When I was seven, my parents pulled me out of 2nd grade and decided to homeschool me and my siblings. Even though I was struggling to read and keep up in math, I liked school. I liked having a desk and my own pencil case. I liked eating lunch out of my My Little Pony […]
August
20
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME: We Belong In All Kinds of Stories by Mariama J. Lockington
posted by CBethM
August
19
Cover Reveal for KEEP IT TOGETHER, KEIKO CARTER by Debbi Michiko Florence
posted by CBethM
Do you remember your first heartbreak? I do. I was in the third grade. I had two best friends I did everything with – hanging out at recess and lunch and one another’s homes, reading together, watching our favorite TV shows, playing with dolls and stuffed animals. Then, I found out the two of […]
August
17
Ten Ways to Get Reluctant Adolescent Readers Reading by Sherri K. Wilcox
posted by CBethM
I teach high school English, grades 9-12, on a Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement (DAEP) campus. Talk about a tough audience! Many of my kids arrive at our campus with huge gaps in their education from skipping school, being suspended numerous times, or being placed in In-School Suspension repeatedly. They are in my classroom for approximately […]
August
16
“Don’t Exceptionalize Me” by Amy Watkins
posted by CBethM
“JASON REYNOLDS! is coming to NErDcamp! JASON REYNOLDS! is coming to NErDcamp, and I’m going!” is what I was hollering back in February when I registered for what I knew would be an amazing, teacher-soul sustaining, book laden professional development experience. For those of you who are not familiar with nErDcamp, it’s a two-day conference […]
August
14
Fantasy world-building through the lens of environmental science by Gabrielle Byrne
posted by CBethM
As a reader, there’s nothing more satisfying that falling into a new world where you can feel the bite of the wind, smell the soup cooking over the fire, and reach out and touch everything just as the characters do. Building those worlds can be daunting, but by observing nature we can learn how, and […]
August
13
Friendship by Mina Javaherbin
posted by CBethM
Grandma was my buddy! We hung out together, played together, and even got into trouble together. One thing we both loved was reading. Born over one hundred years ago in Iran, when fewer than 15 percent of the world population could read and write, my grandma was an avid reader. She read every day and […]
August
10
Creating a Reading Culture in the Classroom by Ann Hagedorn
posted by CBethM
When students walk into my classroom, I want them to see that I value reading and books and that my goal is for them to do the same. There is a sign that hangs in the front of my class that states, We read every day. I have a large classroom library that spans the […]
August
09
Ideas for Teaching Writing A Book Review by Carrie Rodusky
posted by CBethM
“Since we don’t know who young writers are going to become, when they are writing we should let them be whoever they are.” John Warner This quote may be finding its way into my upper elementary classroom this year; not only as a message for the students but also as a reminder to me, their […]
August
08
A Message My Sixteen-year-old Self Needed to Hear: Review of Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game (2019) by Abby Wambach – Review by Mandy Stewart
posted by CBethM
U.S. Women’s Soccer. The Ecosystem. Leadership. Bring these three seemingly disparate concepts together and you have Wolfpack, the book I wish 16-year-old me had read, yet my middle-aged self is now reveling. This is a crucial book that all of your high school students (male and female) should read by Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. […]
August
07
The Book That Readers Built by Chris Van Dusen
posted by CBethM
Sometimes I can be oblivious. Or maybe I just can’t take a hint. Or if I was to flatter myself, maybe I overthink things. I have a new book coming out this fall that I wrote and illustrated titled If I Built a School. It’s part of the “If I Built…” series which includes If […]
