4.9kviews Spring is upon us, even here in Michigan. With sunshine peeking in through classroom windows, your students are no doubt asking to have class… Read More »18 Strategies to Scaffold Readers Before They’re Released into the Wild
4.3kviews Okay, English majors: Who else feels guilty when we have to rush through a literary masterpiece in order to meet the end-of-the-year time crunch? In… Read More »Annoy an English Major. Get Your Students to Understand Shakespeare in Half the Time.
9.2kviewsThe Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, once said that we make time for what we value. Therefore, it’s essential, when lesson planning, to write “Independent Reading” in first.… Read More »How to Do a Book Talk
2.1kviews I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Savannah, not about the warm Southern city, but about one of my former students with that Georgian… Read More »I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Savannah
1.5kviewsLast week, I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to tour the beautiful state of Michigan—from Parma, down in the Southeast, to Mackinac Island, up off the North shore… Read More »Literacy Roadtrip 2014: nErD Camp & Michigan Reading Association Summer Conference
5.3kviews Unfortunately, I think it’s—dare I say—“trendy” to only talk about choice reading right now. Whether this pendulum-swinging trend is caused by something extreme, like some… Read More »Crush the Next English Dept Debate: 9 Reasons for Both Whole-Class Novels + Choice Reading
2.1kviews Teachers know that most adolescents lack motivation to read, both academically and recreationally, yet we can see how crucial it is for students to develop… Read More »Why We Never Get Anywhere in English Dept: The Fight between Whole-Class Novels and Choice-Only Reading
2.5kviewsIf you’re looking for a quick and easy way to spark conversation in your classroom around books, I love using Table Topics Cubes: Book Club Edition.… Read More »Tip for Sparking Conversation on Reading: Table Topic Cards
2.6kviewsSome high school ELA teachers argue that there just isn’t time for choice reading. They believe that students aren’t motivated to read outside of school.… Read More »Tips for Getting Kids to Do More Choice Reading: Celebrate!
17.1kviews What is a Reading Ladder, and where does this idea originate? A Reading Ladder is simply a piece of explanatory writing where students rank the… Read More »Reading Ladders: How to Hold Students Accountable to Choice Reading