All posts tagged: teaching

Instilling a Love for Reading

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“People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.”  -Malcolm X At the beginning of each year, I spend close to a week talking about independent reading with my students.  To me, it’s worth investing the time because independent, choice reading is the heart of my class. How I frame choice reading during the first week: how to find a just-right book and how that is different for every reader, different genres and their definitions, setting a weekly reading rate (from Penny Kittle’s book Book Love), speed dating a variety of books to find potential novels to read, going over My Top-15 Reading List (adapted from Kelly Gallagher’s book In the Best Interest of Students), discussing how book conferencing works, and how to keep track of books read. Even though I check in with each student monthly, share my Top 15 List with my classes, and book talk new books bi-monthly, there’s always a small percentage of students who refuse to read, or read very little.  My avid readers love the freedom …

The Beginning of the Year

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You’ve probably already heard this before, but setting the right tone at the beginning of the school year is very important.  For me, it’s important to create an inviting and safe classroom, establish expectations and routines, develop a reading and writing culture, and build a place of community trust.  None of this could be possible if I didn’t invest the time and energy specifically the first few weeks of school.  (And as veteran teachers know, you continue to reinforce those expectations throughout the year.) Here are six things that I do, within the first two weeks of school, to set the right tone for the school year. I take my class roster, a clipboard, and a pen and stand in the doorway.  Students cannot walk into class without passing me first.  I introduce myself with a big smile and ask their name.  If it’s pronounced different than it looks on paper, or a student goes by a nickname, I jot that down next to their official name. Not only does it help me know exactly how …

Summer Reads

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Every year I say this, but every year it’s so true.  I can’t believe how fast this summer has gone!  I blinked and time flew 9 weeks.  My calendar was intentionally set to do little, so I could slow down, take a deep breath.  And it still went by too fast! I had great goals of reading a bunch of books, (you can see my what-to-read-stack here), but between camping, going to the coast, day trips, finishing a quilt, spending time with extended family, and a week of PD training, (I am going through the process of becoming Nationally Board Certified–eek!), I didn’t get through nearly as much as I thought. But the three books I did read this summer were really good, and if you have some time before school starts, you should read one! Book—Circe Genre–fantasy; mythology Summary–This is the backstory of Circe from The Odyssey, by Homer.  If you teach this epic poem, or just really enjoyed the story, then you’ll love the author’s spin on the witch who turns Odysseus’ men into …

3 Ideas to (re) Energize Your Teaching

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Are you one of those teachers who turns off your teacher-brain once summer hits?  If so, I am envious of you.  Every year I give myself a month to decompress and not think about teaching, but after a week my teacher brain goes in overdrive.  It’s become a delicate balance spending time reflecting about the previous year and changing/adjusting for the upcoming year (which I really love to do) without stressing myself out and spending my summer not present with my family and friends. But if I really think about the numerous summers I have spent as a teacher, not every one was this happy-go-lucky-I-love-teaching mentality.  I have had some rough years where it was anything to want to go back to the classroom in September.  And I know I’m not alone. Sometimes years are tough and taking a break is the best thing to do.  Sometimes as teachers we fall in a rut or a routine that is comfortable, and wanting to change or grow is not on the to-do list. However,  five years …