Dear Students SOL #14

 Dear Students,

I walked down the hall today and saw this sign on our Student of the Week board. It made me sad because it is not the first time I have seen it this year. But it also made me reflect on my role as your reading teacher.

You were in first grade when we left for Spring Break and never came back. Much has happened since then. Students have changed; teachers have changed. 

I have noticed that we don't have the reading and writing stamina that we once had. Distractions have increased, and our motivation has decreased.

It is not just you; it is also me.

If you had me as a teacher a few years ago, you would have seen me excited about books. You would have heard me talk about books almost every single day. You and I would have conversations about the books you were reading.

I would have recommended more books, given you more time in class to read, and sat down with you reader to reader.

And I would never have seen this sign. 

I have eight more weeks with you, and I hope to find that reading teacher I once was and know I can become again. I have stacks of books waiting this week for me to pick them up, read them, and share them with all of you. 

Spring Break, here I come!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eck

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Books, Books, and More Books SOL #12

Can a person, especially a teacher, ever have too many books? 

Absolutely, positively NO!

I thought you'd say that! I totally agree although my husband may not.

Where did you get all of those books?

We have a foundation in our district that awards grant money to teachers to spend in their classrooms each year. As long as we are a member, we can apply to get up to $500.

You can get anything you want for your classroom?

For the most part, yes, But I always get books, books, and more books.

These are some great titles! 

I took titles from the lists of teachers I follow on social media. Many of these titles came from Colby Sharp. I get a lot of recommendations from him. 

OH! The Night War. I love that series by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

Me too! I was on a panel with her at NCTE. She was a delight!

And Gordon Korman is one of my favorites!

My students love him!

The Probability of Everything was an amazing book!

Her second book is this stack too! I have heard a lot of good things about that one.

Which one are you going to read first?

Now, that is a very good question! Which one do YOU think I should read first?

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

My 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

The year is days from ending, and people are beginning to talk, write, and post about reading challenges from the past year and the upcoming year. Reading these usually motivates me, but this time it has been hard. This was not a banner reading year for me although it wasn't my worst year, according to my Goodreads account. Reflecting back on the year, I have learned a few things about my reading life.

1. Distractions are real. We hear so much about our student's being distracted by their phones. I know this is true, but I also know my phone is my biggest distraction. I often reach for my phone instead of a book, and it is something I am not real proud of. I know I need to fix this problem if I want to reignite my reading life.
2. My reading life affects my students' reading lives. I know the connection between books, teachers, and students. I have written about it; I have presented it; I have preached it. I used to live by the quote by Steven Layne, "Never underestimate the power of a great book in the hands of a teacher who knows how to use it." That was me. I need to find that "me" again.
3. Bad habits form quickly, and good habits quickly die. Stacking habits is something I believe in. Finding a habit I already do and add a new one to it. For example, when I eat breakfast every morning, read a few pages. This is something simple I can do to help my reading (and avoid #1!)

But I am not going to beat myself up over this dismal reading year. Donalyn Miller once wrote in a Nerdy Book Club post:  "Most readers experience this ebb and flow--alternating between reding binges and dry spells." I will continue to hold tight to these words while looking at ways to end this dry spell.

However dismal this year was, I still read some amazing books that have become my favorites of 2024!

For someone who has never played basketball, I have a long history with it. My sister both played and coached for years, and my daughter has followed in those footsteps. When I see books about girls who play basketball, I have to read it. If you have any girl basketball players, I highly recommend this one! Basketball, friendships, rivalries, and March Madness! What’s not to like?!?! Being from Indiana, I would have loved the girls to have chosen the movie "Hoosiers" to watch!

I was afraid to read this sequel to Frindle for fear of being disappointed. I don't know if it was the backstory about finding the manuscript years later or having read to my students in my first year of teaching, but it was everything I wanted it to be!

Playing sports in the late 70s and early 80s, the struggle for girl athletes portrayed in this book is real. Living in Indiana, the basketball history and culture is accurate. Being a graduate of Butler University, the pictures of Hinkle Fieldhouse are nostalgic. I absolutely adored this book. I even got a little teary-eyed at the end! The back pages with the story of the three athletes on which this story was based, made me appreciate Matt Tavares' research and accuracy. I can't wait to get this in my classroom this fall.

What a book! Two of my high school friends grew up struggling with eating disorders, ten years before Jake's story began. We, their friends, didn't know about it, and then when we did, we really didn't understand. As I was reading this, I wondered if this was the type of pain they went through. Did they feel this alone? Should we have seen something sooner? I wish they could have read a book like this all those years ago, and I wish we, as their friends, could have read it too.

With 2025 around the corner, I am looking forward to getting my reading life flowing again, and I am always looking for recommendations!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/15/24

 

Thank you to Unleashing Readers for continuing to promote reading and great book titles and especially for letting us wayward readers find our way back here.

What I Read Last Week

Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart is the sequel to The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. I don't often say this, but as much I loved the first book, I liked the second one much better.

I know my love for this book is based on my current life experiences. In the first book Coyote and her father take a cross-country road trip to run away from accepting the death of Coyote's mother and sisters. In this second book, Coyote is finally ready to say goodbye after finding her mother's ashes in a hidden box. Another road trip to scatter her ashes leads Coyote, and me, to discover some hidden truths about the way we let go of those we love and an appreciation for the life we have.

This book is due out in Early March, and I highly recommend it...along with a box of tissues!

I am slow reading All It Takes Is a Goal for a Teach Write book club. We have read and discussed the first section, which is about making a Best Moments List. Acuff states that instead of looking forward to plotting our future such as vision boards, we need to look back at the best moments of our life. A best moment is when our vision and our reality overlap; it's "when you hoped life could be actually matches how life is" (p. 54).

This list becomes a snapshot of who we really are, and four categories emerge from studying the list:  experiences, accomplishments, relationships, and objects. He states that when we understand these categories, "your list transforms from a task about the past into a tool for the future. It's like finally seeing the individual ingredients for your favorite meal and realizing you can cook it again and again" (p. 48). 

I am not sure where he is going with the list as we move into the next part, but I did learn a lot about myself from doing this activity. It brought gratitude to the forefront and made me look at what is really important to me. I find myself keeping a running list of my best moments in my notebook. Even if you don't read this book, creating your own list just might surprise you about what you find in your own categories.

Currently Reading

I am vicariously participating in the "In Case You Missed It Book Challenge." In this challenge, I choose a book that I missed reading the year it was published, starting with 2012 and ending with 2023. I chose A Man Called Ove, which I know was a favorite among many of reading friends, BUT I missed reading it.

After being named Indiana Rural Teacher of the Year for 2023, I am trying to be more cognizant of rurality in my reading life and in my classroom, so I hope to finish this collection of voices from rural America.

Reading more in '24!

2023: The Year of the Reading Slump #IMWAYR

Thank you to Unleashing Readers for continuing to promote reading and great book titles and especially for letting us wayward readers find our way back here.

The year 2023 has been my year of the reading slump. I did not meet my Goodreads goal:  49/60. For whatever reason, I could not find a rhythm to my reading life. This not only affected my personal life but also my teaching life. 

I feel my students have also not been reading as much as they have in the past. Upon reflection, I feel my reading life, of a lack thereof, has bled into theirs. I know when I bless a book, the likelihood of my students picking it up and reading it increases. When I am excited about a book, they become excited about a book.

I know how this works!

But that just hasn't happened this year. Which is why I am posting here today. I am hoping that being a regular part of this community will help to motivate me and reignite my passion for middle grade books.

I have included my top 10 reads for 2023 and what I have learned from reading them.

When Stars Are Scattered was my last book read in 2023 and made me realize how lucky I am to have the freedoms that I do.

Wand had just enough fantasy to keep me going and left me appreciating the fact that "The more people you love, the bigger your heart gets."

Slacker taught me that even gamers have big hearts, and that when we open them, we never know what we might get in return.

The One and Only Ruby showed me that family, no matter what it looks like, is important.

A Work in Progress...well, we all really are a work in progress.

The Do More Club opened my eyes to what it is like to be Jewish in our country and we should all strive do "more good" in our world.

Dust shows the importance of when you see something, say something.

Finding Perfect shows that people may not always be what they seem on the outside and taught me even more about people with anxiety. 

Rivals reinforces my belief that there is more to being athlete than winning and losing.

City Spies is an espionage/thriller series that lets me get wrapped up in great adventures and helps me appreciate that it is ok to lean on others to help us work through our problems.

        

      

  

Looking forward to reading more in 2024!

Rumors

Have you ever read something set in a time period that makes you wonder, "Has time really passed?"

I just finished Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai, a novel in verse about two Japanese girls escaping the Soviet Army during World War II. One poem was titled "Rumors." This poem is about how the civilians would hear different stories, or rumors, such as Americans wiped out Japan--no one is alive. The Emperor has been killed, or Japan is now part of America. People were confused and didn't know what was really happening with this war, and they didn't know how long ago the "rumors" they heard had actually happened. They didn't know who to trust.

Here are the last three stanzas in the poem:

"I don't trust anything

anyone says.

It's like on that day

I found out about 

Japan's surrender.

All the things I thought

were true were lies,

and only lies matter

in this world now."

This scene took place in 1945 and all I could think about as I read this poem was how this could describe our world still today. A world bombarded with mistrust and lies.

The only difference is today we get the lies within seconds.

 After participating in the Slice of Life March Challenge by Two Writing Teachers, I am continuing to write my stories with other teacher-writers as we share a slice of life on Tuesdays.

A Book that Features a Journey #MGBOOKMARCH

Not that I need another challenge in my life right now, but I am joining folks at MG Book Village on Twitter to share some middle-grade book love this month. Each day has a different prompt, and people share their favorite book that fits that prompt. Sounds easy enough! And what a great way to learn about new titles and add to my TBR list. Here is day one!

A book that features travel or a journey:

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

In this novel in verse, Jude and her mother leave their brother and father and their home in Syria to journey across the ocean to the United States. As Jude begins to adjust to the fast-paced life in America, she finds herself with a new identity - "Middle Eastern." She makes new friends, meets new family members, tries out for a part in the school musical, and finds out how lovely it is to be part of something bigger than herself.

"Hoping,

I'm starting 

to think,

might be the

bravest thing

a person can do."

Other Words for Home is a beautiful journey about hope and love and courage.

What are your favorites books that have taken you on a journey? 

#Mustreadin2019 Wrap-Up

With 2019 wrapping up, it is time to reflect on my #MustReadin2019 challenge. Carrie Gelson at There's A Book for That started this challenge back in 2014. I have "participated" (and I use that word loosely!) every year. I enjoy creating a reading list, as I think it is important for readers to have a plan.

Carrying out that plan is where I typically run into problems. I did not write any update posts throughout the year, so here are my final results!

This year I had fifteen books on my challenge list, and I completed seven, the last one being read at the end of May. 

I will have to say that I enjoyed all of them, and with the exception of the two Shusterman books, they were all different. If I had to pick a favorite from this list, it would have to be Dry by Shusterman. 

I hope 2020 brings much joy in reading for all of you!

Fall Break, Comfort Food, and Nikki Grimes #TeachWritetober19

It's fall break. But a break is a far cry from what I would call these past two days.

I have been
     pitching
          purging
               tossing
                    switching
                         sorting

and wondering how in the world did all of this mess happen in these short nine weeks.

Among all this cleaning, I did take some time to read Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes. My eyes are always opened and my heart gets a little bigger when I read something from her. And this book did not let me down.

We just finished our first nine weeks, so realtionships are strengthening. Reading the stories of Kyle, Marcel, Darrian, Freddie, Jenesis, Valentina, Angela, and Li help me to remember that behind each pair of eyes that look at me each day, is a story, stories that some are afraid to tell and stories that don't yet know how to be told.

I begin to wonder how I can be more like Mr. Ward and teach them how to not only search for their stories, but how to find their words.

We're not there yet, but I'm still working on it. I reflect on Darrian's words, "Once you teach a bird to fly, you should expect him to use his wings."

Yes, we'll get there.



Tonight I fixed a dinner of comfort - a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato-basil soup. The kind of meal that warms the heart and soothes the soul (and I so wish it could soothe these aching muscles too!).

I have Nikki Grimes' newest book, Ordiary Hazards, beside me ready to read and my notebook open, ready to write. From what I hear, it has many lines that need to be savored and treasured. Check out Paul Hankins' review on Goodreads.

Fall break, comfort food, and Nikki Grimes...a fall evening doesn't get much better than that!
                       

Only 158 Pages to Go! #TeachWritetober19

I am procratination's best friend! We go togther like peanut butter and jelly! 

I had intentions of sharing stories this school year - 180 of them - one each day of the school year.

But THAT obviously didn't happen. 

Instead, I decided to take the time this month while I participate in #TeachWritetober19 to find those stories in my classroom and live my school year through them. Single stories are all around us, single stories that build great things.

Here is story number one.

"Briana" is a student who has struggled with reading. It's not that she can't - she just doesn't. As I conferred with her yesterday, I could tell she wasn't into her book. I suggested another book, but when I mentioned foster care, she immediately cut me off and said, "I don't want to read about foster care."

I backed off, not knowing what our conversation had triggered.

Come to find out, she was mad at me for another matter. Later that day she came in and asked if she could get another book becuase she didn't like the one she was reading. She looked down and asked me, "Can I have that one you were talking about this morning?"

I smiled and said, "Of course." I went to my closet to get one of my extra copies of Orbiting Jupiter, and handed it to her. "You're going to love it. I promise!"

Today during first period we were reading, and when I made the announcement that it was time to close our books, she begged, "No, wait!" She even carried and read the book with her to get a computer from the computer cart - she did not want to put the book down!

My reading heart skipped a beat.

She is only on page 25, and if you have read this book, then you know how much I want to talk to her when she finishes this book.

Only 158 pages to go!

Creating Reading Experiences

This past week, Donalyn Miller wrote a post about her annual #bookaday on the Nerdy Book Club Blog. She explains how the #bookaday came about and the guidelines to participate. But toward the end of the post, she writes this:

"Ultimately, the measure of a reading life isn't how many books we read. We measure our reading lives in the experiences, knowledge gained, the conversations and relationships we have with other readers, or the further reading inquiry, or action our reading experiences spark."

Like many things Donalyn says, this got me thinking and has left me with many questions. As hard as I try to be a literacy advocate in and out of my classroom, I believe I can always do more and be better.

I have been thinking about how can I make reading experiences stronger in my classroom. How can I create different ways for my students to show their knowledge through reading? How can I improve conversations about books and our reading lives, which will build reading relationships? How can I engage students, which will spark that desire to read and learn more?

I brainstormed and made a list of things to think about this summer, which I share with you.

• I can be more consistent with my book talks and give more opportunities for students to talk about books among themselves. Summer is a great time to revisit books I have read and to think about the books I will share in the fall.
• I can be more consistent with making reading time in class a priority. Some times I let other important-things-at-the-moment take up the time set aside for reading. I believe Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher have said if they aren't reading at school, then they aren't reading at home. It is difficult to have reading experiences when students aren't reading.
• I can strengthen my reading conferences. Making time to confer with every student regularly allows me to create reading relationships. 
• I can continue to read myself. When I sit down with my students to confer, they know we are talking reader to reader, not teacher to student. Being familiar with the books in my library helps me to recommend books to students, solidifying that reader to reader relationship.
• I can create different ways for students to share what they have learned through reading. Reading response is a part of my standards and is expected. But the response does not always have to be a written paragraph or essay. 
• I can find texts that will spark their thinking and lead them to other reading. Thanks to the connections on social media, finding texts that are timely and relevant for my students is much easier. Summer is the perfect time to search for these.

As Donalyn said, it is these experiences that ultimately measure a reading life. This fall, students from four elementary schools will converge in my classroom, each coming with their own set of reading experiences. These experiences have made or have broken a reader and also contribute to students' attitudes about reading. 

My students come from AR reading experiences. Points are how they measure their reading lives. I have many students who come in saying they don't like to read; some even say they hate reading.

It becomes my job early in the year to find out about their experiences. But most importantly, to create better ones.

Ones that will become a new measure of their reading lives, hopefully, for years to come.

#MustReadin2019

It's that time of year when resolutions are made, goals are set, and reading lists are created. I am joining Carrie Gelson at There's A Book for That and many other readers to create a list of books that I want to read in the upcoming year.  Click on the image above if to take you to Carries's round-up link.  Please consider joining us or taking a peek at some great book recommendations! But beware - you risk your list growing exponentially!

My list for 2019 has a little of everything, and I currently own all but one.

Making a list is the easy part; completing the list is much harder!  Especially when I still have boxes of books just waiting to be read as well.

But I still enjoy participating.

Last year I had eight books on my list, two for each quarter of the year, and I read six. This year I have 15 books!  My reading life should get back to normal now I have completed my Master's degree!

Here is my Must Read in 2019 List:

Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles

After Zero by Christina Collins

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman Read May 28,2019

Resistance by Jennifer Nielsen

The Truth as Told Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen

Front Desk by Kelly Yang Read January 2, 2019

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart Read March 21, 2019

Blended by Sharon Draper  Read January 23, 2019

Dry by Neal Shusterman Read January 12, 2019

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti Read January 21, 2019

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

The Third Mushroom by Jennifer Holm Read May 28, 2019

A Very Large Expanse of See by Tahereh Mafi

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!