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Alternatives to Assigned Reading in High School

This post is specifically for upper grades- middle school and high school- but can be applied to younger grades with some adaptations if needed. 

Assigned reading is a very popular practice in Language Arts/ English classrooms across the nation, but what if there’s a better way? Here are a few alternatives to getting your students reading, but without the dreaded assigned books. 

For individual reading: 

Offer a large list of books for them to choose from. If there are certain guidelines or books you have to stay within the parameters of, this is a great option. It keeps you within the guidelines but gives the students their own choice in the literature they are reading. 

Do a one-on-one book report discussion. If the goal is for the student to read and comprehend a book, this works beautifully. Let them choose a book that interests them and schedule a day or two where you take students aside during independent work time to discuss the book with them and verify that they read it. Ask provoking questions about the characters and the plot. Even if you haven’t read every single book, teachers are typically pretty good at spotting those telling the truth and those wanting to fib a bit. 

For classroom reading involving the whole class: 

Have a class discussion and vote. If you’re choosing a book for the whole class to read, why not allow the students to bring suggestions to the table, discuss together, and vote? Keep in mind, books are books! Every suggestion is valid and worth bringing to the table. Yes, even comic books! 

Similarly, allow students to choose a book and defend it. Let the student or group of students choose the book for the next classroom read (again, all books are valid!). Give them a chance to build their case on their specific book and take turns defending their choice to the rest of the class on why their book should be chosen. This activity can be done in a day or it can be drug out over several days depending on how in-depth you want to go! 

What do you do in your classroom to find ways to bring out students’ voices in choosing books to read? 

Photo by Pixabay via Pexels

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Scholarship Reminder! Add Pictures to Your Submission

Here’s your weekly scholarship reminder: 

Add photos of your work to your scholarship application! Not only is this a requirement in order to qualify for the scholarship, but adding these pictures only helps your application. 

No amount of pictures is too many, I promise. There is a limit on how many you can submit on our actual submission page, but additional photos can always be emailed to us after your final application has been sent in. You can also insert photos on a Word, Google Document, or PDF and submit this as evidence as well to work around the picture limitations on our submission form. 

By giving us a good visual representation of your community project, it helps us verify the legitimacy as well as literally “see the big picture” of what you’ve been working on. 

Our email is also always open to any questions you may have or guidance needed during the process.

For more information on the scholarship, head here.

For our 2023 final submission link, head here.

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Parents Tips For Parent-Teacher Conference Season

Parent Teacher Conference season is quickly approaching along with the end of the school year, for some schools. If this doesn’t apply to you, give this article a read and then save it for next fall when you’ll inevitably want to read it again.

My first piece of advice for you is to identify if your school does Parent Teacher Conferences or if they do Student-Led Conferences. These two different types of conferences can sometimes look vastly different, so knowing what to expect going in is helpful.

An article that is helpful for Parent Teacher Conferences:

Questions To Ask At Parent-Teacher Conferences

Articles that are helpful for Student Led Conferences:

5 Signs of 21st Century Teaching to Watch For During Conferences #TeacherMom
23 Guiding Questions to Make Student-Led Conferences More Informative
Student-Led Conferences: Practical Guide & Resources
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The Librarian Makes the Library

It was a regular, sunny, Monday in May. But for my family, it was anything but ordinary. It was our first real day in the new town that we had just moved to, a small Idaho community that was completely new to us. I was unsure about the move to begin with because I absolutely loved the town we were living in previously. I was giving up great schools for my kids and friends and connections for our family by moving to a new, small town that I was not as comfortable with. 

My kids and I had to run an errand in City Hall to set up our utilities and the library is right next to City Hall, so we decided to stop in and get our library card while we were there. To give you perspective, our town’s library is a double-wide trailer. That’s the extent of how big it is. No basement, no upstairs. Just one level of a double-wide trailer. I was not impressed, to say the least! 

Reluctantly, we walked into the doors of the little, tiny library not knowing what to expect. 

Only to be met with a big, “Hello! Welcome to the library! My name is Susie, are you new in town or just visiting?” from the librarian sitting behind the front desk. She had a friendly face with an even friendlier smile. 

Side note: That’s a really great indicator that you’ve entered a small town, you’re immediately asked if you’re new or visiting because I really kid you not, everyone knows everyone and when a stranger enters, they know. 

I explained to Susie that we were new in town and without saying anything more she said, “Oh, you must have bought that house across the street from the post office! I know where you live!” Again… It’s just a small-town thing. 

We chatted and introduced ourselves as she showed us the kid room of books and toys. It was a very small section, but still very clearly loved and used by many. Then she continued the tour to the rest of the library where all of the books were shelved and asked more about what types of books I enjoyed reading so that she could give me book recommendations. 

We left this tiny double-wide trailer with a library card and a stack of books for my kids and me. On our walk home (Oh yeah, did I mention the library and City Hall are only a few blocks from our house? Small town life, everything is just a few blocks away.) I was taking time to reflect on my emotions before, during, and after our interaction at the library. 

Before we went in I was disappointed with what we saw- a very small building that couldn’t possibly hold enough books to constitute a library. Especially coming from such a nice, cozy, big library in our old town. 

While we were there I was pleasantly surprised by the warm greeting we received from Susie and the overall tour. I don’t ever remember being recognized as someone new in town or receiving a tour of any other library I’ve been to. I can genuinely say that the first friend I made in our new town was with the librarian. 

After we left I felt excited to go back to the library, return our books, and leave with a new handful that came recommended by Susie herself. These emotions were such a stark difference from what I was feeling leading up to visiting the library! 

Though the building was tiny, it truly was mighty. And it made me realize that being a “good” library doesn’t mean massive amounts of space and resources. A library isn’t judged on how many books are on the shelves or how many storytimes a week. 

What makes a good library is a really good librarian that has a friendly face and a big smile every time you walk through the door. It’s a space open to the public to feel safe and included. A library, by definition, is a room with a collection of books. But I think if you were to ask the regular library patrons what a library really is to them, they would say things like, “It’s a safe place for me to go after school until my parents can pick me up.”

“It’s a building I can rely on to have wifi because our internet is out right now.”
“It’s somewhere I can see a friendly face and find a good book.”
“It’s a familiar place that I like to bring my kids to story time each week.” 

A library is so, so, so much more than the building or the setup inside. And I am ashamed to say that I read a book by its cover and assumed the worst of our small town library. But once I opened it up and got to know it a little bit, I realized that I really did think I was going to like it here. 

Looking back one year later after our big move to the small town, I can firmly say that my attitude towards moving and living here was greatly influenced by my friend Susie. What an impact a library can have on someone! It’s incredible! 

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Scholarship Reminder!

Your scholarship application is due, soon! The deadline for your final submission is May 28, 2023, 11:59 pm MST

This gives you just over 6 weeks to finish up your work, gather photo evidence of what you’ve been working on, and fine-tune your submission paragraphs.

PLEASE keep in mind that the scholarship submission will take a good chunk of your time to go through, write everything out, and upload your files. We strongly suggest submitting everything several days before the due date to ensure everything is uploaded and in before the due date. If you are worried about something not going through or just want to make sure we received your submission, feel free to reach out to us via email.

Our email is also always open to any questions you may have or guidance needed during the process.

For more information on the scholarship, head here.

For our 2023 submission link, head here.

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Brain Breaks for Students That Actually Rest the Brain

Brain breaks are so important in school! It’s hard to sit down and cram your brain with so much information for several hours a day. So teachers, listen up! Here’s a list of (actual) brain breaks for you to use in your classrooms. This list applies to all ages of students, too.

Let me start off with this tidbit first. When choosing brain breaks, remember that the goal is to rest the brain, not make it work differently. What I’m trying to say is, Kahoot! is a great resource, but its time and place aren’t during brain breaks. 

Take a walk. Walk around the hallways of the school together or if it’s nice enough outside, take a walk around the school outside. A change of scenery can do wonders for the mind! 

Color a picture. There are a lot of free and paid printables online or ask parents to donate coloring books. Coloring and drawing can be so therapeutic! 

GoNoodle. I *think* that most teachers are aware of this resource, but just in case you’re not, GoNoodle on YouTube is great for movement brain breaks! They are videos designed to get students up and moving. 

Dance party or freeze dance. Turn the music up and play freeze dance or just have a dance party! I don’t think they’ve done any official studies on it yet, but I’m pretty certain the more dance parties that happen in a classroom, the happier the teacher and students are! 

Read a picture book. Kids are zoning out during a math lesson? Why not switch it up a bit and grab a fun picture book for them to enjoy before you get back to dividing fractions? 

Turn on relaxing music and play Sleeping Lions. The goal of sleeping lions is to be the lion that sleeps the longest. Everyone chooses a safe spot to lie down on the floor and rest while relaxing music plays. Go until the students start getting restless. 

Yoga. Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is a great resource, or there are other yoga videos for kids you can look up as well. 

What brain breaks do you use in your classroom? 

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Dear Future Teacher Me

Dear Future Teacher Me, 

I know it’s been a few years since you graduated with your teaching degree and received your teaching license (OKAY it’s been more than a few.) But someday you’ll find yourself back in the classroom teaching again when it feels suitable for your family. Someday you will walk through those doors to set up your own classroom instead of walking your own to theirs. 

And someday when that day comes, there are things you need to remember to carry with you that you learned during your time as a parent in the school setting instead of a teacher. 

Remember that all you ever want is what’s best for your kids. So when it feels like a parent won’t get off your back about something, remember that really all they want is what’s best for their child. 

Remember that you’re doing the best you can to support your children’s teachers, but sometimes it’s hard to be as supportive as possible because your life is busy and there’s a lot going on. So someday when you feel like you’re not getting enough support in your classroom, remember that these parents have multiple children and jobs and responsibilities. Their time to volunteer may not be right now. 

Remember that every day you send your children to school and worry immensely about their safety, but also place a lot of trust in the teachers and staff of the school to do everything they can to keep them safe. Remember this, because someday parents will be sending their kids to you and expecting the same. 

Remember that you think so highly of your kid’s teachers and are constantly impressed by what they are able to create and do in their classrooms and that someday, parents will think the same of you. 

Remember that you often forget to convey your gratitude and appreciation for your kid’s teachers and that parents will forget just the same. But that doesn’t mean the gratitude and appreciation aren’t there. 

Most of all, remember that you love your own kids, but you’ll also love your students like they are your own kids, too. Someday, you’ll make a great teacher. You may not have been teaching in a classroom for the last several years, but you’ve done your fair share of teaching with the children in your home, and that experience will carry over to your classroom someday, too. 

You’ve got this.