Two community-building projects (and our book club picks!)

Happy Monday everyone,

Lots of good stuff happening in our classroom (and lots of incredible MG and YA books to vote for — see item #3), so let’s get right to it.

1. Two classroom projects to try this winter: The first — our interview project — has become a yearly staple. The second — our brand new, 5-Minute PIES project — was born while I held my youngest son for an afternoon nap. Here’s a brief overview:

   1. 5-Minute PIES: I want to give every person in our classroom a chance to share something they’re passionate about. Maybe they’re going to teach us how to juggle or how to do the dougie (okay, I just aged myself there). Maybe they’re going to share how to start a small business or how to make the perfect __________ (omelet? PB & J? paper airplane?). Maybe they’re going to show off their incredible baseball card collection or an original video game they designed. Maybe they’re going to explain how to get a book published (shameless plug: order your copy of Just Read It today) or how to solve a Rubix Cube (I’ve always wanted to learn this). When they’re ready – we’ll dedicate class time throughout January to research, prep, and practice – each student will get five minutes to share their PIES. (No, not real pies – unless, of course, they’re a baker. I hope we have a baker in our midst – or should I say mitts? Okay, I’ll see myself out now. . .) A passion or interest of theirs. An area of expertise or a skill. (See what I did there?) Or, if we want to go with a verb-centered acronym, students will present to the class (they can also record a five-minute video if that’s more their jam.) Some will choose to inform while others will opt to explain (or more likely, a combination of the two). And by sharing our gifts with one another, the hope is that we all become a little smarter, a little cooler, and a little more connected to one another. (See, there’s PIES again.) In all seriousness, I am so excited for us to begin this project. Will things change along the way? (Of course.) Will things go perfectly? (Of course not.) Will things go smoothly? (I certainly hope so.) The plan is to keep y’all updated on our progress, so that you can learn from our successes and failures and make this project even better. (We won’t be upset if you decide to send us some pies as a token of your appreciation.)

2. What I’m Reading: I’m 2-for-2 to start the year. I’ve devoured Randy Ribay’s Everything We Never Had and Percival Everett’s James — highly recommend both. Up next: Know My Name by Chanel Miller and Hoop Atlas by Kirk Goldsberry. Speaking of books…

3. We’d love your help finalizing our 2024-25 Project LIT Book Club Selections! Thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far — it is greatly appreciated. Here’s where we are in the process and how you can get involved right now:

   1. The plan is to add 25 Middle Grade (MG) and 25 Young Adult (YA) titles to our existing collection. After the first round of voting, we have selected our first 10 titles in each tier! The MG titles include: And Then, Boom!; Black Boy Joy; Finally Heard; Impossible Creatures; Kareem Between; Louder Than Hunger; Mid-Air; Out of My Mind Series; The First State of Being; and The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman. The YA titles include: Black Girl You Are Atlas; Brownstone; Everything We Never Had; Heir; Lunar New Year Love Story; Shut Up, This is Serious; The Black Girl Survives in this One; The Blood Years; This Book Won’t Burn; and Twenty-Four Seconds From Now. Now, it’s time to select 10 more in each tier. (And then one more round of voting for our final five.)

   2. Review our Middle Grade (MG) slideshow and our Young Adult (YA) slideshow — and be sure to share these slideshows with students as we continue to add titles to our 2025 TBR lists (and order for our classrooms and libraries)!

   3. Share and discuss with students, and then, when you’re ready, VOTE HERE by January 20! This round of voting will help us determine the next 10 MG and next 10 YA titles that will end up on our official list, and then we’ll follow up with one final ballot to determine the final five in each tier. Thanks again for your participation — keep your votes and feedback coming!

4. What should I “do” with the Project LIT book lists?! Here are a few places to start:

   1. Request copies from your local school or public library.

   2. Share the list with students & colleagues as we set goals for 2025 and add books to our TBR (To Be Read) lists.

   3. Work with students & colleagues to develop a “2025 Reading Challenge.” (Be sure to share anything you come up with!)

   4. Create a classroom/library “wish list” and share with friends/family.

   5. See if your school has any room in the budget for a book order.

   6. Meet with your Project LIT chapter (or survey your students) to identify 3-4 titles to read as a club/class.

   7. Create a beautiful bulletin board display (again, be sure to share and tag us!)

5. Article of the Week: To start the year, we read and discussed, “‘Brain rot’ named Oxford Word of the Year 2024." Regular readers of this newsletter will recall that we read about “brain rot” earlier this year as part of our first unit, “Coming of Age in an Algorithmic Age.” And last week, we dug into “How to Be a Better Reader”. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss and debate a wide range of topics (pro/con essays pulled from the New York Times Upfront Magazine, which our school purchases), including the four-day school week, space exploration, and beauty pageants. Students will participate in a mock trial after reading/performing Romeo and Juliet in February. Here’s the graphic organizer and written task (which could work with any debate topic).

6. Grammar & Vocabulary: As you can see in this handout, we’re reviewing our first 24 Greek & Latin roots and key punctuation (with a quiz coming soon) and jumping into the first set of confusing words and conventions (page 3). You can see the entire list of Greek/Latin roots here along with sets 1-5. Last week, for example, students worked in pairs to write creative poems using at least four different punctuation marks. (Let me know if you’d like to share some examples!)

7. Read and WRAP: January is the perfect time to establish — or re-establish — our Read and WRAP (write, reflect, analyze, participate) routine, and I’d be happy to answer any/all questions you may have as you get started. (You can also order Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms on Amazon or here using the code RAVEN25 for 25% + free shipping.) For instance, here was today’s WRAP prompt:

   1. Find an example of punctuation (hyphen, dash, colon, semicolon, apostrophe, and/or ellipsis) from your independent reading book, and write it down on a sticky note. Then, include the author’s lat name and page number in parentheses.

   2. Dr. Amato’s Example: “The second-best player on that 2001 Lakers team – widely regarded as one of the best teams in league history – was Kobe Bryant” (Goldsberry 60).

8. Winter & Snow Poetry: For those enjoying snow days (or entire snow weeks), you may enjoy reading some or all of the poems in this seasonal collection. Let me know what I should add :)

9. Mid-Year Survey: Please take a few minutes to complete this survey — thanks to everyone who has done so already. As I mentioned last week, I am incredibly grateful for this community, and I cannot wait to collaborate with many of y’all on some exciting projects, whether it’s finalizing our book lists, organizing our AoWs, developing a bank of WRAP prompts, curating a poetry collection, or planning our next Project LIT Summit. So yes, please take this survey!

10. UPDATES & REMINDERS

    1. I love this updated review contest from the NYT Learning Network. It runs Jan. 15-Feb. 12.

    2. I somehow missed this SLJ review of Just Read It (published on May 1). Their verdict? “A must-purchase for professional collections. English instructors, school librarians, and others focused on promoting literacy through independent reading in middle and high schools will find valuable resources to use throughout the school year.”

    3. You can order JUST READ IT 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. Thanks again to everyone who has purchased a copy, spread the word in your school/district, facilitated a book study, shouted out Just Read It on social media, shared a Goodreads review, or sent me a kind message or email. It means more than you know.

    4. I recently recorded a webinar that outlines my Read & WRAP framework and general approach to the ELA block. You can check it on Corwin’s YouTube channel here. (I’m excited to collaborate with many of y’all to develop a Read and WRAP sequence, among other things. Stay tuned for that invite!)

    5. I was honored to join Natalie Daily, Stephanie Wilson, and Amy Hermon, the incredible host of the School Librarians United podcast. You can listen to our conversation here.

    6. 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 PD session/workshop in 2025 or 2026, please reach out. I love connecting with fellow educators and supporting/strengthening your team’s literacy efforts.

    

As always, happy reading,

Jarred