Blue-Sky Teaching

Stand Up-Hand Up-Pair Up at work My classroom has independent reading as it's foundation.  We read every single day, no questions asked.  So, what then do kids have to talk about?  Don't they have to be reading the same text to have meaningful conversations? My students actually have a lot to talk about.  They also have a lot of individual responsibility in each conversation.  They aren't in conversations to ride on anyone's coat tails; they're there to share coherently and to learn from others. Book Groups This year I put my students into book groups in October.  The groups of 3-4 students are consistent; they'll stay the same all year long.  Students meet with their groups every other week.  The structure is also consistent:  the topic is based on what we're learning about at the time (characters, plot, setting, influence of any of these on each other, theme, strategies, etc.).  Students begin by writing a reflection on thei...

After writing about the importance of a classroom library, I began to think about my passion for students choosing their own books – my unwavering belief that the foundation of my class must be student-selected text.   Kylene Beers told me during a Twitter chat that 75% of what is read should be students’ choice; Kelly Gallagher says 80% in his most recent book, In the Best Interest of Students .     On this issue, however, an expert answer isn’t enough for me.   This is an issue that I live every day, and that I, as a teacher of high school readers, must answer for myself. Here, then, are my top reasons that independent reading is at the center of my reading instruction: 1.            Independent reading is the ultimate differentiation .   It allows each student to read what they need to read.   They will be met just where they are in terms of difficulty (which is far more complex than lexiles a...

My transition from being a middle school teacher to being a high school teacher was bumpy.  I took a job in a brand new high school to teach a reading intervention class and 9th grade English at the very last minute (a week before school started) two years ago.  I was thrilled and terrified at the same time - what did I know about teaching HIGH SCHOOL kids?  Would I be too babyish for this job? So I marched in ready to be a REAL high school teacher.  I would follow my colleagues and learn the ropes.  Armed with Lord of the Flies , I began my first literature unit. It was a dismal, flat-out, fall-on-your-face failure. Most kids did not read the book.  Most could not read the book.  And most were not thinking at all.  They were waiting for me to tell them, lead them, to "discuss" the book. Year one was SO educating and enlightening.  And oh so wrong.  My students did not read until we got independent reading going for real....

It was Friday morning; I was psyched and ready.  Cue the  Rocky  theme music.  Lesson in hand, I moved the desks, got out the clip boards, and found my copy of  Woolbur  by Leslie Helakowski.  I took a few deep breaths and couldn't wait for my students to arrive.  I was changing things up a bit, and this lesson was going to be a GREAT. Bring on the kids! And then they arrived.   In their usual manner, the twelve boisterous high school students in this class came in, playfully shoving, yelling across the room, stretching out their last few minutes of freedom.  I directed them to pull chairs into a circle and grab clipboards.  Fleeting quizzical looks graced a few faces, but they complied.  Volume did not lower even when the bell rang.  I persisted.  This was going to be fabulous!  I explained the task and tried to begin.   The boys, sitting next to each other in the circle, were whispering...