When you hear the term book clubs and literature circles do you automatically think elementary school? I used to think just that – that literature circles were for elementary and upper elementary. That is until about 10 years ago when I was introduced to literature circles for my 8th grade reading ...
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Engage Students in Reading with Book Clubs!
You may be asking yourself, What is a Book Club? Well, it is not much different that a book club you find through a book store or one you create with a group of your best friends. Essentially, a book club is a group of people (in this case students) who are reading the same book, then sit ...
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Student Led Book Talks
There is nothing better for and ELA teacher’s heart than to hear her students actively engaged in discussions about books. Several years ago, when I was mentoring a 5th grade teacher, I was envious that she got to use Literature Circles in class. Her students were highly engaged in academic debate ...
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A New Journey Begins
We all know that in March 2020 the teaching world as we knew it changed. We had two weeks’ notice to change everything we knew about education and forced into the world of online teaching. I have to be honest; I did not enjoy that experience – the 2 weeks’ notice to suddenly change ...
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Graffiti Boards Engage More Students
A New Year, New Idea strategy! Week #1
A new year, new ideas! That’s the goal for the next several weeks. There’s no doubt that teaching is hard, so it makes sense that we fall back on the same familiar strategies to make planning and implementing a little easier. I’d like to ...
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Academic Conversation Through Silent Debates
When I taught high school, my favorite day of the week was current event Friday because students shared about the events of the week and the class engaged in academic conversation and debates over current affairs. When I attempted to bring this same idea to middle school it flopped! It turned into ...
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