What I've been working on lately

See you tomorrow night as we kick off our June book study and planning sessions!

Happy Monday (and happy June),

I’m so excited to “see” many of y’all tomorrow night (9:15-10:00 pm eastern) for our first of three planning sessions. You can still RSVP here. I will send out the Google Meet link later tonight or tomorrow morning.

The goal, as always, is to connect with fellow educators and to see how we can work together this summer (and beyond) to create the kinds of classrooms and schools our students (and staff members) deserve. (Feel free to join with the camera on or off, whatever is best for you. And no worries if you can’t make it tomorrow — there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved! ) Specifically, here’s what I’m excited to share and discuss with y’all over the next few weeks:

1. A weekly WRAP sequence for the 25-26 school year. (It’s still a work in progress, but I love how it’s coming together!) Over the past few weeks, I went through my book, Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms (use the code RAVEN25 for 25% off + free shipping), and attempted to select 40 of the “best” extended prompts (think paragraph response) — one per week for an entire school year. As I type this, I’m not sure if this makes complete sense, so I’m excited to share more with y’all tomorrow night.

2. A beautiful collection of poems (at least 50!) to read and analyze with middle and high school students throughout a school year.

3. A potential Article of Week “sequence” for the 25-26 school year, which includes thematic text sets/mini-units along with standalone articles and debate topics.

4. How I’m approaching grammar and vocabulary, including 100+ Greek & Latin morphemes.

5. The core units that I have planned in addition to the four “pillars” above (Read and WRAP, poetry, AoW, grammar & vocabulary). For example, our first unit, “Coming of Age in an Algorithmic and Artificial Age,” is a modified version of Chapter 4 of Just Read It.

6. New MG and YA releases (and any titles that students are digging lately).

7. Answering other questions that folks may have. Thanks to everyone who has submitted questions thus far. Here are a few that I’m excited to explore with y’all (not just tomorrow night but in future newsletters and conversations):

   1. I'm interested in making my independent reading more meaningful.

   2. How do you interest social-media-addicted kids in long-form reading?

   3. I'm interested in seeing how you plan your yearly units. I am a part of my district's curriculum writing this summer and I'd love to implement some of the ideas you have.

   4. I love all of your ideas but have been limited to strictly teaching from my district approved curriculum. Maybe I will find a way to mix the two :)

   5. I'd like guidance in establishing a good scope and sequence for grammar in Middle School for grade levels 6-8.

   6. Until recently, I have been a huge proponent of independent reading. For whatever reason, it just didn't go so well this year. I switched to whole-class novels during the second part of this year and reading has been better received. I want there to be a balance of independent, whole-class, and book-club reading next year. I want to spend some time this summer thinking through how to implement that.

8. REMINDER: If you check out the “Related Resources” on the right-hand side of this page, you’ll notice free excerpts (Introduction + Chapter 1), an hour-long webinar, and this brand new discussion guide for my book, JUST READ IT: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms. 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. You can also share this letter with your school and/or district leaders. I love connecting with fellow educators and supporting/strengthening your team’s literacy efforts.

Have a great week!
Jarred