Uncategorized – Page 6 – Unleashing Readers

Teaching Tuesday: My Classroom After Parkland

July 22, 2018March 13, 2018 by Kellee

For weeks I’ve known I wanted to write this post as tomorrow marks a month since the Parkland Shooting, but I had to figure out how I wanted to word all of my thoughts. I hope that I am able to articulate and say what I mean.

I love teaching. I love teaching so much that I asked to go back to part-time teaching even while I had to do a full-time reading coach job. Because teaching makes me happy and fills my heart. Part of my job as a teacher is my students being a part of my life and I, theirs. I am one of their adults. So many of us refer to our students as our kids because that is just what they are to us, our children.

The shooting in Parkland has put a lot of fear into our hearts. My fellow teachers are scared. My students are scared. And although there is so much I think should change, this is not a political post, so I am not going to get into the lack of mental health help and gun control laws in our country. I instead want to share what I discussed with students in the days after to help them process the fear.

First, I talk to them about it. Yes, I sit down with my students as if they are my peers to talk to them about this because I may be the only adult that does. I acknowledge the horror of what happened, and I answer any questions about it that they want to ask; however, I reiterate over and over that until something comes from a credible and reputable news source, we can’t assume it as true (this is an important lesson for kids period).

Then, I share with them how much I care about them and that I am always there for them. I make sure every single one of my students hear this. I want to remind them that I am one of their adults, and I am open to hearing them. I want to make sure if they have no one else to talk to that they know I am there. This is a multi-purpose. One, to help them process the mass shooting that happened only two hours from our house in a town that two of our teachers are from. Two, to make sure if any of my students feel outcast or that no one cares, they will hear that I do. Because I do.

That’s when we start talking about fear. Fear to me is a passive emotion. It is a chain reaction that leads to us being immobile and inactive and anxious. That is not what we need right now. Fear is what we’ve felt after Columbine. After Sandy Hook. After Virginia Tech. After too many school shootings. And nothing has happened because fear makes us immobile.

We also talked about media coverage and its impact on their fear. Without the constant coverage and social media postings, would they feel as fearful as they do? Probably not. They are a generation of constant connections, so it is our job as their adults to help them deal with the constant bombardment of information and how it affects them, so I felt it was important to talk about this as well.

Then, to help move past the fear I needed them to know that the tragedy is just that, a tragedy, and that it isn’t a norm. They brought up the 18 school shootings before Parkland in the U.S., so I talked to them about what those included, but then I asked them to guess how many car accidents there are every year. The answer? About 6.3 million accidents occurred in 2015, and over 37,000 people die in car accidents yearly in the U.S. (http://branlawfirm.com/many-car-accidents-usa-per-day/). But we are prepared because of this danger. We prepare appropriately by having air bags, wearing our seat belts, and making our cars safer. That is why we do lock down drills because until there is no threat, we need to be prepared, but that doesn’t mean we need to be scared. We are preparing for something that is very unlikely to happen. This part of the conversation is almost too logical which is why I made sure to talk about the emotional aspects first because I didn’t want to downplay the impossibly horrifying thing that happened in Parkland, but I also needed to help them get past the fear. Being scared isn’t a way to live, and if we are going to be scared of this, there is so much we’d need to be scared of also. Instead let’s be prepared and alert, yet live life to the fullest.

This is where I used the survivors as an example. Although I am sure that students who experienced the horrors that they did are definitely filled with fear, the ones we’re still hearing from have instead grabbed onto a more active emotion: anger. I am so proud of the productivity they have found in their anger and how they’ve made their voices be heard. If my students want to be angry, be angry. Just make sure it is a productive anger and an anger that doesn’t go away over time unless they feel that issues have been fixed.

And after that, classroom life goes on. Little things have changed: I now lock my door all the time again, more gates have gone up around my school, construction sounds make students jump, fire drills now are something everyone fears, and I am consciously smiling and saying hi to all students I see to make sure they hear a positive voice that day. But overall, classroom life goes on. However, I hope that the anger that my students feel, and so many teachers and students feel, leads to productive changes in our society and that this mass school shooting doesn’t lead to immobility, anxiety, and inactivity like the ones in the past.

**See my my other post on my school’s solidarity with Parkland to see my school’s walkout**

Teaching Tuesday: Teaching My Son to Read (by Ricki) Part I

July 20, 2018February 27, 2018 by Ricki

For a few reasons, Kellee and I have decided to break away from Top Ten Tuesday. Don’t worry—we aren’t done with lists! We’ve really enjoyed TTT, and we will miss it, but we are excited for a new Tuesday adventure that is much more aligned with our vision for this blog. We will rotate between individual and shared posts, but you can always guarantee that you will find something teaching-related, about education, about our students, or about books in reference to any of those things on Tuesdays.

“Teaching My Son to Read” (by Ricki)

The Pressure

While I think about classroom teaching every day, I also think a lot about teaching my older son how to read. There’s a lot of pressure to teach our kids to read before they enter kindergarten. I’ve heard it from my mom friends, and I’ve also heard it from random strangers in the grocery store. Everyone seems to have an opinion on when kids should learn to read.

A Child’s Love of Books

What do I value? I value my son’s love of books. I value the fact that today, during dinner, he asked me if I could read to him while he ate. I value that every night, he begs us to let him read just one more book. I value the mornings that I wake up to the sound of pages turning, and I click on the monitor to see him reading quietly in bed while he waits for everyone to wake up.

The Pressure

With this in mind, I have held myself back. I don’t want my son to dislike reading. I’d rather he learn to read after all of his peers if it means that he won’t lose his love of books. If there’s anything I’ve learned as a mom, it’s that I don’t know anything about parenting and am likely making the wrong choices most of the time. I am not sure if I should be doing more sooner or if I should wait for him to tell me that he wants to learn to read.

The Beginning Stages

As we’ve started to work on learning to read, I’ve tried to do several things purposefully. When he was young, we put Wheel of Fortune on the television in the background while he played. He learned all of his letters from this show. Thanks, Wheel of Fortune! When we were in the car or just playing, we sounded out letters. For example, “Look at the sky! What letter does ‘sky’ start with? What other words start with ‘s’?” This helped.

Phonics? Sight Words?

This felt natural, but the actual reading felt trickier. Kids like pictures, and they often prefer the adult to read to them because reading is hard. I also kept going back to my desire to maintain my son’s love of books. I don’t like teaching phonics very much, but then I wondered if I could truly teach my son to read using only sight words. I also began to wonder if we could find a happy medium between learning phonics and sight words.

My Son’s First Book

I came across the BOB Books. I was really, really hesitant to use them because they felt very phonics-y. Essentially, it’s a small square cardboard box that contains 16 or so very short books. Each book works on a different sound, and the picture matches the words exactly (allowing kids to use context clues). I overly prepped my son. To match my insecurities, I kept saying, “And if you don’t like the books, we won’t read them!” and “Let’s just see if we can practice reading. You are so smart!” Well, he loves them. Luckily, they are very short, so we can practice reading a little bit each day. He read an entire book with some support, and my heart was bursting with pride.

What’s Next?

I don’t know what’s next. I don’t know if tomorrow my son will hate the BOB Books and we will have to put them away for good. Luckily, there are so many great books out there that help support reading (e.g. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss). I teach secondary school reading courses, so this is a new, untraveled path for me. Some of the strategies are similar, but most are quite different. I welcome your advice! What have you learned about teaching kids to read? What can this unabashedly inexperienced mom learn about teaching reading to a four-year-old? Parenting is a humbling experience, but I’ve learned so much about the beginning stages of literacy!

Adolescents’ Literature Syllabus

April 22, 2023August 17, 2017 by Ricki

Colorado State University

Dr. Ricki Ginsberg

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course focuses on adolescence and the reading, analysis, and understanding of young adult literature. Some of the themes we will explore include: the body and mind, culture, (dis)ability, gender, grief, intersectionality, race, sexuality, and social class. Because the course is designed primarily for future English teachers to prepare them to examine issues of adolescents/ce, we will also consider supportive practices for teaching young adult texts critically in the classroom. This course will allow us the time and space to (re)consider our perspectives of adolescence. The reading and coursework is designed to be both rigorous but rewarding.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Required, Whole Class Texts:

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown.

Farizan, S. (2013). If you could be mine. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin.

Nelson, J. (2014). I’ll give you the sun. New York, NY: Speak.

Roskos, E. (2013). Dr. Bird’s advice for sad poets. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Saenz, B. A. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Schrefer, E. (2012). Endangered. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Sepetys, R. (2011). Between shades of gray. New York, NY: Speak.

Shusterman, N. (2007). Unwind. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen.

Yang, G. L. (2006). American born Chinese. New York, NY: First Second.

Zentner, J. (2016). The serpent king. New York, NY: Ember.

Literature Circle Group Text (Disability and the Body):

You will select this text during the first week.

Anderson, L. H. (2009). Wintergirls. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Draper, S. (2010). Out of my mind. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Van Draanen, W. (2011). The running dream. New York, NY: Ember.

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York, NY: Knopf.

Gemeinhart, D. (2015). The honest truth. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Stork, F. X. (2008). Marcelo in the real world. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Lindstrom, E. (2015). Not if I see you first. New York, NY: Poppy.

Sloan, H. G. (2013). Counting by 7s. New York, NY: Puffin.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Analyze and critique a wide range of adolescents’ literature across genre and form (as evidenced in the reading portfolio, classroom discussions, and Book Bistro conversations).
Examine research and theories of adolescence through a range of scholarly sources and (re)consider our own assumptions (as evidenced in the discussion of the Youth Lens and in the Scholarly Journal Article critique).
Evaluate the purpose of literature that is written explicitly for adolescents and the value of using this literature for classroom instruction (as evidenced in each course requirement, particularly the Leading a Class Discussion assignment).
Explore the ways in which adolescents’ literature can be highly political in nature (as evidenced in the selected required texts and the focused discussions and classroom activities in weeks 14 and 15).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

The outside work for this course adheres to the instructional time equivalent to the federal credit hour definition of 2 hours of outside work for each contact hour. As such, you can expect to do approximately 5 hours of outside work each week. Much of this time will be dedicated to the course reading (required and free choice). I will not accept assignments after they are due. Please wait 24 hours to dispute a grade.

1. Free Choice Reading Portfolio (25%)

You will be required to read a total of 3,000 pages of books written for and about adolescents.

The portfolio will reflect this work and must include:

A cover sheet listing the books and total number of pages that you read. If you prefer to keep track by hand, feel free to print the book log available on Canvas. At the bottom of your cover sheet, please include a signed honor statement that indicates that you read all of the pages that you list on this page.
A one-pager for each of the books that you read. Examples of one-pagers will be provided in class. The only requirement is that the one-pager must fit on one side of a piece of paper. Please complete these one-pagers as you read. You will be showing them to your peers during Book Bistro meetings.

Selecting texts:

Select texts from a variety of authors, forms, genres, subjects, and marketed age levels. Do not read over 1,000 pages of the same author, genre, or form.
Do not read a classic text unless it was expressly written for adolescents. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye were written for adults, but The Chocolate War and The Contender were written for adolescents. Check with me if you are unsure whether a text is traditionally considered to be a YA text.
Do not read books that were written for adults (Crichton, Grisham, King, Steele, etc.). You may, however, read books that are very popular, free choices among adolescents (e.g. Books on the Alex Awards lists).
Consult adolescents, librarians, the adolescent literature collections at the Morgan Library and 322 Eddy, ALA Award lists, and other published listings of texts. The Fort Collins libraries have great collections. Ask your peers what they are enjoying, and share books with each other. I will make ever attempt to flood you with books that you might be interested in reading, and I will bring a rolling classroom library to most classes.
ENJOY what you are reading. I typically use a 50-page rule. If I am not enjoying a book after 50 pages, I put it down. Please use whatever system works for you and keeps you reading. You can (and should) count the pages of unfinished books toward the 3,000-page requirement.

2. Class Participation (20%)

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of your participation in class. You are expected to read the entire required texts before you come to class. I am not a fan of reading quizzes, but I need to know that you are doing your homework. As such, you will complete a reading quiz at the beginning of many classes. If you are late or absent, you will miss this assignment for the week. Your literature circle presentation will also be included in this grade.

3. Leading a Class Discussion (in pairs) (15%)

You will sign up with a peer to lead an hour-long discussion of one of the required texts. You and your peer can decide how to structure the class time and activities. You do not need to focus your discussion on the weekly topic listed in the schedule. The only requirements are: a) you will give a 5-minute reading quiz at the beginning of the hour, and b) you will lead a discussion of the reading for some portion of the time. You and your peer will grade the reading quizzes and return them to me the following class.

4. Book Bistro Participation (10%)

You will participate in five scheduled Book Bistro meetings. You will be in charge of leading one of these meetings and inspiring conversation around the books that the members in your group are reading. You will sign up to lead the meeting in the beginning of the semester.

5. Scholarly Journal Article Critique (in pairs) (10%)

Working in pairs, you will read and critique a scholarly journal article about young adult literature or adolescence. I will help find this article. You will present your findings, complete with a handout, to the class. Your presentation should last between five and ten minutes and can include discussion.

6. Final Exam (20%)

You will design a project for the final exam that meets your personal and professional needs and passions. I will provide suggestions from previous courses that I have taught, but I recommend that you design a project that you will find exciting. We will dedicate some class time to help you determine, workshop, and independently work on this project, but you will complete most of the work outside of class. You will present your project during the university-sanctioned final exam time. The exam is scheduled for Monday, December 11, from 4:10pm-6:10pm.

7. Graduate Students Only (10%, overall grade calculated out of 110%)

In an effort to help you organize and synthesize your thinking about your Master’s thesis or project, you can choose to write five annotated bibliography entries (choose a combination of the require texts—novels and articles—for this course plus texts of your own choosing.

You can design a similar project tailored to your needs. Please see me early in the semester to discuss this course requirement and to solidify your choice. This work is due to me on December 3, 2017.

8. Honors Credit Only (10%, overall grade calculated out of 110%)

Those who seek honors credit will be required to read five advanced reader copies (galleys) of texts within (not in addition to) their 3,000 page required. They will complete five book reviews in the form of blog posts. If these students choose, I can publish these blog posts on www.unleashingreaders.com, and this work can be featured as publications on their resumes. Please see me if you are seeking honors credit.

Grade Overview

Free Choice Reading Portfolio (25%)
Class Participation (20%)
Leading a Class Discussion (in pairs) (15%)
Book Bistro Participation (10%)
Scholarly Journal Article Critique (in pairs) (10%)
Final Exam (20%)

As per University policy, I use +/- grading. Calculations on a 4.0 scale are: A+ = 4.0; A = 4.0; A- = 3.667; B+ = 3.334; B = 3.00; B- = 2.667; C+ = 2.334; C = 2.00; D = 1.00; F = 0.00

POLICIES

Attendance Policy

Attendance is critical for your success in this course. I expect you to be punctual. Absences beyond two per semester will result in a grade deduction of ½ grade, as this is equivalent to over a week of missed classes. For instance, if you earn an A in the course but miss three class sessions, your grade will reduce to an A-. You will also miss reading quizzes, which will impact your grade. Please see me with any concerns about your attendance. Excused absences will not count against your grade, and these will include participation in University-sanctioned activities, as well as participation in religious holidays and observances. If you will be absent for an excused reason, please see me in advance of class or email me at least one day in advance.

It is respectful to email me prior to class if you will be absent. This will help me (and your peers who are presenting) adjust class plans and groups accordingly. Please do not sign up to present on a day that you anticipate you will be absent for an excused purpose.

Academic Integrity and Student Conduct

The course will adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy of the Colorado State University General Catalog and the Student Conduct Code. Do not plagiarize. Any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment in this course faces penalties that may include an F on the assignment or an F in the course.

Cell Phones and Computers

Please remember to turn off your cell phone before coming into class. That means no text messaging during class. Please be respectful about your computer use and do not surf the internet or check emails while in class. Abuse of this policy will result in a lower classroom participation grade.

Safety, Reporting and Resources:

CSU’s Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking, and Retaliation policy designates faculty and employees of the University as “Responsible Employees.” This designation is consistent with federal law and guidance, and requires faculty to report information regarding students who may have experienced any form of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking or retaliation. This includes information shared with faculty in person, electronic communications or in class assignments. As “Responsible Employees,” faculty may refer students to campus resources (see below), together with informing the Office of Support and Safety Assessment to help ensure student safety and welfare. Information regarding sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking and retaliation is treated with the greatest degree of confidentiality possible while also ensuring student and campus safety. CSU’s Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking, and Retaliation policy designates faculty and employees of the University as “Responsible Employees.” This designation is consistent with federal law and guidance, and requires faculty to report information regarding students who may have experienced any form of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking or retaliation. This includes information shared with faculty in person, electronic communications or in class assignments. As “Responsible Employees,” faculty may refer students to campus resources (see below), together with informing the Office of Support and Safety Assessment to help ensure student safety and welfare. Information regarding sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking and retaliation is treated with the greatest degree of confidentiality possible while also ensuring student and campus safety.

Any student who may be the victim of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, relationship violence, stalking or retaliation is encouraged to report to CSU through one or more of the following resources:

Emergency Response 911
Deputy Title IX Coordinator/Office of Support and Safety Assessment (970) 491-1350
Colorado State University Police Department (non-emergency) (970) 491-6425

For counseling support and assistance, please see the CSU Health Network, which includes a variety of counseling services that can be accessed at: CSU Health Network (http://www.health.colostate.edu/). And, the Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Team is a confidential student resource that does not have a reporting requirement and that can be of great help to students who have experienced sexual assault. The web address is: Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Team (http://www.wgac.colostate.edu/need-help-support).

Accommodations

If you are a student who will need accommodations in this class, please do not hesitate to make an appointment to see me to discuss your individual needs. Accommodations must be discussed in a timely manner prior to implementation. A verifying letter from Resources for Disabled Students may be required before any accommodation is provided.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 1 What is Adolescent Literature? and Introductions

08/21 Introductions, Select Literature Circle Texts

Read: The Youth Lens article and the Book Bistro article

Watch: “The Danger of a Single Story.”

Begin: Your choice reading. Anticipate reading about 150 pages of choice per week, and you will be successful.

08/23 Histories and Definitions of Adolescents’ Literature

Resources for Finding and Using YA Literature

Draw table numbers for Book Bistro, Sign up to lead class.

Read: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Week 2 Identity Part I

08/28 Discuss The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

08/30 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Read: American Born Chinese.

Bring: All of your book pages thus far to share in class.

Week 3 Identity Part II

09/04 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY

09/06 American Born Chinese

Book Bistro #1

Read: The Serpent King

Week 4 Family and Friendship

09/11 The Serpent King

09/13 The Serpent King

Read: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Week 5 Sexuality

09/18 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

09/20 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Read: I’ll Give You the Sun

Week 6 Negotiating Death and Grief

09/25 I’ll Give You the Sun

Research project proposal due

Bring: All of your book pages thus far to share in class.

09/27 I’ll Give You the Sun

Book Bistro #2

Read: Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets

Week 7 Mental Health

10/02 Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets

Bring: One text that you’ve loved and enjoyed this semester.

10/04 Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets

Midway Book Talks

Read: Between Shades of Gray

Week 8 Adolescents Across Time and Place: Part I

10/09 Between Shades of Gray

10/11 Between Shades of Gray

Read: Endangered

Week 9 Adolescents Across Time and Place: Part II

10/16 Endangered

Bring: All of your book pages thus far to share in class.

10/18 Endangered

Youth Lens looking across all texts???

Book Bistro #3

Read: Brown Girl Dreaming

Week 10 Adolescents in the “Real World” (Nonfiction)

10/23 Brown Girl Dreaming

10/25 Brown Girl Dreaming

Read: Unwind

Week 11 Adolescents in the Imagined Worlds (Fantasy and Science Fiction)

10/30 Unwind

11/01 Unwind

Read: Literature Circle Text

Week 12 Disability and the Body

11/06 Literature Circle Text of Choice (See first page of syllabus)

Bring: All of your book pages thus far to share in class.

11/08 Literature Circles

Book Bistro #4

Bring: Anything you need for your literature circle presentation.

Week 13 Disability and the Body

11/13 Literature Circle Presentations

Read: If You Could Be Mine

11/15 No Class (Ricki at NCTE) – Independent Reading and Work on Final Project

Thanksgiving Break; No Class; November 20-24, 2017

Week 14 The Politics of Adolescence

11/27 If You Could Be Mine

11/29 If You Could Be Mine, Skype with Sara Farizan

Read: The Hate U Give

Graduate Students: Paper Due Next Class

Week 15 Adolescents as Agents

12/04 The Hate U Give

Bring: Your completed Reading Portfolio

12/06 The Hate U Give

Book Bistro #5

Week 16 Final

12/11 Final Exam Presentations

Books to Deepen Our Understanding of the Countries on the #MuslimBan List

February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 by Ricki

In order to understand something, I read, read, read. For I believe that in order to understand the dignity, the passions, the humanity of others, we have to imagine ourselves in their skin. It is my hope that sharing these books will encourage others to deepen their understandings of other people and cultures. I breathe books, so this is my method for deepening my own understanding, but please share other approaches that have worked for you.

1. Iran

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

This stunning text tells the story of two teenaged girls who are in love in Iran. I was mesmerized by its beauty and couldn’t wait to share it with others.

2. Iraq

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

This is an incredibly powerful book about a young man from Harlem who goes to war in Iraq. Initially, when I created this list, I intended to feature characters and authors who are from each of the countries on the #MuslimBan list, but this particular book vividly features the country and is a wonderful read.

3. Libya

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar

This is a difficult text to read because it features complicated issues. It is told from the perspective of Suleiman, a 9-year-old boy who lives in 1979 Libya.

4. Somalia

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I have not read this book, but it is coming my way through the Interlibrary Loan! An excerpt: “Infidel shows the coming of age of this distinguished political superstar and champion of free speech as well as the development of her beliefs, iron will, and extraordinary determination to fight injustice.” I can’t wait to read it!

5. Syria

In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa

This is a second book that I have on Interlibrary Loan, and it looks fantastic. The reviews note that it is dark, gritty, and eye-opening. I will report back after I’ve read it!

6. Sudan

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Many of the readers of this blog know this book quite well. It is This book is based on the true story of Salva Dut, a Lost Boy of Sudan. I know several teachers who do Water for South Sudan challenge with their students. This sort of advocacy is incredibly empowering.

7. Yemen

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

A friend told me about this book. She said it changed her. I have asked her to borrow her copy. In the meantime, I will share an excerpt: “I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

I have read four out of seven of these books, and I am looking forward to diving into them all. I will never claim to be an expert, and I don’t believe that reading books that feature other countries will make me an expert. It will, however, help me better understand humanity. If you’ve read any of the books above, please comment, as I hope this can be a place for us to share books with each other. I would love any suggestions of other texts featuring these countries!

With the exception of Walter Dean Myers (who writes about an American who goes to Iraq), I intentionally chose texts that are written by authors who are from the countries they write about. This list is in no way exhaustive—reading one book set in one country most obviously will not help us understand the experiences of all (or even most) of the people who live there. It will, however, give us one snapshot of one life.

Unleash Your (and Your Students’) Inner Reader

February 5, 2016February 5, 2016 by Kellee

When I entered my first EdCamp in late January. First, let me tell you how much I loved the experience! It was a PD run by, led, and created by teachers. You were able to choose your breakout sessions and there was such a variety!

I, personally, hadn’t planned on presenting. I wanted to just lurk and see what EdCamp was like. But then Dr. Beth Scanlon, my Adolescent Literature teacher from UCF and reading coach at a local high school, and Lee Ann Spilanne, a friend and language arts teacher at a local high school, came to me and said the words that I could not resist: Share your love of reading. With those words, I jumped in and signed up to present.

I decided to focus on the two things that I get asked the most by other teachers: How do you read so much? & How do you get your students to read so much? Since they go hand-in-hand, I thought it was a perfect thing to talk about. This is what I shared:

1. Stop reading books you do not enjoy!

Stop it. It isn’t worth it. There are millions of books out there. Books you will enjoy. Find some of them and pick them up and devour them and love them. Then share them!

2. Stop making your students read books they don’t enjoy!

Stop it. It isn’t worth it. There are millions of books out there. Books your student will enjoy. Help them find them and pick them up and devour them and love them. This is why you have to read–to help them find these books they’ll love. One of the things I do with my students is have them fill out an interest inventory and book survey at the beginning of the year to help get to know them. This allows me to give specific recommendations to each of them from the very first week. And if they don’t like a book? Let them stop and move on.

3. Read books that you can share with your students.

This makes it so that your reading is two folds. Not only is it enjoyable to you, but it gives your reading a whole new purpose. You love being an educator, so reading for your job will give you even more motivation to pick up those books your students will love. Oh, and picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, and graphic novels are just so enjoyable! You’ll love them–you’ll see!

4. There is time to read.

I know this sounds harsh, but stop making excuses. If reading is a priority then there is time to read. All you have to do is set time aside. Just like you ask your students to do. My reading time is right before bed. Although I am not a perfect reader, and that is okay too! (see #6), I try to make daily reading a priority. Even if it is only 15, 20, or 30 minutes a day; there is time to read.

5. Join a reading community.

This is what really changed my reading life. I found my reading community which not only gives me other educators to talk about books with, but I also get recommendations of the best books to read. At first, I only joined Goodreads and began building more book knowledge, but then expanding my reading community came in three folds. First, I became active on Twitter taking part in chats like #titletalk and meeting educators from all over the world. They became my PLN (professional learning network). These “tweeps” have grown to become true friends, and I would not be the reader or educator I am without them. Second, I started blogging and launched It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where 30+ bloggers connect weekly and talk about what books they are reading and enjoying. Finally, I joined The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE where I found true advocates for adolescent literature. I then became active first serving on the Walden Award Committee and taking part in the workshop and now I am on the Executive Board and the Public Relations committee. All of this allowed me to become more involved in the best books for adolescents.

6. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

Did you not read on Monday? Did you take 2 weeks to finish a book because you were busy? Did you abandon the last 3 books you started? Yes? That’s okay! Whenever you start feeling down on yourself, just remember me saying: It is okay! It happens. We all have reading slumps! Just pick yourself up and keep going. It will end if you keep fighting it.

7. Have a classroom library.

Having a classroom library shows your students that reading and books are part of your class culture. When you walk into a room where walls are covered in books and bookshelves, you know where the priorities lie. From my own surveys with my students, I know that having a classroom library also helps my students read more than they do in other classes. They don’t have to worry about library due dates, they have the books right in their classroom, and they have a teacher that will help them find the right book for them. See some pointers I gave at NCTE in 2013 on building a classroom library here. I also shared the website, Booksource, that I use for inventorying and checking in/checking out books of my classroom library.

I’m going to be writing an entire post about the importance of a classroom library at a later date (and I’ll add the post link here) which was inspired by Sarah Anderson. On her blog, she explains how she creates and manages her classroom library as well as why not having a classroom library is not an option.

8. Allow time for independent reading and talking about books in your class.

This builds right off of #7. If you think reading is important, then allow time for it for your students just as you are allowing time for it in your life. Also, giving students time to talk to you or each other will really push their reading further!

9. Don’t force reading logs or book expectations on your students.

Don’t kill reading for them! No one is checking up on you or limiting what you read! Yes, I know, you have a college degree already, but think back to when you were a kid. Did you enjoy logging your reading? If someone told you you couldn’t read your favorite book, how would you have reacted?

See Ricki’s post about lexiles and reading levels to learn more about why trying to calculate the complexity of a text using a mathematical equation is madness.

10. Have fun!

This is the most important thing! Reading is supposed to be enjoyable–let it be.

Happy reading!

Text Sets for Teachers: 7 Days of Teachable Ideas!

December 25, 2015December 15, 2015 by Ricki

Over the course of the next seven days (excluding Saturday and Monday), we will be shaking things up at Unleashing Readers. We are excited to feature seven incredible text sets created by seven phenomenal pre-service teachers. These teachers are remarkably creative and clever, and their text sets were chosen to be featured on our site because we thought their ideas would be useful to you.

Each day we will feature a different theme with a different anchor text. We are hoping that you can either use their ideas or adjust the text set to fit your needs. The themes of these text sets apply to a wide variety of texts that teachers use each day in their classrooms. Additionally, the anchor texts are popular. We believe that an important part of teaching is sharing with others. We hope you enjoy their hard work!

The Text Sets

Wednesday, December 16
Growing Pains: Looking at the Subject of Coming of Age by Andrew Johnson
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Anchor Text)

Thursday, December 17
What is a Hero?: Exploring the Concept of the Hero by Lara Hawley
The Odyssey by Homer (Anchor Text)

Friday, December 18
Prejudice: Is It Something We Can Control? by Brenna Conrad
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Anchor Text)

Sunday, December 20
The Power of Words: Witnessing the Impact of Words by Kelly Markle
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Anchor Text)

Tuesday, December 22
Finding the Line: Defining What is “Good” by Alexandria Bottelsen
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Anchor Text)

Wednesday, December 23
Good vs. Evil: Exploring Morality Through the Holocaust by Kellie-Anne Crane
Night by Elie Wiesel (Anchor Text)

Thursday, December 24
Gender’s Lens: Society’s Views and Expressions of Gender by Jack Dunn
Everyday by David Levithan (Anchor Text)

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Two Year Blogiversary: Ricki and Kellee Check-in

July 20, 2018June 24, 2015 by Kellee

It has officially been 2 years since we launched Unleashing Readers!!

To celebrate our blogiversary, we thought it’d be fun to do some revisiting. Today we are going to visit with each other to learn more about our literary, educational, professional, and parental journeys! We each came up with a handful of questions, and we cannot wait to see how the other responds to them!

Kellee

1. How has your job changed since you have become a reading coach?

The main goal of my job has not changed at all. I still work with students to help them find the books that they are going to connect with. The difference is found in the specifics. I no longer am teaching intensive reading (struggling readers). I coach and work with the other three reading teachers in my school. Each of those teacher’s students are allowed to come visit my classroom library where I try to work with each student who comes in to find the best book for them. In addition to continuing our struggling readers’ literacy growth, I am in charge of helping my reading teachers with instruction, interventions, and data analysis. Because of every course having an end-of-course exam, I am not able to do pull-out intervention anymore, so instead I work with the teachers to ensure interventions are being implemented in the classroom.

In addition to coaching, I am still teaching my yearbook class, coaching Future Problem Solvers, and they added an advanced reading class for me last year.

2. What are you aspirations for the next year of the blog?

I would really like to work on our Navigating Literary Elements pages and try to add even more than we did this week. I think it is so important for teachers to have a go-to place to help them decide which texts will best suit their needs. I think it is essential to really flesh out these pages to make our blog even more of a resource for teachers.

3. What is one special reading moment you’ve had with Trent?

Trent loves books! I am so glad that I began reading to him as early as I did because he knows how special books are.

One of my favorite memories includes the book Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton. If you don’t know it, go listen to it here for free 🙂

This is one of Trent’s go-to books (if you follow the blog, you know that he has a handful of favorites, and it is really tough to get him to read anything else; however, he loves those books so much!). We have read/sang this book probably a hundred times already. One day, Trent grabbed it just as he usually does, but this time he began turning pages himself, pausing, and saying, “Bob, Bob, Bob” and other words/sounds as he read to himself. It was magical, so cute, and just wonderful. His first independent book of choice!

One of Trent's many times reading Fifteen Animals. — One of Trent’s many times reading *Fifteen Animals*.

4. What is your favorite teaching memory?

This one is the one that stumped me. I have so many amazing memories! I am going to share two recent wonderful things then probably my favorite collective teaching activity (this answer is going to be long!).

My advanced reading class this year was not a class that students chose to be in. It ended up with 8 students who had no where else to be (plus 4 that did ask to be put in after the year started). This can make for quite a tough go of it because some of the students would have rather been in any other class next to a class where they were going to be forced to read. There was one student in particular that fought me most of the year. He is so smart, but didn’t always choose to work to his ability. He also was one of the few students (since I’ve started being an advocate for independent reading) who I could not get to read or grow a love of reading. He was tough. But then two things happened. 1) The Crossover; 2) A yearbook message. In May, he read The Crossover and he said to me that he now understood why people read independently. He connected so much with Josh and couldn’t stop talking about the book. Then, at the end of the school year, this student wrote in my yearbook one of the nicest messages that I’ve gotten. With the way we butted head, I would have never assumed that by the end of the year he would appreciate it. He thanked me for never giving up on him.

This year also marked my third year of students graduating from high school. This graduating class is especially special because many of the students who graduated were in my class all three years of middle school (and many others for one or two years). I know a lot of the seniors. These students graduating also meant I could become Facebook friends with them! Many of these students are ones that I want to be in touch with for the rest of our lives, so as soon as they requested, I accepted. Last Monday, on my birthday, these new students wrote well wishes on my wall, but one stood out in particular: “Happy birthday to the greatest teacher I’ve ever had!!! Hope you have a wonderful day Mrs. Moye 😊” Wow! A student who graduated from an IB high school just said I was the greatest teacher she ever had. That really blew me away (and made me tear up).

As for my favorite classroom memory, I love having students Skype with Eliot Schrefer and/or interview Ginny Rorby. This blows students’ minds because most of them have never interacted with an author. I think it is so important to have students learn about the process of writing, background for the books, and have a chance to ask questions that they have about the book. This is an experience unlike any they had have before. (Interviewing Ginny in addition to our Center for Great Apes field trip really is a special thing as well.)

Skyping this year and two years ago:

Phone interview two years ago: IMG_20130531_132742

5. What is one book that is special to you?

giver

By far the most special book to me is The Giver. I remember reading it when I was 12 and having my mind blown. The Giver made me realize how lucky we were to have art, love, music, family, books, memories, etc. I looked at the world differently. These things weren’t something I should take for granted–they are something we are blessed to have as part of our life because it can be taken away by the snap of a government official’s finger. Even now, as an adult, I cherish each of the things that Jonas didn’t have will all my heart.

Ricki

1. Can you tell us a bit about your doctorate program and what point you are at?

I am in the Curriculum and Instruction Department, and my focus is English Education. My long-term goal is to teach preservice teachers and conduct research in English Education. I am particularly interested in young adult literature and multicultural education. I just took my comprehensive exams and have moved from being a doctoral student to a PhD Candidate. Technically, this means that the doctoral student doesn’t need to take more classes, but I love taking classes, so I am going to enroll in at least two more courses. As long as my dissertation proposal passes, this upcoming year, I will be out in schools conducting my dissertation research. The following year, I hope to write up my research and defend my dissertation. If any bloggers/readers are interested in learning more about doctoral research, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It has been a really fun, life-altering ride for me. I absolutely love it.

2. What teacher inspired you the most?

This is a two-part answer for me. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but my 8th grade language arts teacher (Mr. Goffin) urged me to teach English language arts instead of mathematics (my initial plan). He always pushed me to do my best in school, and I am forever grateful that he steered me in the English language arts direction.

My current doctoral advisor (Wendy Glenn) has this magic about her. She makes her students want to be incredible teachers. We always joked that we should buy bracelets that say “What Would Wendy Do?” When I was teaching high school, I often heard her voice in the back of my head. Specifically, she guided me to become more involved in the professional/research/service realm, and eventually, she planted the seed that I should consider going back to school for my doctoral degree. If you’ve met her at NCTE, ALAN, or elsewhere, you will know what I mean when I say that she has this way about her that makes people want to do better and be better.

3. What is one special reading moment you’ve had with Henry?

Before Henry was born, I was reading books to my belly. I ached for him to enjoy reading. Thank goodness, it seems he loves reading as much as my husband and I do. One of my favorite moments was before he was crawling. He barrel rolled across the living room floor because he wanted to be closer to the bookshelf to pull down a book to read. He is 18 months old now. Every day (multiple times a day), he walks up to me and holds out a book. I pull him into my lap, and we read together, and nothing else in the world seems to matter.

4. What is a funny thing that Henry does?

Just one? That boy has me laughing all day long. When we eat dinner, he loves to “cheers” everyone’s glasses. If we are out at a restaurant, he holds out his sippy cup to people at other tables and often gets them to cheers glasses with him. He is a social butterfly. He learned how to kiss this week, and he can’t walk by our shiny fridge without kissing his reflection with a loud, “MWAH!”

5. What is a favorite book memory from childhood?

I know I did read books as a young child, but I don’t remember them at all. I most remember sitting on my grandfather’s lap as he blew smoke rings and told us Native American myths. He had a ruddy complexion and his red cheeks always stood out to me. That man wasn’t a people person, but he loved to tell stories. He was most happy when he was out at sea. My upper elementary school memories consist of me hiding books under the table and sneaking to my bedroom to read because I didn’t want to be social.

Make sure to check back tomorrow and Friday as we revisit two of our most popular posts and put a new spin on them!

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