How do you light up a classroom? With Jenna’s* glow … the sparkle in her eyes … as she shares her passionate understanding. Passion is not a word usually associated with my shy, angry Jenna. Being raised by her grandmother,
“Book Bag Browsing” … a classroom library exploration activity
Bookbag Browsing
A Learning Table that taught me
I’d heard, but hadn’t understood, that some students learn best through narrative structures … until the day I was trying to guide six off-task eighth grade boys through comprehension of an informational text. With the rest of the students reading
Bending the format of Socratic Seminar… and winning my students’ minds
“You know, Ms. G… this is like anger management therapy” My heart cringed, wondering where Will was going with his comment. A tall, lanky 8th grader, he was looked up to – in every sense of the word – by
You think I WANT to do research?
“You know, Ms. G, it’s a good thing this is my question, because if you had assigned it to me, I would have quit by now.” With those words, I knew I had found a way to make inquiry and
Getting them to read AND do homework? Wow!
Walking into my language arts classroom on the first day of school, I am greeted by the sight of seven young girls spattered through a sea of twenty-two boys. I realize this is not going to be a year to
Individual survey on strategies to choose a book
choosing a book personal survey I begin by asking my language arts class to journal about, “What do you do during SSR?” (our in-class Self-Selected Reading time) Many of the brief written responses are expected — they read, talk quietly
Survey a class on book choice strategies
choosing a book class survey 1 “I want monitored reading to work, but it feels like I can’t conference with many students… too many of them are not settling during our self-selected reading time; in fact it seems like they
Learning how students choose a book
HOW TO CHOOSE A BOOK Whispering, rustling. My “teacher ears” perk up. While conferencing about a self-selected reading book with one student, my eyes scan the rest of the class for the source. Initially all seems well and I refocus
Creating a reading mindset in the middle school reader
Factors in creating a reading mindset Interest: Middle school students have strong preferences for personal reading choice; interest is a primary factor in engagement. The way to hook kids on reading is to let them read things that interest them.