The Challenge(s) How many times has a student responded with “I don’t like reading” when you introduce independent reading or reading in general? This has been one of the biggest hurdles when I have attempted to bring independent reading into my classroom. Even after spending hours reading YA novels to be in the know and …
Book clubs are my go-to strategy for engaging students in authentic conversations about reading. It has been my saving grace this year as students have struggled to return to the classroom. Why do I love book clubs so much? Book clubs help put students in the driver seat of their own learning! I have found …
The argument that good readers make good writers has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Even as students, many of us probably found that as avid readers, we borrowed stylistic traits from the books we read and the authors we loved. The idea of mentor text has been around for a long …
Before beginning any reading or viewing activity in my classroom, I always start with the “4P’s” – previewing, predicting, accessing prior knowledge and assessing purpose. Practicing each of these pre-reading strategies is a sure-fire way to amp up engagement and help your students become more active readers. Read on to see how I introduce each …
7 Strategies to Help Students Read Better
Do you teach literary theory in your ELA classes? Do you find it a challenge for you or for students? Have you thought about using a core text for different theories? One core text to rule them all… if I was a big Lord of the Rings fan this would be an even more poignant …
When I started my career as a teacher, I made a lot of assumptions about students’ ability to write. After many years in the classroom, I’ve learned that teaching kids to write well is no small task. What I now understand is that we should be intentional about our instruction and lessons. Nurturing good writers …
“That was so much fun; I didn’t even realize we were learning!” When I hear a student say this, it makes my teacher heart so happy. Reading and writing instruction is a critical part of education. We want our students to be engaged and invested. When they are excited about a topic or lesson, …
When we think of centers, we think of elementary. But what if there was a way to adapt centers to middle school and high school? What would it look like? How would it be organized? Those are questions I was asking myself last year when I taught ELA. I was thinking about how I could …
When you think about your favourite teachers you had growing up, who comes to mind? Chances are, it wasn’t the one who knew the curriculum backwards and forwards or had perfect lesson plans, it was likely the one who made you feel important, who took an interest in your life, and encouraged you to dream …
