative way. Many times, they are popular among students, too. For me, one of the lessons in my repertoire that I am most proud of (and love to teach) is on text evidence. In sixth grade,… Continue reading Teaching Text Evidence with Movie Trailers
What I Do in the First Week of School
The first week of school is a hectic one. No one is quite used to the new routine, everyone is still half in summer mode, and you’re busy trying to welcome and connect with a whole new group of students. There’s a lot of advice out there on those first few days, and people hold… Continue reading What I Do in the First Week of School
The Case for School Librarians
School librarians are a significant part of the educational experience we offer our students. They provide collaborative, engaging learning environments full of information for our kids. They are a wealth of knowledge on the books they have available, easily able to recommend and direct kids toward their next great read. They develop positive relationships with… Continue reading The Case for School Librarians
The Missing Half of RTI/MTSS
Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) are two acronyms (of many) that are well known and widely accepted in education circles. The pyramidal structure of these models is one that most practicing educators are familiar with, and have used in their careers and classrooms. MTSS is the newer, updated version of… Continue reading The Missing Half of RTI/MTSS
Reading Motivation
English language arts teachers are faced with a myriad of challenging tasks, from critical literacy skills to grammatical understanding. A unique, yet equally difficult, undertaking involves motivating our students to read, which is complicated even further as students enter adolescence. By the middle grades, those students who have been consistently reluctant as readers often view… Continue reading Reading Motivation
Curriculum Coffee 