Who is your teaching mentor?  Is it someone you still have the privilege to work with?  Is it someone from your teaching past, yet the spirit of our profession they embodied and modeled stays with you?  I’ve been reminded this week of the value of professional mentors in our lives.  In no other profession is there such reward in finding a colleague who can guide us and inspire us to be the best teacher we can be.   Try to take a minute to think about your teaching mentor and reflect on the impression he/she has made on your professional life.  At the very least, I’ll bet it’ll bring a smile to your face.  🙂

AL A CARTE (OCTOBER 25, 2013)

Tenacity and Teamwork – This is a great little tip my mentor shared with me (and many of you who have been part of middle school reading for many years).  Coach G reminded me of how this strategy encourages students to work independently and to rely on their peers for support.

Powerful Poetry – Looking for some poetry gems for your classroom?  You have to scan a bit on this site, but the poetry I saw looked useful for both Elements and Ideas classes.

Reading in the Wild – For those of you who didn’t make it to Plum Creek Literacy Festival in Seward last month, check out the review for one of the speaker’s new books.  Donalyn Miller always provides a fresh perspective, reminding us of reading for the sake of reading.

This Week’s Book Review – Cool!  This book has lots to keep readers’ attention as the main character takes on a summer job on a cruise ship.  Then the “Big One” hits.  Check it out.

Reading, Libraries and Daydreaming – These three things are the makings of a perfect day, if I had a day free to do as I wish.  Neil Gaiman makes it clear these elements are what society needs to make children intelligent.  Rock on!

It’s Fall, Ya’ll!

One of my favorite books of the moment is Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (©2012, Yearling Books).   The main character, Georges (silent s) has to adjust to moving from a house to an apartment in his neighborhood.  This seventh-grader still attends the same school and can frequent his favorite restaurants.  However, Georges’ father lost his job as an architect, and the family of 3 had been living on his mother’s extra shifts as an ER nurse.  Because his mother is working so much, Georges rarely sees her.  She and Georges communicate daily by Scrabble letters, each leaving short phrases for each other on Georges’ desk.

While taking trash to his new building’s basement, Georges sees a sign on a door down there:  Spy Club Meeting–TODAY!   Soon, Georges meets Safer, a boy his age who is spying on another resident in their building.  While Georges enjoys hanging out with Safer’s warm yet quirky family, he is challenged by Safer’s demands on their friendship.  Georges starts to consider what qualities make a true friend.  In addition, Georges misses his old room (custom-designed by his dad), struggles at school against Dallas, a bully who is great at finding other kids’ weak spots, and thinks about what it means to be true to himself.

This book is funny, delightful, heartwarming, and has a surprise twist at the end.  If you’re looking for a fun book to introduce to your students, pick up this one.  It’s appropriate in readability for both Elements and Ideas students.  It’d also be a fun read-aloud.

AL A CARTE (10/11/13)

 Cyberbullying Less Than Expected – Check out this post about cyberbullying. It’s a bit of a relief thinking that it’s not as widespread as the media would like us to believe.

 More Good Books – This blog has a new book review every day!  Wow!

Earthquake Terror Supports – Here’s a collection of earthquake videos you could choose from if you plan to teach Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret.

The New Reading Lesson – Common Core State Standards and reading.  You just need to keep an eye on it.  I value Timothy Shanahan’s opinion on anything reading (and he’s very much a part of national Common Core conversations).

Dislecksia – Check out the trailer.  Wow.  What a perspective.  Makes you think about students who struggle to read (and don’t have dyslexia).  I think I need to see this movie.

We know it’s not considered best practice.  But do we know of colleagues who still engage in round robin reading?  If so, are we willing to “stage an intervention” that will discourage them from clinging to a practice that needs to be put to rest, once and for all?  I’ve been coaching a few teachers lately on some ways to avoid the round-robin reading trap:

•  3, 2, 1…switch!  Have students pair up.  The partners decide who is Partner A and who is Partner B.  Give the assigned pages for reading, and explain to the class they will be taking turns reading aloud to each other.  Tell them that you will let them know when it is time to switch by saying, “3, 2, 1…switch!”  Start a timer for yourself to help you keep track of time (any time from 2-4 minutes is appropriate).  When the timer goes off, loudly say, “3, 2, 1…switch to Partner B!”  Reset the timer and start all over again.  Rinse and repeat until all partners are done with the reading.

• I Summarize, You Summarize.  Have students pair up.  The partners decide who is Partner A and who is Partner B.  Give the assigned pages for reading, and explain to the class they will be taking turns reading aloud to each other.   They are each responsible for a page of reading at a time.  When the reading-aloud partner completes a page, the following-along partner must give a one-sentence summary of the page.  The reading-aloud partner must repeat what the following-along partner has said, and may add any details that he/she thinks were left out.  Then Partner B reads the next page aloud, with Partner A giving the one-sentence summary of the next page and Partner B providing the restatement with additional details.  This pattern is continued by the partners until the chapter is completed.

More tips to follow in future posts.  I challenge you to try one of these ideas during the next week, when your students have a chapter to read in the class novel.

AL A CARTE (10/4/2013)

Read-Alouds, Recreational Reading and Round Robin – Check out this article from Reading Today.  Its author, Maureen Mclaughlin, is IRA’s current president and a very engaging speaker about middle level reading issues.

Readworks.org – This website has 1000s of nonfiction and literary passages, free for printing and reproducing for your classroom.  The articles are organized by grade level readability, so it makes it easy to determine which articles best meet the needs of your Skills, Elements or Ideas students.  Articles come with open-ended question sets.

Books About Bullying – Thought of those of you who had a bullying presentation in your building this week.  This blog shares a list of criteria for selecting books about bullying that encourage readers toward empathy and compassion.  The author’s stories may be a bit juvenile for our readers, but the criteria are appropriate for selecting titles for any age group.

The Downside of Close Reading? – Interesting perspective on close reading overkill.  Just a perspective to keep in mind…close reading could become the next educational buzz word.