Teaching Literacy

Have you run Literature Circles before and are looking for some fresh ideas for student roles? Or are you looking to start book clubs for the first time? Either way, this is the perfect place to learn about the many options for literature circle roles – the key ingredient for ensuring a well-developed, engaged and […]

Genius Hour (passion project or 20 percent time) is an incredible way to bring student choice, inquiry-driven learning and differentiation into the classroom. If you’re not familiar with it, read this post outlining the what and why of Genius Hour first. If you know you want to implement Genius Hour, but aren’t sure how, this

At its core, Genius Hour is student-driven, inquiry-based learning. Students choose a topic they care about and want to learn more. If you’ve heard of Genius Hour (or Passion Projects or 20% Time), but you’re not too sure what it means, you’re in the right place! This post is going to explain exactly what is

You’ve decided to run literature circles. Awesome! But now you have to figure out the best books for your 5th grade students. We’ve got a fantastic literature circles book list for you, filled with a variety of classics and new, fiction and non-fiction, challenging and easier novels. Want more information on running literature circles in

Kids love to tell you what they think and opinion writing is the perfect outlet for them to do it appropriately. These elementary opinion writing prompts will have your students wanting to write so they can tell you exactly what they think about topics that are relevant and interesting to them! Opinion writing is the

What is the purpose of literature circles? How do you structure a literature circle? How long should Literature Circles last? What is the teacher’s role in literature circles? How do you differentiate a literature circle? If any of those questions sound familiar or you are looking for ways to shake up your literacy block, Literature