Hello again! We’ve made it to chapter six in Classrooms That Work! Discussed briefly in the previous chapter was incorporating subjects such as Science and Social Studies into reading. Here, our chapter is titled “Science and Social Studies Matter to Struggling Readers” and follows the path one would expect; talking about the importance of subjects… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 6
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KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 5
Guess what?! We’ve reached the inevitable phonics chapter in Classrooms That Work! We all knew it had to come; the chapter all about what the book itself has had enough of. Of course, the book has not been telling us phonics is useless in itself; it’s been telling us that the way in which so… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 5
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 4
Hello again! We’re onto chapter four in Classrooms That Work and it’s another good one! This one is all about children’s writing and thinking. Like reading, it focuses on thinking while writing to improve not only students’ writing but also their reading skills. The chapter notes that the best thing we can do as teachers… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 4
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 3
In the last two chapters of Classrooms That Work, we've discussed what doesn't work and strategies to garner kids' enthusiasm for reading. This chapter discusses comprehension and how to teach students to actually think about what they're reading. Sure enough, I see very often that kids have had phonics drilled into them and know letter… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 3
Margaret Atwood in the Classroom
I have been struggling with ways in which to teach Margaret Atwood in the high school classroom without resulting in a slew of teenagers feeling horribly sad and hopeless on account of reading such depressing literature (or what my mom likes to call "slit-your-wrist-books"). Personally, I am an absolutely massive Atwood fan. It took awhile… Continue reading Margaret Atwood in the Classroom
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 2
Chapter Two in Classrooms That Work is all about reading and writing. Titled Reading and Writing Real “Things”, one of the first sentences which struck me was: “[c]hildren who are successful at becoming literate view reading and writing as authentic activities from which they get information and pleasure, and by which they communicate with others.”… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 2
Teaching Roald Dahl’s “The Witches”
What's everyone's favourite Roald Dahl book? It's hard, I know, because they're all perfection on a page. I've spent years reading and re-reading and teaching all of his novels and short stories and have finally decided that "The Witches" is my favourite. It's especially fun to teach and read aloud just to do the voice… Continue reading Teaching Roald Dahl’s “The Witches”
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 1
We recently underwent a huge remodel of our school library and had to get rid of bunch of resources that were being under-utilized. It was bittersweet as our library no longer has some excellent books, but teachers also got to take their pick of what they wanted to keep for themselves and I made out… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 1
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 9
Chapter nine in Becoming a Better Teacher is basically a summative conclusion. No new information is introduced so, to be totally honest, there's not much I can say about it. In case the reader has forgotten, the chapter discusses what was brought up in the first eight chapters and it poses the question: "what does… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 9
The Hunger Games in the Classroom
I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for the first time about five years ago when I assigned it to a group of students for a group study project. I ended up falling in love with the book myself and recently decided to re-read it on account of the soon-to-be-released film and the fact… Continue reading The Hunger Games in the Classroom
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