#2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. We chat every Tuesday night at 8 pm EST using #2ndaryELA. We'd love for you to join us!
A1: Create brief moments of genuine connection with all students. Keep track of who I've connected w/ using a clipboard. Small interactions -- before class, after class, during independent work. Payoff in credibility comes over time. #2ndaryELA
A1: It starts the moment I greet them at the door. From day one I work to establish an open door policy that this classroom is a safe harbor for students. Plus a warm smile goes a long way especially middle school. #2ndaryELA
A1: I also casually ask students questions - the kind that show interest in their lives. Just today I found out my 9th grader babysits her older sister's son many nights. #2ndaryela
A2 I'm starting the year with a reading survey and spending a lot of time introducing my classroom library and getting input from my students about the kind of books that should be added #2ndaryELA
A2: I talk about how we are all a team - a team that has stamina, a team that can tell the difference between not knowing and not knowing YET. #2ndaryela
A2: I'm careful not to overlook the power of a large quantity of reading and writing to produce reader/writer identities over time. And I also frequently use phrasing like, "People like us do things like this." #2ndaryELA
A1: I sent hand-written post cards to all of my students. I also spend the first couple of weeks getting to know each other instead of worrying about content. #2ndaryELA
A2 cont we'll start class each day with independent reading, ending with a status of the class, and I hope to conference with students weekly. #2ndaryELA
A2 cont I also have some special events related to reading I'll do once a trimester: book tasting, blind date with a book, reading in the wild #2ndaryELA
A2: I love asking sts what they are passionate about. Most often, reading/writing aren't on the list, so I then try to make the connection between their passions and what they could read #2ndaryela
A2: Getting students exploring new text through book talks, recommendations, library scavenger hunts, etc. Also will be using @LindaRief "The Quickwrite Handbook" to foster and develop students individual writing styles aka “thinking and inking” #2ndaryela
A3 I think the first step is to be open and teach students to be honest when something is hard. We work in chunking the text and summarizing those chunks to check for understanding #2ndaryELA
I like the library scavenger hunt idea, I have only done this in my classroom, but would love to expand so that sts have better understanding of what is available! #2ndaryela
A3: I speak with my students frequently about *purposeful and active* "reading to learn." (https://t.co/tUR5yNYdTv) Also, like to have them slow down when annotating to make sure that work is purposeful, too (https://t.co/XLoWSn8ae7). #2ndaryELA
A3: Then I try to connect my patterns to visuals as in "Just like you put a HAT on top of your head, you put a HAT on the top of your essay". #2ndaryela
I use a variety of strategies depending on text and sts. My favorite to start the year, though, is Clicks & Clunks. While reading, does the text click (make sense) or clunk (cause confusion) #2ndaryela
A3: Finding appropriate supports such as graphic novel adaptations & audiobooks during independent reading has been key especially for my intervention Ss. This allows them to continue to self-select the books they want to read w/o being confined to a specific level. #2ndaryela
A4 I'm thinking about doing a literary skills boot camp before we start the year to get students familiar with those terms before we jump into a whole class novel. For writing, using mentor texts, graphic organizers and checklists helps. #2ndaryELA
A4) Early assignments target specific skills or techniques we will revisit throughout the year. Also small assignments to get kids used to LMS #2ndaryELA
Totally agree, in my experience with striving readers! Many of my sts also really love novels in verse. Since the text isn't so dense, they aren't as intimidated to give it a try #2ndaryela
A4: Top key for efficacy is early wins at meaningful challenges. This looks different for each kid, so I try to create a variety of whole class learning experiences along the lines of reading, writing, speaking, knowledge-building, and argument... #2ndaryELA
A4 Cont: ...and with these experiences, clear instruction with frequent checks for understanding. So important for them to succeed in first month of school at something they didn't think that they could succeed at. #2ndaryELA
Lots of modeling & think alouds with strategies and texts. We also set a lot of personal reading goals, so sts can take responsibility for their rdg lives #2ndaryela
A4: We start with practicing skills in short, low-stakes situations. Ex: group discussions-Ss are provided discussion ?s prior & giving time to respond before meeting in small group. That way they an look back to their notes during discussion as needed. #2ndaryela
A5 students value reading when they see themselves reflected in a book. They value writing when they produce a piece of work that they are proud of and can share with others #2ndaryELA
A5: By modeling it. When students are reading, grab a book!! Students writing? Journal with them. Talk with students about your own challenges. Share about stories that touch your heart. Create a culture that makes reading a priority. #2ndaryela
A5: Build Connections is a great protocol for this. Simple tool for facilitating robust connections between students' lives and literacy. More on this strategy here: https://t.co/lIhROgImVo#2ndaryELA
