How I'm Starting the 2024-25 School Year

Good afternoon everyone,

Some of you have been back at it for weeks now while others, like me, are savoring the final moments of summer. In our district, teachers report tomorrow with students arriving on Tuesday, September 3. We’ve got this!

My hope is that all of you will find this week’s newsletter helpful, whether you’re preparing for week one or week four in the classroom. The goal is to share my updated back-to-school game plan — surveys, activities, writing prompts, AoWs, and much more. While you’ll recognize a bunch from Just Read It (on sale today!), I’ve made some adjustments and additions this summer. As always, feel free to take, tweak, or trash as you see fit, and be sure to reach out with any questions. And thanks for all that you do!

1. Student Interest Survey: Feel free to modify for your crew.

2. Student Reading Attitude Survey: Feel free to modify for your crew.

3. Book Tasting Activity: Students will spend time previewing books in our classroom library AND our school library. The primary goal: I want every student to find at least one book they’re excited to start reading ASAP. AND I want them to find others to add their TBR list (which has its own page in their notebook).

4. “The Books That Made Me”: After looking at examples from Dr. Amato (see below for two) and others that I’ve stumbled upon on Instagram, students will create their own “The Books That Made Me” grid (with 4 or 9 squares). We’ll then print and share with one another before displaying alongside their “Best 9” visual.

   

   Two different grids here -- one with 9 of my all-time favorites and the other featuring 9 of my favorite sports-focused books. Excited to share with students and to see what they come up with!

5. “This or That?” Debate/Discussion: It’s a great way to get students moving, talking, and writing from the jump. Let me know what I should add to this handout!

6. Sticky Note Posters: When it comes to setting classroom norms and expectations, one of my go-to activities is super simple. All we need are some chart paper and sticky notes (preferably in a variety of colors). We then discuss the following prompts:

   1. Our classroom should be _______ every day.

   2. In order to make our classroom great, I plan to . . .

   3. Dr. Amato can help us succeed by . . .

   4. Respect means . . .

   5. Reading is important because . . .

   6. Writing is important because . . .

7. Connections Challenges: For the Connections fans out there, you’re going to love this one! Last year, I had students work in groups to create their own Connections game. They came up with 4 words in 4 categories, then scrambled the 16 words in a 4 x 4 grid and brought it up to me. I quickly typed them up and displayed on the screen for the rest of their classmates to solve. Now, it’s even easier for everyone to play. Here’s a great blog post full of helpful tips and links.

8. Core Values & Classmate Conversations: Shout out to The Broken Copier for sharing the activity and slide deck! In addition to discussing their core values, students will also share their “Best Nine” and “Books That Made Me” grid with classmates.

9. Best Nine: Every December, there are digital apps that allow people to share their “best nine,” or nine most popular Instagram photos from the year. I decided to take that concept and turn it into a back-to-school assignment. This activity works great as a community-building activity and prewriting strategy for our “10 Things . . . ” letter. (Note: I need to update my “Best Nine” to include our latest addition, who is now a whole 12-weeks old. I also recommend using the PhotoGrid app!)

   

10. “Ten Things” Personal Essay: After reading this letter from Jason Reynolds, students will write their own version, which can be framed as a letter to me, their classmates, their younger/future self, and/or a specific person in their life. A slight tweak this year: I’m going to set guidelines for three of the 10 items.

    1. In one of their 10 items, I want students to examine their relationship with technology and social media. Healthy or unhealthy? Has brain rot set in? How many hours per day? How do they feel about their tech/social media use? What joy does it bring? What benefits does it provide? Any drawbacks?

    2. I also want students to reflect on their reading identity. Possible questions (from JUST READ IT) include:

       1. Who am I as a reader? What and why do I read? How would I

          characterize my reading identity?

       2. Who am I as a writer? What and why do I write? How would I

          characterize my writing identity?

       3. When and where do I prefer reading? What is my ideal reading

          environment? When and where am I most relaxed and comfortable?

          Are there are any specific places that come to mind?

       4. When and where do I prefer writing? What is my ideal writing

          environment? When and where am I most relaxed and comfortable?

          Are there are any specific places that come to mind?

       5. What individuals shaped the reader, writer, and person I am today?

       6. What literacy experiences/memories (positive or negative) stand out

          in my life?

       7. How have I changed (perhaps evolved or regressed) as a reader and

          writer? Why?

       8. How would I describe my relationship with reading and writing?

          What role do they play in my life?

       9. Why are reading and writing important to me?

    3. Finally, I want students to discuss their top core value(s) from our in-class activity (shared above) and why it is important to them.

    4. The other 7 items in the essay/letter are entirely student driven! And one final note — I’m planning to incorporate a mini-lesson or two on figurative language so that students can take their final drafts to the next level.

11. Email Etiquette: In their first official email of the year (after a brief email etiquette mini-lesson), students will share a bit about their reading journey and goals for the upcoming school year. Possible questions include: What should I know about you as a reader and writer? What book(s), author(s), and/or genre(s) are you most excited to read this year? What reading goals do you have for yourself? How can I best support you as a reader and writer? In your opinion, what makes a successful ELA class? What suggestions or ideas do you have?

12. Luca Scene Analysis: What makes a good story? That’s one of the questions we will explore throughout the year. Students will jot down their responses before walking around the room, sharing with classmates and adding to their lists. Then, we’ll debrief and watch one of my favorite scenes from Luca. With just one clip, we were able to review character, conflict, plot, setting, theme, dialogue, repetition, and more. Last year, students had a blast working in groups to create posters analyzing each literary element. You can check out a few examples here.

13. Article of the Week Text Set: Here are the three AoWs I’m excited to start the year with (and here’s an AoW refresher from last fall):

    1. “If You Know What ‘Brainrot’ Means, You Might Already Have It”

    2. “Let Kids Get Bored. It’s Good For Them”

    3. “Stop Multitasking. No, Really — Just Stop It.”

And here are some other AoWs to consider:

• “6 Scientific Reasons Reading is Amazing for your Health”

• “People Who Read Books Live Almost 2 Years Longer, Study Finds”

• “Read Books, Live Longer?”

• “Read a Novel: It’s Just What the Doctor Ordered”

• “Among many U.S. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows”

• “The Mental Health Benefits of Reading”

• “Where Are the People of Color in Children’s Books?”

• “How to be a Better Reader” (I think I’m going to save this one for January 2025…)

14. Project LIT Book Club Nomination Process: You can check out our complete list of titles here. Now, we need your help! What middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) books should we add to our collection?! What books are super popular with your middle and high school students? What books would y’all like to read, discuss, and celebrate together as a local chapter and/or national community? NOMINATE TITLES here! (More info to come soon!)

15. FREE LITERARY PEP RALLY WITH KWAME ALEXANDER: I felt like that needed to be in all caps, right? Join Kwame for a FREE Literary Pep Rally on September 17 at 1pm EST/ 10am PST. This 25-minute special event will celebrate the launch of Kwame's new book, Black Star, with a read aloud, special guest appearances, exciting announcements, and Q&A time. The Literary Pep Rally is free, but registration is required - grab a spot for your classroom today! And then be sure to book your spot for October 29, when Kwame will be joined by the one and only Jason Reynolds. (Bonus: Use the code PROJECTLIT50 for a $50 discount!)

16. UPDATES & REMINDERS:

    1. Project LIT Community: As a reminder, you can check out all of our 23-24 Project LIT selections (along with all of our previous picks) in one place. You can check out many of our graphics and links here. Thanks again to Rebecca A. for creating this fantastic slideshow, featuring all of the YA titles sorted by genre, to help students find their next read. And here are the most recent MG titles in one place (thank you, Stephanie!). If anyone decides to create additional Project LIT resources — please pass them along so that I can share with our community!

    2. Did you know that The Wild Robot movie will be released one month from today?! Could be a great option for your book club and/or Project LIT chapter. I think it may be my middle school chapter’s first selection this fall…

    3. JUST READ IT has been out in the world for six months, and it is officially (or perhaps unofficially?) an Amazon Top New Release and Corwin bestseller! Thanks again to everyone who continues to support the book and spread the word. I am appreciative of every Instagram post, every comment, every email, and every book review. This book continues to find readers because of y’all. You can order on Amazon or here (use the code RAVEN25 for 25% + free shipping.) Corwin has also shared an excerpt from the book; check out Chapter 1 here.

    4. If your school, district, or organization is planning a JUST READ IT book study or would like for me to deliver a keynote address and/or lead a workshop/PD session in 2024 or 2025, please reach out! Shout out to the PGCPS and LCPS educators I had the honor of meeting earlier this month. (Look forward to seeing many of y’all in Boston for NCTE’s annual conference in November!)

    I think that’s it for now. Wishing you and your students a wonderful school year. Please be in touch! And, as always, happy reading,

    Jarred