It is summer "break," and I'm feeling inspired and excited. Because of my dissatisfaction with how non-fiction texts were treated and taught last year, I am determined to make them a larger focus of my classroom this upcoming school year, so I am adopting Kelly Gallagher's "Article of the Week" idea (as well as his articles) -- all found here.
My dissatisfaction stems from students only reading non-fiction during 1 quarter of last school year. There are clearly advantages to organizing the school year in such a way, but I do not feel that doing so is a good idea for students. Especially after seeing my students struggle severely during our non-fiction unit last year, it is clear to me that adolescents need to read non-fiction on a much more regular basis.
Reasons I like Kelly Gallagher's "Article of the Week" idea:
- Predictability and routine.
- To bring non-fiction into the English classroom, a classroom traditionally focused on fiction, on a regular basis.
- To bring current events into the classroom, especially in the midst of reading "the classics."
- To give students authority over their education by giving them choice in what they read. I will not assign a specific article each week, but will rather supply many of the articles collected by Kelly Gallagher as well as others to students as discussions on Schoology. Students will then be allowed to choose an article to read and reflect on each week.
- Cross-curricular opportunities. I plan on sharing this idea with my House B colleagues and encouraging them to help me collect articles and non-fiction pieces throughout the school year relating to their subject areas.
- It requires and builds students' close reading skills.
- Opportunities for students to publish their ideas and writing in an online social environment.
- Opportunities for students to collaborate, communicate, connect, build understanding, and learn from one another.
This is what my Schoology looks like:
Collaboration Opportunities:
- What other reasons can I add to this list? I'm sure there are more.
- How do you teach non-fiction and incorporate current events into your classroom on a regular basis?
- I am still figuring out the logistics of grading students' weekly reflective close reading responses. Suggestions? Formative or Responsibility for Learning (RFL)? Read more on our English I grading philosophy here.
ALIGNED COMMON CORE STANDARDS:
No comments:
Post a Comment