what teachers make with #d100bloggerpd

Good morning! The BigTime Blogging Challenge carries on and I am here today to write though about a topic different from the prompt. I'm so thankful to work in such a forward-thinking district where there are a bunch of teacher bloggers! We have all banded together to do some projects, including today's post which is one in a series of posts about Taylor Mali's book What Teachers Make. I bring you content and commentary on chapters seven, eight, and nine.

Surely you know of Taylor because of his classic spoken word poetry... and if not, you're in for a treat!

This went on to create a book that is subtitled In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World, and although I am slightly biased, I couldn't agree more!

Let's get to it!

Vignette 7: Keeping your eye out for the teachable moment
First, take a look at the poem that goes with this vignette:

So beautiful. Let me teach like the first snow falling. My, how I love that line. And so, when we launched this book study, we actually we so lucky to have a Twitter Chat with Taylor Mali, and I remembered this beautiful string of words, and mentioned it to him, but times-are-a-changing, and so is teaching:

As teachers, sometimes it is okay to be doing the mini-lesson, demonstrating for students, as we *are the best readers, writers, and mathematicians in the classroom. But even more important is to set students off to do that difficult work, to be patient problem solvers who don't get stuck, who persevere and learn through doing.

Yes, that's true, but all that aside, from a writer's eye and heart - Let me teach like the first snow falling - just exquisite.

Vignette 8: In praise of thoughtful uncertainty
Another poem to share with this little chapter:

You know when you read something and you just gloss over it, not really taking much away? I must have done that last time I read this chapter, because after going back and *rereading and *rewatching this poem, I love it more than I ever have, because it reminds us of our purpose in education.

Some people say that schools are meant to create compliant citizens, and I think, depending on the way that you're teaching, whether or not you are encouraging your students to question things, whether or not your students have choices and can direct their learning in some ways, whether or not the classroom is run by one teacher or by an entire class of students plus one teacher - I'm trapped in a run on sentence but what I'm trying to say is that classrooms where students have voice and choice are classrooms where students are being taught to be citizens who don't just fall for anything and speak with conviction of thoughts. I think we need to empower all our students to be engaged with and knowledgeable of their world, rather than just taking everything for fact.

Vignette 9: Encountering Genius
"Teachers shouldn't make the mistake of always thinking they are the smartest person in the room." Preach.
As a Literacy Coach, I always keep this front and center, because the teachers I am privileged to work with are so smart on so many different levels. Each person brings years of experiences, not just education related, but life related. And so it is for our students as well, that sometimes, like Taylor experienced, our students are just smarter than us, and their way of thinking is luminous and we should let them shine in their moment, to help the greater good of our classroom family.

If you like what you've read here, grab a copy of Taylor Mali's book What Teachers Make, and definitely watch all his spoken word poetry on You Tube. You can also check out a post I wrote a few years ago after I saw him here in Chicago. In this post, I shared my favorite five poems of his!

Be sure to stop back for the #d100bloggerPD next Tuesday for Theresa's review of chapters 10, 11, and 12.

And none of this would be possible without such inspiring work from Taylor Mali - Thank you for Twitter chatting with us and following our blog study!

Hey all y'all! It's the BigTime Blogging Challenge. I'm writing every day in July to celebrate my blog's three year anniversary! Join me - write your post, link it up with mine, leave some love for blogging friends in the form of comments!

BigTime Blogging Challenge friends, hope you enjoyed today's post and I'm looking forward to reading yours!

An InLinkz Link-up

winter wonderland blog hop

Hello friends! Welcome to BigTime Literacy and the Reading in a Winter Wonderland Hop! I'm so excited to share with you on this annual tradition, and I hope you like what you find here from me!

Before we get to the good stuff, just a little bit of housekeeping for this link up... The Reading Crew and I decided not to present this as a hop, but as a closed link-up. At the bottom of this post, you can find the maps for both the K-2nd and 3rd-5th bloggers who are participating. That way, you can jump around from blog to blog however you'd like to.

We are giving away two collections of books! Each book that is featured on each blog is part of the collection. So, be sure to collect the mystery words that are listed on each bloggers' page in blue, so then you'll have the opportunity to enter to win the collections of books we're giving away!

In addition to featuring a great book for this time of year, we are also sharing freebies to use with it. Please note: my freebies will only be available for a limited time, so make sure to get a copy before they are changed to a paid product!

So without any further ado, let's get to it!

Enjoy the blog hop and have a wonderful holiday season!

The Legend of the Poinsettia

I have to come clean up front - I picked a great book - The Legend of the Poinsettia - a long time ago. I just love Tomie dePaola's books - the stories are great and I love the illustrations. When I was in the classroom, I used her Legend of the Bluebonnet as part of my Traditional Literature unit, which is what led me to her Legend of the Poinsettia. Well, working last minute like I usually do, I wasn't loving the text I chose - but only because the most obvious reason to use it is for teaching about the genre of Traditional Literature. Unfortunately, I waited too long to switch my text, so I'm delivering some great resources, but they are going to be bigger than the theme of this blog hop. I guess that's okay since you might not even teach a unit on Traditional Literature at this time of year, anyways!

About the book

This book tells the story of how the Poinsettia came to be. This Mexican legend explains how we all came to know this beautiful flower that adorns our homes at Christmastime. The main character, Lucida, and her mother are set to make the blanket for the Christ child, but then when Lucida's mother becomes ill, things don't go as planned. Lucida is left without a gift to give to baby Jesus. In a last minute attempt to bring something, anything, she grabs and arm full of weeds growing outside the church. In a Christmas miracle, they are transformed into the brilliant flowers we today call the Poinsettia.

Teaching with this text

This book would best be used as part of a larger unit on Traditional Literature. My idea would be to have groups of students study the various types of traditional literature: Fables, Fairy Tales, Legends, Myths, and Tall Tales. I would start by talking about the characteristics of all Traditional Literature: 

Then, together in groups, students would be given 3-5 books within that subset to read so they can construct their knowledge of TL. I've created this matrix for students to use as they are reading and studying their books:

I think a Matrix is a better version of a Venn Diagram. What's great about it is that kids compare and contrast within different characteristics, in this case, by characters, the setting, problem and solution, and another category that they can develop themselves. Then, after they complete all the similarities and differences (which Marzano cites as a high-yield strategy for learning) they can then think about generalizations they can make about that subset of TL.

I'm guessing that the research wouldn't end there - students could then go on to research online more books that could fit the genre and also check if their predictions about qualities of the genre are correct. Finally, I'm envisioning it ending with the groups teaching the rest of the class about their subset of TL.

My Freebie

You're going to love my freebie! It includes Traditional Literature Posters, a matrix that matches the posters, and also blackline masters of the matrix that are editable so you can modify them to meet your needs. Additionally, I've complied a brief bibliography of books that could be used to support this unit on Traditional Literature. Please note: this freebie will only be available for the weekend of November 27, 2015!

Well, that's all I have for you today! I hope you've found something helpful here at BigTime Literacy, and if you did, be sure to follow my blog! Don't forget about our giveaway! In case you missed it, my mystery word is poinsettia. You can enter it onto your sheet or into the Rafflecopter below. Good luck and happy holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

flipping for fall blog hop: reading with a writer's eye

Hi and welcome to BigTime Literacy! If this is your first time landing here, I'm Michelle, a Literacy Coach, advocate for Reading and Writing Workshop, and a writer myself. I'm really excited to be joining a group of amazing Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches to share some mentor texts for the fall season!

Do you love fall as much as I do? It's been beautiful here in Chicago - 60's and 70's and sunny even! The leaves aren't falling yet, but I'm excited for that, and cool nights sleeping with the windows open, college football with friends, watching the Bears lose every week (grrr!), and sweaters and boots. I actually moved back to Chicago from Phoenix in 2009 for this season, if that is any indication of how much I love it!

With fall on our minds, each blogger from our tribe, The Reading Crew, has chosen a favorite fall mentor text to share with you. I've chosen is Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant.

In this text, Rylant very thoughtfully and deliberately has described Scarecrow, and so it's the perfect mentor text to study with students who are working on personal narratives or fiction stories, so they can learn to craft characters just like she has. Rylant repeats one thing over and over, how even though the materials used to make Scarecrow are borrowed, it really is all about what is inside that counts.

Close Reading with a Writer's Eye
Many people often think of Close Reading as reading a passage or short text multiple times and annotating it. While those are some of the steps we go through as we close read, I believe it's more about looking through varying lenses to study what the author is saying. In the case of this text, as I kept reading, the word borrowed was repeated over and over, I began close reading to determine the significance of that word, which in the end, led me to theme. I was also looking closely for ways that Rylant revealed the Scarecrow, through his feelings, actions, physical traits, words, and thoughts. What close reading is really about is studying an author's craft and wondering she wrote in the way she did. This lesson, while about writing characters, is also naturally about close reading.

The Freebie!

Now that you have a fabulous recommendation for a Mentor Text, I have created a Characterization freebie for you to take and use with it! In this document, you can find the mini-lesson directions, the complete text of the book to use for close reading and study, a handout to model your anchor chart after, and a handout for students to sketch and rehearse ideas for the characters in their stories. I hope you will find it useful with your students!



If you like what you've read here at BigTime Literacy, be sure to keep in touch, here on the blog, or on any of my social media outlets! I love to collaborate with anyone who engages with my blog!

Did you find my secret word? If you missed it, it was the word in orange: borrowed. Be sure to record that to be eligible for our amazing prize package, copies of all the mentor texts we're sharing! You can find the details for the challenge and prizes on Gay's blog, The Book Units Teacher. Click over there if you want to go back to the beginning of the hop!

But, if you're ready for the next stop on the blog hop, it's time to head over to Pawsitively Teaching and see what Lisa has for you! 

Fall is my most favorite season, hope you enjoy yours this year!      

     

summer blog party!

Hello friends, teachers, and parents! Welcome to BigTime Literacy! The Reading Crew is bringing you a great blog hop today with tons of ideas for supporting our kiddos literacy development during the summer...and freebies! Then, we'll be back on Wednesdays for weekly linky parties to share reading and writing strategies. We hope you'll join us each week for that, but for now, let's get to one way that you can help your child beat the Summer Slide: reading lots of great books!

As a former middle school teacher, you have to know how much I enjoy young adult literature. Getting great books in the hands of my students is obviously one of my biggest drives as a teacher, and as such, I have to stay ahead of them. This summer, I'm starting off with this stack:

I've already finished brown girl dreaming and Out of My Mind. That being said, I have a freebie for you - a recommended reading list for middle school kiddos!

We'll get to the download in a few, but let me share a few of my absolute faves for middle school kids. These are tried and tested with kids and always get a big thumbs-up!

For Rising Sixth Graders: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

from Amazon:
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. 

Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

I always loved reading this book to my middle school kids - the scene on the Hot Seat is awesome and the voice I used for Hillary Kimble makes her sound like the brat of a cheerleader she is. Your kiddo will love this story and hopefully, will walk away from it knowing it's okay to be you, no matter what that means.

Rising Seventh Graders: The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator

from Amazon:
Sleator, a recognized master of sci-fi and horror and a favorite of reluctant readers, is a paperback powerhouse, with more than 600,000 copies of his novels sold in softcover. Here he gives fans a spin on the classic zombie story, following sixteen-year-old Ken as he bargains with a psychic to gain immortality, only to awaken one night with blood-spattered clothes and the realization that he's sold more than his soul.

I actually haven't read this, but I would always give it to the guys in my class who had a hard time finding something they clicked with, and this book would get them every time. My copy is warn and the cover is ratty, but it will hook anyone - pretty much just on the cover art and title alone. Have your kiddo give it a try!

Rising Eighth Graders: A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

from Amazon:

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders--will he ever find his purpose?

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

I came across this one the last time I had been teaching eighth grade and loved it - and so did my students who were animal lovers! This book follows the soul of a dog who is born, lives a life, and then is reborn to a new body. With each life he lives, he learns new things and impacts the families that love him in different ways. This book is beautiful and I highly recommend it!

and something new for high school readers....

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

from Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met.

Incredibly funny and poignant, this twenty-first-century coming-of-age, coming out story—wrapped in a geek romance—is a knockout of a debut novel by Becky Albertalli.

This book came to my attention via Twitter, and I think from someone who writes over at Two Writing Teachers. I just started it yesterday and am already halfway through! Simon is the narrator, and in such a hard position because someone read one of his emails and now is asking for a favor in return for keeping his private information confidential. The chapters alternate between Simon narrating and emails between Simon and a secret friend, Blue, who is also gay and hasn't come out yet. The book is peppered with mature language and engaging high school conversation and so cute. Highly recommended for those older readers!

So those are a few I have loved recommending and reading, hopefully one of them will speak to you! If not, please jump over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for my freebie: a list of recommended reading in the following categories:

• Rising Sixth Graders
• Rising Seventh Graders
• Rising Eighth Graders
• For the Girls
• For the Guys
• Mature Reads

What are your favorite middle-school level books to read? Please leave me a comment below and let me know!

If you like what you've read here, be sure to follow my blog!

You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let's get connected!

After you grab your freebie, head on over to Growing Little Learners and grab some writing ideas from Pixie Anne!

Happy Summer!

poetry blog hop 2015: the power of the mini-lesson

Credits: Edu-Clips, Hello Fonts, & Epiphanous Owl

Super excited! It's National Poetry Month and you've reached the end of an amazing Blog Hop. Thank you to Carla over at Comprehension Connection for organizing everything and for the super cute images! Did you pick up some great freebies along the way? Well, you're right in time for one more, here at BigTime Literacy! 

I wanted to talk to you about one of my favorite parts of teaching literacy under a Workshop philosophy - the mini-lesson! (I promise, I will get back to the poetry momentarily!)

Some people might think that mini-lessons aren't important because they're mini. I beg to differ! Mini-Lessons are the universal curriculum when you teach with workshop. They pack a powerful punch quickly, and then set students off to do the hard work of literacy learning. In a mini-lesson, there are four parts: Link, Teaching Point, Active Involvement, and Connection. 

Here is a quick review of the parts of the mini-lesson, and then after, you can find my freebie, which is a set of lesson plans for the beginning of an intermediate poetry unit!

Link: Students access their prior learning to set them up for new learning. For example: "We've been talking a lot about poetry, and how poets use emotion and imagery to enhance their poems."

Teaching Point (& Explicit Teaching): Here, the teacher names exactly what students will do and explicitly demonstrates what it looks like. For example: "Readers, today we will learn another technique that poets use: rhythm. You probably already know about rhythm...I'm sure in previous grades you learned about alliteration, onomatopoeia, and repetition of lines within poetry. There are a few more ways poets use rhythm in their poems! One way is with rhyming poetry, which gives the poem rhythm. (Use Casey at the Bat to share an example of rhyming lines.) If the poet counts syllables and makes patterns for where the stress of the syllables lie, they are tending to the meter of the poem. (Illuminate with example.) If the poem has no rhyming words and there isn't a pattern with syllables, that is a free-verse poem."

Active Involvement: In this part of the mini-lesson, student have a brief opportunity to think through the teaching point with a partner. It's important to keep this brief, so that the mini-lesson stays mini! Remember, in a Reading Workshop, students get the bulk of their time to think about what they're learning, and share back at the end of workshop. For example, "We've been reading and studying Casey at the Bat, and I'd like you to listen to a few stanzas from that poem. Now, listen as I read First Baseball Glove by Donald Graves. (Project the poem for so students can follow along.) Now it's your turn: Turn and talk with your partner about the similarities and/or differences in rhythm between these two poems. Students share out briefly at conclusion of share."

Connection: In this final part of the mini-lesson, you set purpose for the work students will do during their independent workshop time. For example, "As you read poems today during workshop, be thinking about whether or not the author used rhythm as a device to engage you with their poetry. Also, we will share about this: Do you prefer poems with emotion, imagery, or rhythm most? Be thinking about that today as you continue your poetry study."

With that background, you are ready for my freebie! I've been working on a poetry unit for the fifth grade teachers in my district, and I'm making the first week of those plans available to you!

In my freebie, you will get five days of plans, each with the four parts of the mini-lesson. The teaching points in these first five lessons are...

1. Poetry is different than prose.
2. Poets use emotion as an element to create engaging poems.
3. Poets use imagery to draw their readers into their poetry.
4. Poets use the devices of simile and metaphor to enhance imagery in their poems.
5. Poets use rhythm to make their poems 'musical'.

So here it is, a week's worth of lesson plans for poetry! Download my freebie by clicking here.

And, if you're interested enough for the full unit, you can download that here. The complete unit includes three weeks of lesson plans, standards alignment, key vocabulary, a list of mentor texts, teacher notes page, and four graphic organizers your students will love to use!

If you like what you've read here, please follow me! I love to write, I love to create curriculum, I love to share ideas with everyone, and really, I love this community of bloggers I've found - they teach me new things and collaborate with me on great projects like this blog hop!

And now you've reached the end of the Hop, but you can jump right back to the beginning by clicking the image below. I know my friend Carla will be happy you stopped by Comprehension Connection!

Before you go...since you made it this far, enter my raffle for a chance to win the complete Peel the Onion Unit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy National Poetry Month!

gift of reading blog hop: text structures

Hello there and welcome to BigTime Literacy! I'm Michelle - a Literacy Coach in a suburb just west of Chicago. Love teaching, love reading and writing, LOVE blogging! Many thanks to Wendy from Read with Me ABC and Andrea from Reading Towards the Stars for organizing this amazing blog hop!

One of my responsibilities as a literacy coach involves working with the five other coaches on a district wide curriculum for our K-5 teachers. Given my experience as a middle school teacher for 10 years prior to coaching, I opted to work with the fifth grade teachers on their curriculum map.

This past month the coaches met with a small group of classroom teachers to plan for our upcoming Nonfiction unit. In our district, we use Lucy Calkin's Reading Workshop curriculum materials. If you know this curriculum at all, you know that it is highly lacking in the Nonfiction department, so we have added in a unit on text structures, using this book as a resource:

So to all of my readers, I share the gift of text structures with you! If you are a fifth grade or middle school teacher, you should be using these structures with your students on a routine basis. When I was a middle school teacher, I taught my students these text structures and then our science teacher began using them. The kids said to him, "But Mr. Teach! This is not Lit Studies class!" I loved that!

Text structures are sometimes confused with text features. Text features include headings, captions, and diagrams, where text structures involve students reading a passage and then using a graphic organizer to....well... organize the information. Text structures serve as a scaffold for students so they can think about the information they are learning and begin to organize as they think about it.

When I was teaching middle school, I developed my Nonfiction reading unit around the work of this book. I spent one week teaching each structure and having students read various articles within each structure. As the structures unfolded, this is kind of how I planned for my students:

Each week, students are reading passages and completing text structure organizers. In the beginning, when they are just learning the structure, I give them an article and *tell* them what the structure is. Then, at the end of week 2, when they know two structures, they get an article and have to figure out what structure it is.

As time rolls on and they learn more structures, they will get articles that have more than one structure within it. If you look at any Scholastic News, you will notice various structures within each article and once students know them all, they can use multiple structures --

with the main goal of....

READING COMPREHENSION!

Of course, the purpose for all this work is for kids to be effective readers who learn new things from their Nonfiction books.

So readers, I have a gift for you! I created a great product based on the work of the book above and for this weekend only (Nov 21-23, 2014) you can get it for free from my TpT shop! Click here to head on over and download your copy!

I am also holding an amazing raffle! Are you familiar with the pencil sharpeners from Classroom Friendly Supplies? If not, check out my review of them first. And then, if you like what you see, I'll be raffling one off to one lucky winner!

Use the rafflecopter below to win this amazing prize...I mean, look how happy it makes some of our kiddos:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Alright well that's all for me here - now you're ready to hop on over to Sweet Integrations and see what gift Sandy has for you!

Happiest of Holidays to you and hope you come back to BigTime Literacy soon!

late to the currently party

Whelp, I'm very late. It's October 4th and I'm just getting to Currently, but I have been a busy girl. I was at the Illinois Reading Council (IRC) Conference in Springfield - check out my posts before this one for more on that!

But, let's get to the party - thank you to Farley for hosting all of us!

Listening to...Marley and Me
Just a movie rerun to unwind with. Got home a few hours ago and already watched my DVRed shows (Scandal and Modern Family). So now, whatever is on for some white noise in the background is good for me!

Also, this commercial is so hilar:

Loving...being back at home
Like I mentioned above, I was in Springfield for the IRC, which was great, but it's always great to get back home, too. I'm actually so tired that I don't even want to go out and watch the ASU game at Cubby Bear. So, waiting on the boyfriend to come over so we can make some dinner and watch some movies. Sounds like a perfect Saturday night to me :-)

Thinking....about seeing my mentee tomorrow
So funny thing - one of my mentees lives like two blocks from me! Tomorrow we're going to meet up and talk Writing Workshop, one of my favorite things to discuss. Plus, she's awesome so I love to hang out. Hopefully the meeting up will be at Starbucks as well!

Wanting...a Goldendoodle
I seriously still totally want the goldendoodle Dudley. If you've been following me for any length of time, you'll probably remember me mentioning this, and watching Marley and Me isn't helping much. Super love puppies and really want a dog. Crossing my fingers that it's next summer!

also: naming him Dudley!

Needing...to get the grad school class I'm teaching wrapped up
I'm about to do weeks seven and eight with my first group of graduate students. Definitely felt a lot like a first year teacher - messed up a few things, but overall good experience. Because of my screw up, I'll be grading ALOT of papers next weekend. Doesn't sound fun, but when times like this happen, I just tell myself, "This too shall pass." And when it does (ends on the 16th), grades will be due the 17th, and then I'll be leavin' on a jet plane to Vegas on the 18th. So glad I have that to look forward to!

Trick or Treat? Treat!
Well this weekend there is a blog hop going on with a bunch of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches - and there's a freebie at every site! You'll have to hurry - it ends tomorrow, but there's some great stuff for you, including a plot diagram organizer from me. Click here to start on my post!

That's all for me tonight!

a harvest of freebies blog hop: plot problems

Hello and welcome to BigTime Literacy! I'm Michelle and I'm so excited be be working alongside some amazing Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches for this fall-themed blog hop!

So teaching plot is something we all do - I taught it in middle school and now, as a Literacy Coach, I see teachers across the elementary school teaching it in various forms: Beginning, Middle, and End in the younger grades, and then with the same plot line I used in middle school in the intermediate grades!

When I first started teaching, I ran into a few roadblocks with the plot structure. First, the rising action. Kids wanted to list *ALL* events of the story on the rising action. I didn't know how to stop this! I knew there had to be a better way....and then I find, there is!

Another problem was determining the climax. When I began teaching, I always would say that the climax was the "most exciting part" of the story. Well - one kid's most exciting part does not always equal another's. I knew there had to be an answer to this  burning plot predicament, and when I came across this book, I had found it!

Grand Conversations (Peterson & Eeds) is a great book about authentic book clubs that work with fiction texts, including great tips for teaching plot (that I'm about to share with you here!) I highly recommend this book if you are interested in book clubs!

Here are two quick tips for teaching plot with your kiddos - young or older!

Rising Action: Points of Tension

When you think of the rising action and what should be put on that list and what should be left off, think about tension. Any event that causes the conflict to become more intense, that's tension, and that should be added to the rising action. If the event causes tension, add it to your plot diagram. If the event doesn't cause tension, leave it off.

Climax: The Turning Point

Telling kids that the climax is the most exciting part of the story simply does not work. Instead, teach it as the turning point, or the part of the story when the conflict is no longer a conflict. It's the moment in the story that makes the conflict cease to exist. It might be a line of dialog or a characters inner monologue. It might be a fight or a handshake. Whatever it is, if it turns the conflict, it's the climax.

Maybe I was just late to the game, but these two pointers really helped me focus my instruction on the plot structure for fiction text. Hopefully they are new to some of you out there as well!

Before I get to my freebie, I also wanted to share a great read aloud for kids young and old: The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey:

This book, written by the same author as the Captain Underpants series, is a cute story about a little wiener dog named Oscar who doesn't want to hurt his mom's feelings when she wants him to dress up as a hot dog for Halloween. Filled with tons of plays on words (a wiener dog named Oscar, anyone?) and super cute drawings, this book will make you laugh and also share a great message.

I've read this book to kinders and to 7th graders and they all love it. The older kids can easily do a plot structure on this book, and, with the two tips I shared with you today, it will be a breeze!

Download my freebie - a spiffy-clean plot diagram - to use with this text or any of your choice!

Aaaannnnndddd.... if you like what you've read here, be sure to follow me on Bloglovin!

Now it's time to head on over to Comprehension Connection to hear about another great freebie from my friend, Carla!

In the rush to get everything done in your classroom this month, don't forget to slow down and enjoy all the splendor of the season:  the leaves changing colors, the crisp air, and an abundance of Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Happy fall!

blast off with critical literacy

Hi everyone and welcome to BigTime Literacy! I'm Michelle and I'm so excited to be a part of this blog hop! If you've jumped around some of the other sites, you can see that we've got tons of great ideas to share. I wanted to share some information about critical literacy with you today...I just know you're going to love it!

Pablo Freire is a big name behind critical literacy. The cliff's notes version of it is that it is literacy that is focused on challenging injustice and inequality in society. The researchers and teachers who subscribe to this kind of teaching believe that language should be a means for social action and teachers should bring social inequalities to light with their students in the hopes of doing something to make the world a better place. So, in addition to students learning to read and write to take care of their daily business, they are also taught to use literacy to make themselves agents of social change.

When I taught on the middle school loop (7th - 8th grade) I always spent seventh grade teaching the kids strategies for improving their comprehension, and then in eighth grade, we read to change the world. Some of our activities included the following:

1. Studying Upstanders (people who stand up for others), and also identifying the victims, perpetrators, and bystanders in such situations.
2. Reading stories about real life kids who stood up to others or made a change in their community. This book is awesome for these kinds of stories: It's Our World Too: Young People Who are Making a Difference.
3. Writing fictional picture books that focus on an issue of social justice and having the character in the book do something to make a difference in the lives of others.
4. Studying the Holocaust through Book Clubs - including having conversation and building background about this time period. We also visited Chicago's Holocaust Museum!
5. Writing essays about famous Upstanders, such as Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr., Anne Frank, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, etc.
6. Watching movies where young people take action to make change: Freedom Writers and Walkout, in particular.
7. The culminating event: Choosing a cause to research (and write a report on) and then also making a difference some how - through raising awareness, raising money, or volunteering.

The kids in my eighth grade class loved this curriculum - our focus for everything always went back to, "You can change the world," and they always remembered their projects, coming back to ask if I still did this project with students after they left.

This was a whole year's worth of curriculum, but if you wanted to start integrating critical literacy in your curriculum, you could start with picture books - read them aloud to students and having class conversations about them. Then, if you wanted, your class could research and come up with an action plan to make positive change in your community!

Today, I will leave you with a few picture books that I loved reading to my eighth graders. Your journey with critical literacy just might begin here...

The Lady int he Box

by Ann McGovern

Social Issue: Homelessness

In this story, two children begin to help a homeless woman on their block by leaving food and clothing for her. When their mom finally finds out what they are up to, she shows them how they can give back to their community even more.

Stars in the Darkness

by Barbara Joosse

Social Issue: Gangs & Violence

In this story, a young brother wonders why his big brother doesn't come home at night, until he sees the bandages and blood on his arms and, "knows what he knows." Little brother and his mama decide they must do something to keep their streets safe, so with the help of their community, they do so.

The Streets are Free

by: Kurusa

Social Issue: Organizing for Change

This picture book is based on a true story from San Jose de Urbina, Venezuela. This story centers around children living in this area during the 1950's, when many people moved into this area, leaving the children with no space to play. So, they decide they will talk to the Mayor about making space for a park. He doesn't exactly get moving with their project, but when reelection time rolls around, he has a ribbon cutting ceremony at the location of the future park, giving the children hope that their park will soon come to be. Read to find out if they get their park and how their voices made an impact on their daily lives!

Freedom Summer

by: Deborah Wiles

Social Issue: Racism

In this story, two boys, Joe and John Henry, have lots in common, and one big thing that sets them apart: Joe is white and John Henry is black. The story is set in the summer of 1964 so even though they like to do lots of the same things, John Henry can't do many of them. But then, a law gets passed ending segregation. Hearing the news, the boys race to the pool to swim together, but what they find isn't what they expect...

Those are just a few of a long list of books that will get the kids in your class having discussions about power: who has it, who doesn't, and questions about why. For a longer list of books, check out this site that I came across on Twitter this week (thanks @traceyhabla!) Hopefully by sharing these stories with our students, we can begin to dialog about our world, and help our students see the power that they possess to make it a better place!

If you've loved what you read here, be sure to follow me on bloglovin! One of the coolest things about blogging are the amazing networks I'm building with colleagues all around the country! Also, find me on Twitter and Instagram @bigtimeliteracy :-)

Have you taught with social justice in mind? What are your favorite books? I'd love to add them to my collection...be sure to leave me a comment with titles!

And now it's time to blast off to the next site on our hop - You'll be visiting my friend Wendy at Read with Me, ABC and she's going to share how to set up Interactive Notebooks for your readers. Enjoy her post and thanks for stopping by!