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Where I learned/heard about it: Just about every class in this program has a journaling component (at some point)

Summary/Application: Each class period starts off with journaling. A single prompt will be posted up on a board and students will take 5-7 minutes to write down their thoughts. Ideally, the topic should be one that will get students into the mindset needed for a productive class period. To wrap up, students will always do a pair share and, if time allows, there will be a group share out.

Rationale: Journaling can functions as a time for students to get all their initial thoughts out onto paper. They don't have to be connected ideas or written perfectly. I see journaling as a way to brainstorm thoughts connected to class content before we discuss. This gets the gears turning and provides students with notes they want to discuss. It also functions as a nice transition activity!

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Where I learned/heard about it: Ronnie, Andrew, and Ashley

Summary/Application: 3 images will be projected on the board and students will select 1. They will then assess the image and generate a story based on the image they selected. They will have 10 minutes to write and once the time is up they will do a large group share out.

Rationale: This prompt helps students get creative! It really plays into the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". Additionally, they are practicing their descriptive writing skills as they generate a story. This prompt would pair well with a short story unit. Not only does it require students to get creative, but it asks them to consider how images convey a message. Finally, it's a writing activity that calls upon students' lived experiences and the way they view the world around them. Even if you asked every student to write a backstory on the same image, every story would have it's own unique twists.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Amanda and Emily Rasher

Summary/Application: Students will select something they want to part ways with and write a letter to what they selected. This could be a person, place, thing, or idea. In the letter they must list 3 reasons why they no longer want the addressed topic to be in their life. When they are done, a table share will follow. To wrap it up, a group share.

Rationale: This is a fun activity that would function as a great intro into argumentative writing. It's fun and light-hearted, but it also asks students to make a statement and then back it up with "evidence"/rationale. This also can serve as an outlet for students to let off some steam and demonstrate how writing can serve as a personal outlet.

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Where I learned/heard about it: How Dare We! Write

Summary/Application: At the end of the year, students will be given the prompt "write a tender letter to your name--acknowledging any wounds or hurts or pain--and creating an intention or desire for another path your name could take into the world". Seeing that this is a relatively personal prompt, students can choose to share, but will not be required to. This feels like part two of "My Name Means...", so ideally students would start the year with that prompt and end the year with the tender letter.

Rationale: This prompt allows students to acknowledge the ways their name has been attached to the hurt they have experienced, while also giving hope for themselves and setting a goal of something to work toward in life. While they can't alter the past, they can imagine a hopeful future. While I think this writing activity is important, I can see how it may be more trying for students with dead names or for those who have gone by a more eurocentric name for the sake of teachers and also peers. At the same time, I think this activity could be empowering.

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Where I learned/heard about it: How Dare We! Write

Summary/Application: Students are given the prompt "the year is 2030. Write a three-paragraph newspaper article detailing how the water shortage is impacting your people". When they have completed the writing, they will present to the class.

Rationale: This prompt functions in quite a few ways. The first one being that it asks students to think about how current events will impact their future. This prompt is very much grounded in our societal reality. Additionally, students will engage in writing for a medium they normally do not--journalism. A third way is that is requires students to reflect on their identity and how that plays a role in the ways that the climate crisis will impact them. As students share out their journal entry, they will see how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts communities of color and communities the have a high population of people from lower SES backgrounds. With all of that said, there are plenty of things that need to happen before students are presented with this writing prompt (historical info, background on the climate crisis, history of the community the school is in, the feartures of a newspaper, and more).

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Where I learned/heard about it: Abby's class -- CI 5461

Summary/Application: Students will be broken up into small groups (3/4 people) and each week they will each be expected to bring in a piece of writing that their group members can peer review and provide feedback. The group should work together in generating writing guidelines (i.e. what type of feedback and how it should be provided, how many pages each person will bring, how much time will be spent on each person's writing, when their work should be submitted, and so on).

Rationale: Writing groups are a great way for individuals to practice working in a group setting. It also gives back agency to students in the classroom, seeing that they decide how to structure their group. Not only that, but it provides the opportunity to practice giving productive and constructive feedback, while also receiving it. This is something that would need scaffolding, but in the end it would equip students with several valuable life skills.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Reading, Writing, and Rising Up

Summary/Application: Students are asked to think of a place they call home. This does not need to be a physical place or the house they live in. They will then create a web map brainstorm of features from what they identified as home. Following the brainstorming, students will then write a poem (with each line of thought starting with "I'm from...") with the features they came up with in the brainstorm. When time is up, students will do a pair share and then a large group share out.

Rationale: This writing activity gives students the opportunity to bring something sentimental and important to them into the classroom. Plus, this writing activity also works to redefine what home truly means. When it comes to the writing portion itself, students will practice creating poetry, which diverges from the standard way poetry is often taught in school (follows a strict rhyme scheme, normally inaccessible and confusing, etc). Finally, it demonstrates how writing can be informed by personal experiences.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices

Summary/Applications: The specific senses I will be focusing on are sound, sight, and smell. For this activity, it will be paired with a text they are reading. Let's say students are reading a book where the outdoors are a major part of their reading. The class would then go on a field trip to a park/nature center/pond/green space/etc. in their community/neighboring community as a way to place themselves in the book's setting. While there, students would make note of what they are smelling, seeing, and hearing while there. Upon returning to the classroom, students will write about their experience.

Rationale: This activity asks students to engage with a text in a more intimate way. By immersing theirselves into the same setting as the text's narrator, students can get a deeper understanding of the story and the role nature (in this scenario) plays. In writing about the ways their senses were engaged, they also practice writing in a way that can immerse the reader. Finally, this activity is a way to demonstrate the ways in which students' communities are valuable resources.

BIG DISCLAIMER -- While immersing students in the world of a text can be a great way to deepen their understanding, there are plenty of off limits topics. For instance, Germán mentions that when working with a text centered on enslavement, students must not engage in role-playing.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Maddie and Emily Rova

Summary/Application: Slips of paper, which have a line from a show or movie are passed out to students. each student should have one quote. They then must write a story that contains the quote. When done, students will do a table share, then a large group share.

Rationale: I really like this writing activity because it incorporates pop culture into the classroom. This then can lead to higher engagement in the classroom. Not only that, but it also asks students to work on writing to a prompt. Additionally, the prompt asks the students to pre-plan their writing and envision where the story must go in order to fit a random quote in. Overall, this seems like a great way to get students engaged in their writing,while having a bit of fun!

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Where I learned/heard about it: Claire and John

Summary/Application: Students will have two minutes to brainstorm something they wanted in their childhood, but never got. This could be a serious want or a light-hearted and fun want. The first round of writing will be in the voice of their childhood self. The second round of writing will be from their current perspective looking back on the real reason why they wanted that thing. There will then be a table share followed by a group share.

Rationale: This writing activity asks students to participate in the writing process by brainstorming. Additionally, I like that it centers on student experiences/interests. Going along with that, the fact students are asked to engage in analysis through their own lived experiences is a great way to introduce look at a text critically.

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Where I learned/heard about it: My Co-Teacher, Debbie Paino

Summary/Application: Before reading an article, students will take a quick scan of the page keeping an eye out for the title, genre, author, images, and date published. While students are doing this, a worksheet that has two boxes will be passed out to the students. After making note of that they will read through the first paragraph only. In the top box, students will write down their article predictions based on the first paragraph and the features on the page (title, images, etc) that includes textual evidence. They will then navigate to the final paragraph and read that. Once done, the students will return to their worksheet and put a revised prediction in the second box based on all of that they have read (should also include textual evidence). Finally, they will read through the whole article and look back to their predictions at the end to see if they were correct.

Rationale: This really gets students to practice their observational skills. This is a life skill that they will not only need when reading future articles but also for the day-to-day (i.e. being observant of your surroundings). Not only that, but students also practice making educated guesses and backing it up with evidence. At the same time, they are practicing the revision process and learning how new information can impact prior understandings. In direct connection to reading skills, this strategy requires students to do a close reading in order to generate a prediction, which allows them to become a bit more familiar with the text before jumping in.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Chapter 7 in Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction

Summary/Application: The teacher prepares a list of the most common prefixes/suffixes in the English language prior to class and enough poster boards for each group. During class, students will be broken up into small groups and are asked to define and find as many words that include their prefix or suffix. The words that are used as examples should also be defined. When they learn their prefix/suffix, each group should be writing it down on their poster board, along with their examples. Students should refer to an online dictionary for assistance, but after defining their prefix/suffix should try and generate examples using their own knowledge. The final product will be presented to the class and hung up in the classroom.

Rationale: This strategy really hands over the learning process to the students. They are in charge of doing the research and then sharing their findings with the class. Additionally, hanging up the posters can give pride to students and their work, while also serving as a resource students can constantly return to. Another great feature is that students are getting practice in dissecting a word, while also generating examples. The more they familiarize themselves with the entomology of a word the easier chance they will have when reading. Finally, I really like that this brings in student collaboration and creativity.

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Where I learned/heard about it: AMT's class

Summary/Application: After a class period draws to an end, students are asked to reflect on what they have learned through discussion, readings, and lectures. Often it helps to give students a prompt so that they have some guidance in how to respond. This should ideally be completed before students leave class and turned in to the instructor.

Rationale: Exit tickets are great for quite a few reasons. The first being that students have time at the end of class to actually look back on what was learned. This can help with retention and even them diving deeper into something they learned. On top of that, we can learn what the big takeaways from the class were for students. This can then inform if we continue a conversation, return to a prior concept, stay on lesson for an extra, move further ahead, omit a lesson, etc. Finally, it can also be a place for students to ask questions, which we can then have time for in the next class to answer or work through with the class.

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Where I learned/heard about it: AMT's class

Summary/Application: Students will select three texts that tell a story of their journey with reading and the impact the texts had on them. For each text, they should share how they were introduced to the text, how it connects to prior texts mentioned, and the impact it had on them. In order to do this project, students can use VoiceThread (an online tool where students can upload presentations to and then add voiceovers on top of) or they can create a presentation and present it to the class.

Rationale: This would be a great activity to add the beginning of the year to gauge where students are at in their journey with reading. This can then inform our lesson planning for all future classes. Additionally, it's a great way to get to know the students and learn about what does and does not interest them. If there are commonalities across the board, then we can even pinpoint a mentor text or two and return to those in future lessons. Finally, it gives students a chance to reflect on how reading has shaped them as a person. The one drawback is that some students may not have texts to put down (for numerous reasons).

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Where I learned/heard about it: Shay, Josie, and Emily's micro-teach and in my high school

Summary/Application: Prior to reading a text, students will fill out the chart by jotting down what they know about a topic/book and what they want to know about it. By the end of the class, chapter, week, book, unit, etc. students will make note of what they learned and, hopefully, take that space to answer their questions.

Rationale: To start, this reading strategy helps honor a student's prior knowledge. Additionally, it asks them to enter a unit or text curious and be on the lookout for answers. In relation, I also feel as if it normalizes asking questions and not feeling pressured to know everything, which is often a message sent in schools. On our end, it helps us gauge where students are at and what we may need to add in, remove, adjust, and so on. Overall, it helps students really engage and comprehend a text.

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Where I learned/heard about it: AdLit website

Summary/Application: Prior to a reading, students will be split up into small groups (this will be based on class size and amount of sections to read). Within these groups, each student will be in charge of reading one specific section (pages, a chapter, an article, etc). When reading, each student should be making note of key concepts, quotes, notable moments, and so on. After each student completes the reading they will meet back up with the group they had been asigned to prior to the reading. Next, student will then take turns sharing out a summary, what stood out to them, etc. Finally, when all students have shared out they will need to make connections among each other's text and write down a 2-3 sentence summary of the overarching theme through the readings.

Rationale: To begin, this gives students to be in the role of a leader, which does not happen as often as it should. It also asks students to practice being able to read something and then communicate the main ideas to individuals who are not familiar with the concept. Plus, this strategy requires collaboration among peers to problem solve. Not only that, but they will need to be able to work with various perspectives and ways of processing info. Finally, it asks students to engage in close reading and being able to summarize what they have learned.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Chapter 11 in Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction

Summary/Application: Students are broken up into groups of 4 and are each required to individually read a small section in a text. They then come together and discuss what they read. This discussion should include moments of clarity, questions, and summary.

Rationale: There are several apparent benefits to using team reads in the classroom. To start, it encourages students to practice identifying key information in a text, while being able to convey said information to their peers. This skill is not only important in the classroom, but it's a crucial life skill. Additionally, being able to have space that encourages question asking is something that does not often happen. The educational system is set up to make students feel incompetent or dumb if they have questions, even though schools are pitched as places for educational growth. Often the unspoken norms work against that facade. Requiring questions sends the message that it's okay to not know everything.  Finally, the activity asks students to reflect on what they learned from the reading and how engaging with a challenging text has broadened their understanding of a concept.

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Where I learned/heard about it: My micro-teach group (Ronnie, John, and myself)

Summary/Application: Students are broken into groups and assigned to read an article that is either right or left-leaning. While reading, they should be looking out for terminology/phrases that indicate any sort of bias. Following their read-through, students will then share with their group what they found.  Next, students will be asked to write their findings down on a Jamboard slide that aligns with their group number. If time is left, each group with read the opposite article and follow the same procedure.

Rationale: For a generation that is very much online, it is crucial that they are able to identify when a piece of media is reporting on a topic through a biased lens. This could range from news articles to a TikTok. Our job is to be able to teach students what to look for and our classroom is the best place for them to get some practice.

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Learn About Bias

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We encourage everyone to read news across the political spectrum to get a comprehensive view of different perspectives and political leanings from liberal, Mixed, and conservative news sources. Please note that Center does not mean better! A Center outlet may still omit important perspectives, or run individual articles that display bias.

Our media bias ratings are fluid and subject to change over time as new information is gathered and biases change. See more on how AllSides Media Bias Ratings™ have evolved.

Learn what it means for an outlet to be Left, Lean Left, Center, Lean Right, Right, or Mixed.

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Everyone is biased - and that's okay. But hidden media bias misleads, manipulates and divides us. AllSides makes media bias transparent, helping you to easily identify different perspectives so you can get the full picture and think for yourself.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Drue's microteaching group

Summary/Application: Students are handed out a piece of paper that has two columns. For the right column, students will make note of passages, quotes, etc. that stood out to them. They will then use the left column to unpack and work through what they selected. Once they are done they can add it to a collection they have going for a particular text, turn it in to the teacher, or share it out with peers/large group.

Rationale: This reading strategy is one that can help students practice pulling out information that they deem relevant and important to a text. Additionally, it asks students to not only be able to pick out, but also unpack quotations to get a deeper understanding of the reading. Finally, this demands high engagement when reading and through that engagement, they are more likely to retain what they are reading.

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Teachers and students love double-entry journals because they are inherently collaborative and foster a connection between reading and writing.

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Where I learned/heard about it: Co-Teacher, Debbie Paino

Summary/Application: An online resource that has a wide selection of news articles that are of multiple genres. The best part is that there is an option for students to select their reading level, so students can all read the same content, but within their reading capabilities.

Rationale: I would use this platform as an external text to help give context to our primary reading. The external resources can help students better understand the author's intent, the political climate of the time period the text was written, gives a fresh interpretation of the text, and more. The option for students to select their reading level allows all students to read the information that will inform thier reading, regardless of their reading level.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.