This week’s posts have focused on reluctant readers and three factors that teachers might consider in their efforts to hook kids on books. I’ve shared my own experiences with providing choice to young readers and carving out class time for pleasure reading. Today, I wanted to share some ideas and resources that might help you [...]
Nurturing a passion for reading begins with providing choice, but making space within the school day for kids to read the books that they choose can be a challenge as well. Many schools build DEAR time into the daily or weekly schedule by using time during homeroom or lunch or revamping the schedule to make [...]
Provide Choice.
Provide Time.
Provide Access to Books.
Sounds easy, I guess. I know from experience that it isn’t though.
Consider the first factor: providing kids choice in terms of what they read.
Few people would question the logic that suggests kids who are allowed to choose their own reading material are more likely to actually read it. Yet, many teachers are still [...]
Teachers spend a good amount of time focused on struggling readers. We analyze standardized tests, keep running records, and monitor progress in an attempt to diagnose and respond to the needs of students who require added support in order to be successful. So much so, I speculate, that we sometimes find ourselves with little time to attend to one [...]
That’s what the research process is truly about, wouldn’t you agree? So much of what we hope to teach can begin with what kids are passionate about, and many of the teachers I work with know from experience that when new learning journeys are fueled by passionate inquiry the rewards are great.
How do we help kids define and begin [...]
Over the last few days, I’ve been gearing up for a conference focusing on new ways to engage reluctant readers. In my travels, I’ve stumbled upon some valuable resources that have me reflecting on my own work with kids who don’t enjoy reading, and I’m blown away by the new potential that the web provides [...]
Yesterday, I was contacted by web developer Zsofia McMullin, who alerted me to The Stenhouse Blog, which launched in recent months and which also, I might add, offers educators a wealth of amazing resources to draw upon. In my work with kids this summer, I was blown away by how eager they were to try [...]
Classroom teachers all over Western New York are heading home this afternoon to catch their collective breath for the first time in many days. I’ve been out of the classroom for several years now, but September still feels like the true beginning of the new year to me. I’m still filled with the same sense [...]
I spent today exploring the practice of literature circles with a group of English Language Arts teachers from across our region. It’s always interesting when public and nonpublic school teachers come together to collaborate around any one best practice, but the disparity between these two factions of our education system with regard to resources is fairly outrageous.
A good [...]
