Ms. Kelley Hensley
"All good teaching is subversive."
Resources to Add a Spark to Your Reading Class
Books I'm Teaching:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
-Listen to the author himself! (Reading
for every chapter; no intonation like the
author's original intent)
Look for Quizlets already made
-Famous Epitaphs Project
-Author Delivers Speech on Art and Life
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-kid friendly interview with the author including examples and definitions of figurative language here
-themes of acceptance and individual talents; bullying connection in the most genuine way
-so many opportunities to study figurative language and unknown words in context
-allusion to Wizard of Oz
-point of view and advantages to third
person omniscient
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*Please message me for more specific and up-to-date resources on these novels like exit slips, projects, and audio clips.
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*pictures from linked book sites*
The Largest Literacy Resource House I Have Ever Seen:
http://nclmsliteracyhub.pbworks.com/w/page/98246976/FrontPage
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Okay, so there are a few typos. Honestly, I think it's growing too fast for the owner to keep up with. I was given this website at my last NCCAT workshop, "Strategies for Motivating and Building Reading Skills in Any Subject," by my amazing facilitator, Dr. Ernest H. Johnson. I couldn't believe what it had to offer. Strategies, back stories, pages upon pages of research to back up each new topic, college websites, ways to reach at risk readers, etc. Get ready... this site is going to change things.
Twitters to Follow:
@MindFaulkner -- It's me!
@cultofpedagogy-- Powerhouse of teaching ideas and interviews with experts of current reading strategies
@ChrisTuttell -- Friday Institute Presenter, podcasting with students expert, and runs a bookmobile that you can track on Twitter
@MsMacWilliams principal that retweets creative ideas from teachers
@NCCATNews some of the best professional development available
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Books, Podcasts, Articles:
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"How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading"-Podcast by Jennifer Gonzalez
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No More Fake Reading: Merging the Classics With Independent Reading to Create Joyful, Lifelong Readers by Berit Gordon
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Currently Reading:
Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay by Doris A. Santoro
The page has just begun, and I have so much left to add, but I wanted to get these resources out and about. Check back for more. ​
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Small Group Staples
Need one more piece to make your small group work? Try one of these.
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Small groups only work if some of the stations are independent. This site starts students off with an eight question assessment and then provides them with short leveled reading instruction. Directions for student sign up are on the site, and it's FREE!
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Audio Fluency Builder
Students learn intonation, sentence structure, new words, and so much more when they are read to. But how can you get the hours of read aloud that they really need? Look for audio books. Many popular children's and young adult books have been recorded on YouTube by educators or publishers. If you're lucky, you can find the author reading their own work. Students can track along with the audio in their own copy of the text. See the library section of my page to find sites with poetry audio clips as well. If you are really adventurous, use Screencastify to record your own, and include commentary and vocabulary explanations as you go.
Reminder: Make sure students mark their page AND the time stamp on the audio/ video when they stop.
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Use this free extension to record your computer screen and your voice explaining a previous assignment. Videos can be uploaded right to your Google Drive. Intimidating? Don't worry. I learned the basics in less than 15 minutes, and even though I hate recording, my kids love being able to have me teach them their own individualized practice. Students can easily reflect on their mistakes with a writing prompt or Google Quiz after the video is over. One of my colleagues suggested embedding "Easter Eggs," questions, or my favorite, "Find My Mistake" in the video to make sure students watch all the way through.
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*Always... I repeat... always have a plan for students that finish their station early and for students that may not finish as fast as others.
Again, I don't like complicated tech tools. This one is so simple. Take a video, snip it, and embed questions right into the video. The questions show up like commercials in the video, and you get the results. It keeps the question right with the answer instead of students fast-forwarding or replaying the video over and over again looking for the answer. It's an easy way to take videos from passive to active or to assess what students are taking away. It also lets you use a piece of the videos that you love that may not be a perfect fit for your lesson.