Week 3 Update
Independent Reading, Article of the Week, book recommendations, and more
Happy Saturday everyone,
Rainy weekend here in New Jersey means pumpkin pancakes, crockpot chili, and some quality time at home. Let’s get right to this week’s “10 Things.”
“Silenzio, Bruno!” What makes a good story? That’s one of the questions we explored in our notebooks this week. Students jotted down their responses before walking around the room, sharing with classmates and adding to their lists. Then, we debriefed as a group and watched 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. Students had a blast working in groups to create posters analyzing each literary element. You can check out a few examples here:
I spent time reviewing our students’ reading attitude survey and interest survey from week one. If you’re looking to make the case for daily independent reading in your school, I recommend administering a student survey (samples linked above) and sharing the results with your team. For example, only 18% of my current 8th graders reported reading regularly outside of school, which I imagine is in line with the latest national data. Today’s students are simply not reading at home (for a variety of reasons). If not in our classrooms, then when?
Independent reading is off to a strong start. I wanted to answer this fantastic question from Brian. “Jarred, thanks for all this great info. I'm curious to hear from you or from others what you're teaching/having students do after they independent read? I do this with students first 15 every day, but I'm struggling with building on that. Do you jump into curriculum after independent reading or do you do something else? Would love to see what folks' ELA periods look like. Thanks!”
The short answer is this: we READ and WRAP. Write, reflect, analyze, participate. After the timer goes off (signaling the end of our independent reading), we take out our notebooks and WRAP. Some days, our WRAP prompt is super short. In one strong sentence, summarize the central conflict in your current read…Try writing a six-word summary and a six-word critique…Turn to your partner and share a prediction you have about your book…Reflect on your reading progress over the first month… Other days, our WRAP prompt may take a bit longer. Rewriting a scene from a different point of view, crafting a letter to the author, character analysis, book review, etc. Therefore, to answer your last question: Some days/weeks, READ and WRAP may take up half of our block. Other times, it’s more like a quarter (and we’re jumping straight into curriculum). It depends on our goals for the lesson/week/unit. Hope this helps! I’m happy to clarify and elaborate next week. (I also wrote an entire book on this exact question, and it should be published some time in early 2024!)
What I Read Last Week: I just finished Dashka Slater’s Accountable and cannot wait to discuss it with y’all. Planning to schedule a virtual book club later this fall for those who are interested. Hoping Dashka will be able to join us, as well. (Up next is Alone by Megan Freeman.)
Project LIT Book Club Selections. 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. (Thanks to everyone who has begun to nominate titles. Keep them coming!)
Article of the Week. I had a few folks who wanted to know more about our AoW process (thank you for reaching out!), so let’s break it down here. Over the course of the year, our AoWs will cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to technology, social media, climate, health, and education (literacy, in particular).
Step 1: Select an article to read, discuss, and analyze with students – from Kelly Gallagher or Dave Stuart Jr.’s websites, NewsELA, CommonLit, the New York Times Learning Network, The New York Times Upfront or Scholastic Scope magazine, etc.
Step 2: Create 2-3 immediate discussion questions to generate thinking and conversation. (To save time, feel free to keep these consistent with every AoW.)
Step 3: Develop a few text-dependent questions that are aligned to standards and/or curriculum (think about what is worth noticing, analyzing, teaching, reteaching, etc. in this specific text). *Note this optional, depending on how much time you want to dedicate.
Step 4: Develop an extended response prompt, whether it’s one paragraph or one page. I typically have students complete an objective summary (paragraph one) and critical analysis/personal reflection (paragraph two).
For example, last week, we read, annotated, and discussed the article, “Let Kids Get Bored. It’s Good For Them” as a group. Then, we wrote the first paragraph (an objective summary) together. I wanted to make sure students knew what was expected moving forward. Students wrote the second paragraph (critical analysis/personal reflection) on their own.
PARAGRAPH 1: OBJECTIVE SUMMARY
One strong, concise paragraph summarizing the central claim & key details of the article
The summary is typically written in chronological/sequential order (think beginning, middle, and end)
Do not offer your opinion in this paragraph (no “I”)
Include the name of the article (in quotes), source/publication (in italics) and author name
You can include direct textual evidence (a quote from the article) but the summary should be primarily be written in your own words (paraphrased)
PARAGRAPH 2: PERSONAL RESPONSE/CRITICAL ANALYSIS
How did this piece impact you? Did it teach you something? Challenge you? Reassure you? Move you? What emotions did it stir, and why?
What happened as you read? What was going through your mind? What specific lines, quotes, words or details stood out? Why?
What questions did it raise for you? What does it make you want to know more about?
What did you think of the piece overall? What were its strengths and weaknesses?
What “moves” or techniques did the author use to engage the audience?
Do you agree or disagree with the author’s claim? Why?
In what ways can you relate to the article? How does the article connect to your own life?
What lines, words, details, images, quotes or paragraphs stood out in this piece?
Which quotes best support what you want to say about the piece?
I will share student examples next week. Let me know if you have additional questions – happy to clarify!
7. Next week’s AoW: “Stop Multitasking. No, Really — Just Stop It.”
8. Book Club Suggestions: Shout out to everyone who shared tips in the comments. Laurie, for instance, wrote: “As far as building readership, I've found that fun activities paired with the books are the way to go. When I started three years ago, Jared mentioned to always have food. We also had suggested themes and activities such as food-related books around Thanksgiving and then a cooking class at the meeting. I took these ideas and ran with them; we even hold a Murder Mystery Dinner at Halloween while we read our scary books. (I have bought scripts at MyMysteryParty.com) This is the way that I've been able to get a lot of participation in Project LIT. Last year I had 46 members. I'm actually relieved this year to have 34.” Way to go, Laurie. I am going to spend some time checking out MyMysteryParty.com. I am intrigued!
I also love Valerie’s suggestion: “Maybe we should generate a list of ideas for those related components, like "With the Fire on High" paired with a cooking demo or "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" paired with a murder mystery event.” Great call. From my understanding, we can create a Google doc that includes our Project LIT titles + suggested activities/events + resources. Let me know if anyone wants to take the lead on this and we can set up a time to chat. Thanks!
9. Looking for more book club ideas and inspiration? Check out this slideshow, which includes highlights from the early days of Project LIT Community. So many wonderful moments and memories…
10. If you have any questions about items 1 through 9, or if there’s anything you’d like for me to answer/discuss in upcoming newsletters, feel free to ask in the comments!
Wishing you and your students a great week, and as always, happy reading!
Jarred