10th

High School Students Take on a Reader’s Bill of Rights

Ellie Gilbert revisits the “rights of readers” with her high school students,revising the list based on their habits and preferences.  The discussion leads to some surprising additions to the list of rights. This would be a fun activity to close out the school year, or to begin a summer program with children of almost any age.

Using Animated Short Films to Teach Inference

Here’s a problem many teachers share – students are far too literal when it comes to inferring while reading. Ellie Gilbert finds animated short films readily available on the web are a terrific tool for helping students move beyond literal interpretations of text.

No More Excuses: Reading Workshops in Nontraditional Middle and High School Settings

Think you don’t have enough time for reader’s workshop in your classroom? Worried that you don’t have enough books to go around? Feel like you just don’t have the space for it? What if you had students, but no classroom, no books, and no set class times? Ellie Gilbert faced down all these challenges in her nontraditional high school reading workshop.

One Book/Four Hands: Mentoring Younger Readers Using Picture Books

Paul Hankins describes the power of pairing high school and elementary students in a partner reading program.

Read Alouds for the Last Days of School

Choice Literacy readers share some of their favorite read alouds for the last days of school.

Literacy Keepsakes to Carry Home at the End of the School Year

Choice Literacy readers share their favorite gifts for students to make and take home at the end of the year.

Writing and Publishing Book Reviews with Middle School Students

What teenager doesn't enjoy critiquing everything in the world? Erin Ocon puts that judgmental passion to good use in her classroom with a book review assignment.

More Literacy Keepsakes to Carry Home at the End of the School Year

Choice Literacy readers share more of their favorite end-of-year gifts for students to make and take home.

Beginning with the End in Mind: Planning Ahead for Closing Activities

Choice Literacy readers share their favorite end-of-year activities that circle back to events from the start of the school year.

Pencil Plans

The care and use of the lowly pencil in classrooms says a lot about what we value and our relationships with students.

Read Alouds for the First Day of School

Choice Literacy readers share their favorite read alouds for the start of the year.

A District Film Festival: Giving Kids An Authentic Audience for Their Work

Lights, cameras, and even a red carpet!  Bill Bass documents how a film festival brought high school teachers and students together, with a strong focus on connecting district goals and standards to the fun projects.

Characters I Know Too Well

Books with themes of sexual abuse may be the most difficult for many of us to grapple with, if only because the issue horrifies us. Yet for some abused teens, a book may be the needed catalyst for breaking their silence about what's going on outside school.  Andie Cunningham shares an annotated booklist on this tough topic.

Sarcasm Is a Useful Teaching Tool — NOT

How does sarcasm hurt students? Heather Rader counts the ways.

Getting and Giving Student Feedback

How can we help students be more reflective in our classrooms, giving us the feedback we need to make them better places for learning? Heather Rader has suggestions.

Designing Comprehension Constructors: Helping Adolescent Learners Develop Reading Strategies (E-GUIDE)

Comprehension constructors are a terrific tool for helping teens record their understanding.

The Read-Around: Raising Writers

If there was a centerpiece to teaching writing that also brought students closer together, wouldn't you want to know about it? Read on about the Read-Around.

Common Core Conversations: Increasing Argumentative Writing

Teachers continue to puzzle over and sort through the terminology in the Common Core related to opinion and persuasive writing. Amanda Adrian and Heather Rader consider terms and teaching strategies.

Panels and Pages: Using Graphic Novels in the High School Classroom

Gretchen Schroeder bolsters her students’ reading lives and deepens discussion about theme by using the rich graphic novel They Called Us Enemy as a whole-class read with her high school students. Gretchen shows how teachers can support students in deep literary analysis.

The Hermit Crab Essay: Finding a Shell to Share a Vulnerable Story

Gretchen Schroeder introduced the hermit crab essay as a creative nonfiction genre to her high school students. What began as an intriguing writing invitation led to realizing that students want to process these events through writing and that the hermit crab essay gives them a way to do so that is less daunting than just a blank page. 

Setting the Room for Collaboration

Gretchen Schroeder offers advice on how to arrange a high school classroom for collaboration.

Criteria for Success

Jen Vincent shares how to create a Criteria of Success to clearly define expectations for assignments and give students independence in self-assessment.

Using Fiction Writing to Change Attitudes About Writing

Katherine Sokolowski encourages teachers to take time for students to individualize the writing process and enjoy fiction writing by engaging in National Novel Writing Month. Download the story bible as a place for students to plan their stories.

Field Experience: Book Talks to Empower Independent Reading

Moving from Whole-Class Texts to Independent Reading: Characterization

Gretchen Schroeder offers a starting point to help her high school students prepare to write an in-depth character analysis essay.

Quick Take: Special Library Shelves

Christy Rush-Levine shares a few special shelves in her classroom library.

Shake It Up: Active Learning Strategies That Engage Students

When Gretchen Schroeder found herself wanting to make her lessons fun and enjoyable, she realized she was focused on trying to entertain and dazzle rather than facilitate learning. She offers three ways to help students be active learners through conversations, reflection, and collaboration.