#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: To be honest, I didn't know what AOTW was until I saw the post for this chat; however, while I don't do it exactly like what I found over the last day or so, I do use this approach in my class ... #2ndaryELA
I use AOTW on a weekly basis. Every Day 3, we read an article that’s a max of 1000 words and they have to write a 10% summary on it focusing on word count, answer a keystone-style multiple choice question, and respond to a constructed response using info from text #2ndaryELA
A1: I have not been able to implement anything in a classroom yet, but I love the idea of an AOTW. I believe this method is a great way to improve students' critical thinking skills. I hope to incorporate it in my future curriculum #2ndaryela
A1: I do use a version of article of the week. I don’t do the annotations, but I assign them a weekly news article (usually from Newsela ) and they go through the process of finding important info and doing a paragraph response using strong verbs. #2ndaryELA
I use it because I’ve needed more non fiction in my classes - I used to be all fiction, all the time.. but now I tie in an NF article to what we are reading at the time. I like it because I can relate to it numerous times and kids make the connections. #2ndaryELA
My experiences have been awesome, but I’m worrying about repetitiveness. Some of the Ss are just knocking out responses and summaries - which is what I wanted but I’m worried about overkill. #2ndaryELA
A2 If I did it, I'd use a rubric or checklist to mark assignments. Creating a portfolio of responses and letting students choose their best at the end of a marking period might work too #2ndaryELA
A2: To manage the marking load I do not require a full essay each week. I scaffold the required output so that students learn 4 different output types. #2ndaryELA
A2: What about changing up the grading and asking for just their topic sentence? Or a piece of evidence? Or Why this information is important Q? #2ndaryela
Q2: My secret is I have a sheet that covers the summarizing and the responses in an organized fashion. Today, I graded 30 in a whole class period (40m). Once you find a method that works, it just becomes natural! #2ndaryELA
Q2: My secret is I have a sheet that covers the summarizing and the responses in an organized fashion. Today, I graded 30 in a whole class period (40m). Once you find a method that works, it just becomes natural! #2ndaryELA
A2: Although I'm not using the whole AOTW program, my students write summaries and reflections to the articles I've given. I use a completion system. I wan't the students to take risks and experiment instead of simply trying to give me what they think I want #2ndaryela
A3: I look for articles that either align with our current unit of study, teach a life lesson or are high interest. Here is a list of article places: https://t.co/4gbdI45hoS#2ndaryELA
I created a doc that is a mixture of several different ones I found online. The only heavy grading is a paragraph response, which doesn’t take long. #2ndaryELA
A2: part 2 That said, they must fully complete the assignments to get maximum points, but the looseness allows me to act as a reader when encountering their work instead of a grader #2ndaryela
A3: The internet is a great thing but my main sources are Twitter links that are apropos to what I’m teaching, CNN, Newsela (amazing), and just google searches on themes and main ideas from the texts we are reviewing already. #2ndaryELA
A4: Various websites have different levels of the same article like @Newsela - I usually read the article out loud and then provide a readable PDF so students should all be able to access the texts. #2ndaryELA
A3: I'm a reader and subscribe to New Yorker, NYT, The Atlantic, and Time, so I pull from those. My students have become fans of @NickKristof from NYT, so they actually ask for his op eds! #2ndaryela
A4: I have been compiling a Google Drive with articles I find on different subjects to use as mentor texts. They are of different complexities and subjects. It is going slowly... Eventually, I want to share them with the kids and let them browse. #2ndaryELA
A4: Since I don’t do the whole class annotation, many times, I will let students choose their own article from Newsela. So every single student may be reading something different. #2ndaryela
A4: I've recently been using NPR stories in my rotation and allow students to listen to the stories if they are struggling readers. I also allow students with dysgraphia to record their responses and share them with me #2ndaryela
Thank you, everyone, for letting me join and participate in this chat tonight. I admire every one of you, and I hope to be a great teacher, too! #2ndaryela
