March Update
More WRAP Prompts/Cards, 5-Minute PIES Project, AoWs, March Madness Ideas, and More
Good afternoon everyone,
Happy Sunday, and Happy March. Spring is near :)
Lots to share in this update (and I’ve only got 30 minutes before the little guy wakes up from his nap), so let’s get right to it:
I’m excited to share more WRAP prompts/cards with y’all! Here are 48 WRAP cards that encourage students to reflect on their reading identity. Feel free to download, print, and laminate before sharing with all of the book people in your life. Great conversation starters for the classroom, of course, but also for your book clubs. (I may even keep a set at home so that I can chat with my four-year-old about our reading.)
And, in case you missed the previous update, here’s the first set of 48 WRAP prompts/cards that address dozens of lit standards and concepts. The cards work in a whole bunch of ways, whether it’s in response to a self-selected text (following our independent reading time), whole-class read (such as The Outsiders), or a book-club pick (we just used them during our lunchtime discussion of A Rover’s Story earlier this week). Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you end up using them! And, as always, let me know if you have any questions.
We just wrapped up our whole-class read of The Outsiders — I shared a bunch of resources in the previous update but please reach out if you have any questions!
Over the next two weeks, I’m excited for us to complete our PIES Projects, culminating in a celebration (and feast) on Friday, March 13 (as close to Pi Day as we can get this year). Let me know if you have any questions — happy to put together a quick video explaining the entire process/unit.
In the spirit of “How To . . .”, I’m going to have students select three more of the 30 possible “How To . . .” texts to read and analyze (all but the first one are from the NYT, either from their professional writer or student contest winners). I’m also going to have students find a credible source — text and/or video — to help with their PIES project. (I’ll be tweaking this document from last year.)
As a reminder, here’s a potential Article of Week “sequence” for the 25-26 school year, which includes thematic text sets/mini-units (pages 1-2) along with standalone articles and debate topics (page 3). I’m excited to get into our “March Madness” mini-unit later in the month (the week of 3/16), which leads to the next item . . .
For those looking for “March Madness” ideas and inspiration, check out last year’s update. I’m grateful for a PD day on March 16 to get everything prepped :)
This week, we’ll also be prepping for a quiz focusing on our most recent set of Greek/Latin morphemes (Poly-Sent/Sens) and punctuation (commas, colons, semicolons, hyphens, dashes, apostrophes, etc.).
ONE MORE BIG ASK that I wanted to repeat here: I’m THRILLED to announce that Project LIT Community will be returning in a big way for the 2026-27 school year. So much has changed since my Maplewood HS students and I launched Project LIT in the fall of 2016. But in many ways the work remains the same: to promote a love of reading, a love of literacy, in our classrooms, libraries, schools, and communities. More information to come soon (book lists, book clubs, Project LIT events and conferences, etc.) but in the meantime, I’d love your help with something that I’m hoping to roll out at my own middle school. What are the 50 books everyone should read by the time they graduate from middle school? And what are the 50 books everyone should read by the time they graduate from high school? NOMINATE BOOKS here! Thanks in advance for your help on this project! Think it’d be a powerful graphic and “challenge.”
Lastly, please let me know if your school, district, or organization is planning a JUST READ IT (use the code RAVEN25 for 25% off + free shipping) book study, or if you would like for me to deliver a keynote address and/or lead a workshop or PD session. Feel free to share this letter with your school and/or district leaders. You can also contact Authors Unbound (requests@authorsunbound.com) to arrange a speaking engagement and view my speaking profile here. I love connecting with fellow educators and supporting/strengthening your team’s literacy efforts, and it’d be an honor to collaborate.
Here’s to warmer, sunnier days in the days and weeks ahead.
Jarred