Rating: Finding the Flow (yes, no, partial): not really Classroom Library (single, book group, whole class): single As a middle school teacher, I read YA lit in a couple ways. First, I read like a, well, reader. How much I “like” it depends on whether …
Grant Me Your Story
Teachers have so many great ideas for their curriculum and classroom. I’ve had ideas about book groups, sets of five or so books of diverse authors and topics for reading workshop. I’ve had ideas about beautiful journals. I imagined all of my students having a …
Oversharing in Writing Workshop
Many ELA teachers write alongside their students, but do you write like a “teacher” or a “person”? Do you write to model for and teach techniques to your students, or do you write to explore an experience, uncover a truth? Of course, being a teacher …
Summer Reading (and Listening) List
This list of literature intends to reflect and honor the lives of all young people. Recognizing diversity is essential in education, especially given globalization and our increased access to diverse lives and lived experiences, including LGBTQ, people of color, gender diversity, people with disability, and …
Snap if You Hear Me
“Colleen.” Colleen stood up. A quiet kid who was easily swayed off-task by more extraverted students, Colleen loved to have side conversations with me about life. She was always curious about what we were learning and why, and she was ready to share her poem. …
Endings and Ethics
During the last week of school, our junior high carved out time alongside field trips and awards ceremonies for teachers to meet and reflect on the routines of departments, teams, and daily routines in the school so that we can imagine how things can be …