Leigh Anne Eck
Leigh Anne Eck has been teaching for 13 years and currently teaches 6th grade at George Rogers Clark Middle School in Vincennes, Indiana. She is passionate about connecting her students with books and helping teachers believe they are writers. She shares her reading, writing, and teaching life on her blog A Day in the Life and on Twitter @Teachr4.
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Writing to Learn
Leigh Anne Eck shares how her middle school moved away from essay writing in all content areas and prioritized three writing strategies: sentences, summaries, and quick-writes as low-stakes writing tasks.
Writing About Reading: A Search for Authenticity
In this powerful essay, Leigh Anne Eck challenged herself to read a complex text and discover the authenticity of writing about reading. She transferred her experience to create meaningful opportunities for her students as they write about their own independent reading.
Girls’ Sports Books
Leigh Anne Eck noticed a gap in her library when it came to books with athletic female protagonists. After discovering many titles to add to her own library, Leigh Anne compiled this booklist so we can all fill this gap in our classroom libraries.
Fluency Practice in Middle School
Leigh Anne Eck tackles fluency strategies with her middle school readers.
Building Vocabulary One Purple Word at a Time
Leigh Anne Eck shares one way to uplift word choice of middle school writers. Through a simple and responsive system, her students are growing their vocabulary, learning parts of speech, and taking risks with more sophisticated word choice. All you need is a purple highlighter and a willingness to celebrate student voices.
When Reading Practices Drift
When Leigh Anne Eck noticed her students’ reading practices weren’t as robust as she expected, she realized she was the one who had drifted away from key instructional practices. Leigh Anne offers several ways to support students in their independent reading lives.
Color Coding: An Organizational Strategy
Leigh Anne Eck gives advice to her middle school writers for collecting research notes.
Anchor Charts: A Tool for Every Classroom
Leigh Anne Eck reflects on the importance of anchor charts and the way they help students be more independent.
Six Journaling Ideas for Teacher Self-Care
Leigh Anne Eck offers six journaling ideas for those who have always wanted to keep a journal but think they just don’t have the time. Journaling is a healthy habit that leads to clarity and focus. Try one of these ideas today!
Exploring Rural Literature—A Middle-Grade Booklist
Leigh Anne Eck was named the Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year and shares the way she rethought her library through the lens of reflecting her students’ rural identity or revealing rural stereotypes. This middle-grade booklist is an excellent place for us all to begin expanding our classroom libraries.
Assessment in Classroom Book Clubs
In this third installment about classroom book clubs, Leigh Anne Eck shares options for robust assessment as well as answers to some frequently asked questions.
Three Strategies for Revising Informational Writing
Leigh Anne Eck gives three revision strategies for informative writing. She shares the key ideas to share with students, mentor sentences, student examples, and three favorite minilesson resources.
Implementing Classroom Book Clubs (Part Two)
In this second installment about book clubs, Leigh Anne Eck shares procedures for book club meetings, as well as discusses the importance of standards and instruction. Download a discussion guide.
Getting Started with Classroom Book Clubs (Part 1)
In the first installment of a three-part series, Leigh Anne Eck clearly lays out how to get started with book clubs. Included is an editable planning bookmark to give students more ownership of their reading schedules.
Create-Your-Own Reading Challenge
Leigh Anne Eck encourages students to create their own reading challenges to stretch their reading identities. Download the challenge to share with your students.
Novels in Verse (Booklist)
Leigh Anne Eck curates a fantastic booklist of novels in verse for middle-grade and young adult readers.
Opinions! Everybody Has One
Leigh Anne Eck shares a tool to help students develop their persuasive voices, build community, and expand their perspectives. Included is a download to put opinion journals to work in your classroom.
Secondary Readers Podcast
Leigh Anne Eck and Ruth Ayres discuss secondary readers.
Sensible Reasons to Use Student Reading Records
Leigh Anne Eck outlines sensible reasons for students to keep reading records. She considers guidance for book selection, data for teachers, and entry points for reading conferences.
Creating Places for Dialogue
Leigh Anne Eck cracks open why dialogue is important in narrative writing and where to place dialogue in a story. She includes student samples that show the power of this craft move.
End-of-Year Reflections Podcast with Leigh Anne Eck
Leigh Anne Eck provides a guide to customize an end-of-year reflection for students.
From Seed to Blossom
Leigh Anne Eck provides a guide to developing an End-of-Year Reflection for students to consider their own growth, as well as offer advice regarding curriculum and instruction.
When a Library Whispers
Leigh Anne Eck personifies her classroom library by sharing the lessons it whispers when we take the time to listen. This is a practical guide to keeping your classroom library timely and relevant.
Rethinking “Finding” the Central Idea
Leigh Anne Eck offers a step-by-step guide to help students build a central idea when it is implied in a nonfiction text.
Three Small Moves to Make a More Inclusive Classroom
Leigh Anne Eck reflects on three small moves she made to create a more inclusive classroom.
Rotation of the Classroom Library
Inspired by a closet clean-out, Leigh Anne Eck considers the way a seasonal rotation is also good for classroom libraries.
Building Online Writing Groups
Leigh Anne Eck lists critical questions teachers might ask themselves as they build online writing communities where everyone is comfortable giving and receiving feedback.
Pulling Weeds
Leigh Anne Eck works to overcome years of student reliance on a reading incentives and rewards program by fostering reflection and intrinsic motivation with her sixth graders.
Middle-Grade Mental Health Booklist
Leigh Anne Eck shares an important booklist for middle-grade readers on mental health topics and with characters navigating mental health struggles.
