My main goal each year as a teacher is to turn my 8th grade students into readers. I am a matchmaker of twenty-first century minds that are more interested in connecting to a good hotspot over texts that could quite possibly influence their lives. So how does an educator compete with all of the technological […]
Category Archives: Pay It Forward
October
04
SCBWI’s Third Annual Literacy Initiative Gives Books, Builds Dreams, and Offers Hope to Readers In Need
posted by CBethM
Children’s Book Creators Join Forces to Provide High Quality Books Plus a Literary Celebration for the MADISON READING PROJECT The members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators join forces once again as part of the organization’s 3rd Annual SCBWI Books For Readers book drive and literacy event to collect, curate, and […]
September
21
Creating and Maintaining a Classroom Library by Savannah Campbell
posted by CBethM
I’ll never forget Carson. Carson was in a library organized according to AR level. As the time for checkout dwindled down, he starting sobbing. There was a book he wanted to read, but it wasn’t his “color dot.” He felt he was unable to check out the Spiderwick Chronicles because it was different from the […]
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
03
Reading is a Forever Thing by Brooks Spencer
posted by CBethM
As part of a High School English conversation, a couple of teachers were overhead saying “My students won’t read outside the classroom, so there is no need to assign independent reading. It’s a waste of time.” They felt their classroom novels were enough. I don’t understand how you teach English without expecting students to read […]
July
27
Graphic Novel Geeks Only: Create Your Own After-School Club by Sarah FitzHenry and Megan Grant
posted by CBethM
If you’re a reading teacher, librarian, or parent, then you probably already know: graphic novels are all the rage. They’re fun to read, they’re deep and evocative, and they engage all kinds of readers at first glance. If you’re not convinced yet that graphic novels are real and worthwhile texts to bring into your classroom, […]
July
20
You Get a Book and You Get a Book and You Get a Book! by Liz Garden
posted by CBethM
There is a small part of me that always wanted to be Oprah or Ellen. It’s not because these ladies are so famous that we only need to use their first names to identify them. And it’s not because they probably don’t have to worry about choosing which bills to pay each month and which […]
June
24
20,000 Pennies: How a Book Club Transformed our School Community by Sarah FitzHenry
posted by CBethM
I stood in the middle of the room and listened to the sound of more than 20,000 pennies clinking and jingling around me. To my left, a fourth grade student helped her first grade buddy to count the nickels held in her sweaty palm (they had to start over after losing count at 12). To […]
June
22
Claire’s Day: Celebrating Young Readers by Julie K. Rubini
posted by CBethM
“Thank you for all you do,” the father said, with tears in his eyes. “You don’t understand what this award means to my daughter. She’s had it on her calendar for a month, crossing off the days counting down to Claire’s Day.” Nearly nineteen years ago, my ten-year-old daughter, Claire, gave me “just one more […]
