teachwithjamandbread

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Anne Sexton, from “The Truth the Dead Know”, The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton

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me: [loses goddamn mind]

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so, why do it then?

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The Wild Robot & The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

I cannot recommend these two books enough. Like I’m obsessed. I’m a 32 year woman and I teach 2nd grade, and I can’t tell who loved these books more—me or my students. We all adored them.

I teach in a US city public school with majority EL students, and this sweet book and her sequel have been my favorite read alouds ever. It’s so EL friendly with most of the vocabulary being nature-themed. The books are so approachable for every kind of reader, and have simple, yet elegant poetic language and darling illustrations that are accessible for readers of all language levels.

The tender story of Roz the robot and her adopted goose son will especially speak to anyone who has ever felt out of place, who has struggled to find their own identity, or who has discovered the joy of finding a home. This could honestly be a great read aloud for any elementary grade beyond first grade, or for you to enjoy as an grown-up.

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Things I learned after teaching literacy for 10 years...and after making many, many mistakes. Are these hard and fast rules? Of course not. But these helped me foster a love of reading with my students, and helped bring more joy into our classroom.

1. Reading comprehension questions is not how people learn to love reading. Answering basic reading comprehension questions rarely helps students grow. The students who can already answer the questions independently don’t need to, and the ones who can’t answer the question won’t.

2. Read out loud. No matter the age, no matter if you’re all listening to an audiobook/podcast, no matter if it’s an op-Ed piece, no matter if it’s Strega Nona for the 30th time. Read meaningful and authentic text out loud.

3. When you’re reading out loud, pause only when necessary to clarify meaning so you don’t interrupt the flow of reading. Let them get hooked!

4. Make a class on epic! so your students can read and listen to books for free during school hours! Plus there are so many engaging nonfiction books at all level that you can present to your class.

5. Every student should have a chance to read something at their level every day. It’s their right as a reader.

6. Be open about what you love to read about, and talk about your own journey as a reader! I talk about my books clubs and describe to my second graders how I still stay up late reading, or how proud I was when I finished reading my 1,000+ page fantasy novel.

7. Use videos to supplement vocabulary/topics! Especially if you have students who are English Language Learners. Nat Geo has these great short (3-5 min) videos about so many topics.

8. When in doubt, read about animals. Every child loves reading about animals.

9. Allow space for students to recommend books they loved or ask them for recommendations.

10. Keep reading sacred and fun! And smile. You get to teach reading, the best thing in the world.

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Everyone deserves a livable wage, because there is no such thing as unskilled labor.

Art by Liberal Jane

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I know that Peter’s Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy technically has flaws but also....it doesn’t. It’s perfect.

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Millennium Park • October 29

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This nonpartisan guide is very helpful for Christians and people who are pro-life.

My personal plea: Please please please vote for more than one issue. Many, many lives are on the table right now.

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(Source)

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“My acting was worse. I was trying to impress her so much I wasn’t doing anything.” (To his credit, Weisberg and Fields insist they didn’t notice any glitch in Rhys’s performance.) And then, as if he’s just realizing this for the first time, Rhys shouts: “THAT’S WHY WE DIDN’T GET NOMINATED FOR EMMYS IN SEASONS ONE, TWO, AND THREE. DAMN YOU, KERI RUSSELL!” – Matthew Rhys

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“What do we do with grief? Lug it; lug it.”

— Ada Limón, Bright Dead Things; “The Good Fight” (via luthienne)

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MEAN GIRLS  2004, dir. Mark Waters

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