As we say goodbye to the year, and with Christmas just around the corner, we thought we would share some of our favourite middle level, young adult, and picture book titles from 2020!
MIDDLE LEVEL READS:
YOUNG ADULT:
PICTURE BOOKS:
Oh, the great debate on learning to spell! Here is what we know: memorization alone by writing the word repeatedly is not the answer. We have come along way from the days of spelling tests and spelling bees to the advantage of all our learners. One thing we do know is that words are tricky and, while it is important for students to learn to spell, we must do better. As educators, we need to change our thinking and teach our students strategies to learn to spell words.
Miriam Trehearne is a bestselling author and has written several teacher’s resource books for Grades K-5. In her Grades 1-2 Teacher’s Resource Book, Miriam shares the importance of supporting students in what they know about a particular word, identifying what is tricky about the word and a strategy to help support the students in remembering the word.
Miriam, suggests that guiding students when asked, “Teacher, how do you spell….” with questions such as, “Show me what you know about the word,” or asking “How does it start,” encourages students to practice effective spelling strategies and allows teachers to coach their students to use the spelling prompts they have learned as they attempt to write the word.
Here is a great visual that Miriam provides in the teaching resource on page 226 that you can provide for your students to support them in their spelling:
Lucky Stars by Aron Nels Steinke is the third book in the series Mr. Wolf’s Class. Steinke teaches 5th grade and was inspired by the everyday goings on in his own class. This series of books features the same animal characters that students are sure to see themselves in or their classmates.
In Lucky Stars, Mr. Wolf’s students are writing personal narratives and Sampson is struggling to think of any events in his life worth writing about until one morning, he and Margot take a bike ride and he has an accident that lands him in the hospital. After that he thanks his lucky stars that he’s going to be okay and has a sensational personal narrative to write.
Written as a graphic novel Lucky Stars is recommended for students from grades 2 to 5 and for those who enjoy realistic fiction with some great humour!
Jennifer Seravallo’s The Literacy Teacher’s Playbook Grades K-2, 3-6 sheds a new light on turning assessment data into goal-direct instruction. Often we rely so heavily on formal products such as assignments, benchmark assessments, or exit slips that we forget to use the moment in many everyday opportunities to gather information to help guide our instruction. One way to triangulate data is to pay particular attention to the conversations going on in our classrooms.
Jennifer suggests that “student conversations give teachers a window into student’s understanding… by transcribing these conversations and reflect on them through the lens of comprehension we are able to reveal what a student understands or doesn’t understand.” Jennifer also reiterates how essential, “It is that we provide opportunities across the day for our students to engage in meaningful conversation: about topics of importance to the classroom community, a bout books read together as a class and independently with partners and clubs, about their writing, about math, and so on. As students speak and listen, it’s just as important for us as teacher to listen and assess.
One tool Jennifer uses to record whole class conversations is by drawing a quick sketch of a circle with students initials placed in reference to where they are seated around the circle. As the conversation takes place in her class, Jennifer takes notes about what the students are doing, records who speaks and who stays silent (note the check marks around the circle in the diagram below) and includes a brief transcription of what was said. Jennifer “uses these notes as assessments from which to craft goals and develops teaching and learning opportunities for students.”
Here are two samples shared in The Literacy Teacher’s Playbook:
Engagement inventories are a quick strategy you can try tomorrow in any grade!
Writing takes practice. As teachers we place great emphasis on building students’ reading stamina and yet when it comes to writing we assume students will write independently for extended periods of time without becoming distracted or giving up. If students must practice stamina for reading, why not do it for writing as well?
Early in the year many teachers find their entire class lacks writing stamina and for those who struggle to get words on the page, building writing stamina is paramount in helping students communicate their ideas.
Try these 3 simple strategies to help your students get their thoughts down on paper.
Quick Writes
Students write daily for several minutes without stopping. If a student gets stuck or runs out of ideas, they are encouraged to write the last word written over and over until ready to move on. When the timer goes off, students are asked to finish their last sentence. If students are successful in writing for the entire time, increase the amount of time up to about 10 minutes. Students need not worry about spelling as they are simply to write as much as they can in the time allotted. Some teachers have students count the number of words written and notice the increase over time.
Below are a few simple prompts to get you started:
A quick google search will glean many more for you to use.
Story Cards for Fiction Writing
Engagement often increases when writers make up their own imaginative stories. Make cards for each of the following story elements: setting, characters, and conflict. Write down multiple places, different roles or people, and various problems.
Choose one of each of the three cards and have students write a story based on the setting, character or characters, and conflicts chosen. You will find some ready made on TPT!
Free Writing
Allowing students time to write in whatever genre or form they want is a sure way to increase writing stamina. Some teachers designate a journal or notebook specifically for this purpose. A set time each day is dedicated to free writing. It is not intended that the writing generated be graded but students may want to tag a page for you to read or to be shared with classmates.
What I Am Reading
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat tells the harrowing tale of what happened to the Wild Boars soccer team in Mae Sai, Thailand in June 2018. It is “a unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.” (amazon)
This is how the first chapter opens:
What Moves I Notice the Author Making:
Possibilities for Writers:
As a shared writing activity (or a quick write), invite students to emulate this author’s craft moves…
On the _______________________________ of ____________________, it sounds like a typical Saturday morning:
The _________________of _________________________________________.
The _________________of _________________________________________.
The _________________of _________________________________________.
Here is a class’s shared writing version:
In the woods in the middle of nowhere, it sounds like a typical Saturday morning:
The crunch of leaves under your feet.
The crack of branches as you push your way through the underbrush.
The sharp ring of the gunshot echoing through the woods.
Try it out!