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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Finally...


Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life.  Read more slices or add you own here.

A year ago this week was when I began thinking about not only changing grade levels, but also changing schools.  Although it was not an easy decision, the biggest enticement for me was teaching language arts and sharing my passion for reading and writing to four times as many students.  How much better could it get, right?

Well, little did I know exactly what kind of a challenge motivating middle school students to read would be.

I quickly found out that middle school students not only do not have as much time to read, but many do not even like to read.  I think many felt it was not "cool" to read, and image is everything to this age group.  I set out to change that.

I would give book talks and have them tweet about books.  I even exposed my reading life on my classroom door.  But I still could not spark that passion.  I was usually pretty successful at motivating my 4th grade students to read, and I became frustrated by my lack of success.  I was pretty confident I could change that, but I knew it would take the right book.

Finally...after almost an entire year has passed, I found the book that has ignited reading in my classroom.  Our social studies teacher came down the other day with the book in his hands and asked, "What is the deal with this book?  Everyone is reading it!"

I smiled and replied, "I know!  Isn't it great?"

The book is Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman, and it is about social media and the implications of making a poor decision.  I had to order three additional copies, making it a total of five, and I still don't have enough to fulfill the demand.  I even have several students who bought the book and are sharing them with students as well.

This book is timely.  This book is relevant to middle school students.  This book was what my students were looking for....finally!  

16 comments:

  1. Wow- that really must feel like a victory! I don't know the book but am going to look into it. Would be great for teachers of MS kids to share books that are a hit.

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  2. It is a magical feeling when you find "the one"! Next year you will already have that one in your library.

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  3. You pulled me in with that teaser back at TWT! And now I'm off to see if our library has this book. I found it more difficult to entice students to read as the years progressed in my teaching career. There are so many other things to lure them away from the page. So glad you found the book. Now you should create a list for summer - If you liked Backlash . . .

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  4. I'm going to put this on my must read this summer list. It is miraculous when you find that book, isn't it? Dory Fantasmagory was that book for my 2nd graders this year.

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  5. Oh the joy of finding THE BOOK. Bravo Leigh Anne. I am so inspired by your crazy passion to teach reading and writing to four times as many students. You're doing it and I'm not surprised. Sending book love to you!

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  6. Love your slice and your inspiration to not give up on kids in the middle!

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  7. Okay - off to order it right now.

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  8. Love this so much, of course! And I'm off to order the book too. I'll be sharing this post with my pre-service teachers--proof that we can't give up even when we think it might be hopeless!

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  9. One book at a time, that's all you need. I am glad you found the book and the book hooked the kids.

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  10. It will be added to my kindle as soon as I post this. Congrats! Love your persistence and happy you finally got them hooked!!

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  11. I'm going to recommend this book to our librarian for our 6th graders. Thanks for an inspiring post.

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  12. Oh, wow, that's a huge success! I'm going to forward this blog post to one of my JH teachers. Sounds like it will be a hit.

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  13. I think you need to get a commission from the publisher. 😊 What joy when you find THE book that hooks them. Well done Leigh Anne

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  14. Leigh Anne, good to know that you found the spark that is igniting your learners. What a way to end your year!

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  15. YAY!!!! I need to order it too. That is the best feeling, when they finally get it. Hang in there! Sixth graders can challenge you, but I think they are worth it! Thanks for the recommendation!

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  16. Loved that you didn't give up your search for "that" book. The subject matter sounds so timely. I think I will get a copy myself.

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