As I sit on my porch reflecting on the last 172 days, I seem to be “stuck” in thought about the state of education and where we currently are in the realm of assessment. In my district, the “focus” seems to be the MCA (Minnesota Comprehension Assessment) and other district testing. We are data […]
Category Archives: Pay It Forward
July
22
Leading with Reading or How I Found a Career that Nurtured my Book Addiction by Liz Garden
posted by CBethM
I have discussed my book addiction with many different people. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? I know I have a problem. I just can’t say no to books. I guess there are worse problems I could have. I have multiple to be read piles, yet I just signed up for […]
July
10
Other Duties As Assigned by Emily Visness
posted by CBethM
Summer is here, and as the weeks of shuttling my kids to swim team practice, swim meets, and for-fun swimming consumes many of my waking hours, I also spend time chipping away at my enormous “To Be Read” list. Like many readers, my TBR list is an ever-growing mountain, and each time I read one […]
July
08
Authors’ Advice for a Better Writing Life: Read Widely by Marci Glaus
posted by CBethM
In an attempt to capture the recursive, complex, messy process we call writing, I started asking authors from my state to do something extremely awkward. I asked them to allow me, and sometimes a small crew, to enter into their personal writing space to film them while they were writing. I also asked them talk […]
July
03
#classroombookaday & The Power of Shared (Picture Book) Stories by Jillian Heise
posted by CBethM
It started with inspiration from Donalyn Miller, as many great things do. It started three years ago with a few extra minutes of class time, and thinking about how best to use them. It started with lamenting that I wasn’t sharing enough picture books with my students, and their request for more. It started with […]
May
29
Sharing the Wealth by Sarah Haywood
posted by CBethM
Although I had absolutely no idea at the time, I know now that I grew up in a house of privilege. We were not “rich” by any means, but we had an entire wall in the family room with bookshelves filled and overflowing. Both of my parents were avid readers and learners, and there’s no […]
May
25
Reframing “Pieces” in Three YA Novels: Gabi, Girl in Pieces, Girl in Pieces, All in Pieces by Sarah J. Donovan
posted by CBethM
As I scroll through the nearly two hundred poems and comments teens wrote today, I know that I am at once reading into pieces of their existence and all of who they are in the moments they composed the verse. They are at once complete and partial. Some would say such pieces are the nature […]
May
16
Moon Shadow and the Magic of Author-Teacher-Student Collaboration by Erin Downing, Jason Lewis, and Lynn Flynn
posted by CBethM
Today’s Nerdy post is a joint essay from an author and two teachers about editorial collaboration. We wanted to share an example of how authors, teachers, and students can work together for mutual benefit. Our hope is that by writing this post, other authors and teachers might connect to create similar experiences for more student […]
I Found It! Using the “It” Factor in Booktalks by Amanda Sass-Henke
posted by CBethM
Anyone can share a book by stating the title and author, reading an excerpt, or sharing a glimpse into the plot, but booktalks require more than the basics. There’s an art to selling a book, and it requires the booktalker to capitalize on the “it” factor. In a booktalk, the “it” factor is an appealing […]
May
03
Cultivating a Reading Community Through Conferences by Stacey Riedmiller
posted by Colby Sharp for
On Sunday night, Stacey Riedmiller hosted a live Facebook event on the Nerdy Book Club Facebook page. We took that video and uploaded it to YouTube so that people that were not in attendance could check out what Stacey had to say. We hope this video brings you value. Stacey Riedmiller is a Floating 4t Teacher in […]
