It’s April. That means it’s time to open the door to the most feared and cherished of genres – POETRY! I wish that classrooms focused on poetry year round because of all that it can offer a language classroom, but I also know why it’s often avoided. When I was in school, I had that teacher. Yes, […]
Reading Strategies
Encouraging Readers
As a mom of three boys, a teacher to many students, and an educator of educators, I am constantly battling questions about students’ reading levels. Teachers also frequently ask questions like how many times students should read the same book, and if it matters what students are reading (magazines, graphic novels, etc.). Truthfully, I haven’t seen any research that proves a […]
Growing Readers in Middle School
This month I was hired to do the best job imaginable, model a Readers’ Workshop. At the end of March I took a whole cart of great fiction (mostly off the Lone Star Reading List) into 6 different sixth grade classrooms, with the one goal of hooking kids on a book. I prepared a mini-lesson […]
The Necessity of Historical Pictures
A teaching moment that I will never forget is back in 2008 teaching United States History to fifth graders. We were on our second day of Roanoke. The kids were highly engaged and we were deep in discussion for two full days. By the end of the second day we were beginning to think about […]