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Secondary Urban Legends

Spreading research- based practices and the joy of reading.

Archives for July 2020

Writing Framework for a middle school ELA Classroom

15 Best PD Books for Teachers of Literacy

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secondaryurbanlegends

Curriculum Writer 📚 🖊
Secondary #elateacher 👩🏽‍🏫📓
Education blogger 📨📝
Promoter of #diversetexts
Avid book pusher 📖
God-lover, wife, & boy mom 👦🏾

Years ago I heard Kylene Beers share research on h

Years ago I heard Kylene Beers share research on how independent reading slows in fourth grade and never seems to recover. Then recently it was reported on the high number of students entering college who haven’t read a book independently in years. The data has been clear on the benefits of reading but it still hasn’t translated to all classrooms YET. Also reading should not just be in ELA classrooms. All content areas should try and build in time. This year as we go back and make professional goals, try to include one goal related to making more time for choice reading. Trust when I say there is a book for every reader and if it takes them starting and putting down ten books then so be it but they will find that style, that character, that writer that they click with. #trusttheprocess

84 degrees is cool by Florida summer standards so

84 degrees is cool by Florida summer standards so taking the #bts prep outdoors today

New school year tip #tedtalk #teachertip #educator

New school year tip #tedtalk #teachertip #educatorsofig #igconnect4edu #weareteachers

Nor is she using Google Classroom, Seesaw, Flipgri

Nor is she using Google Classroom, Seesaw, Flipgrid, or Microsoft Teams.🤣🤣😳 I know my fellow department heads and instructional coaches feel my pain.. Please share tips and strategies for the sometimes digitally reluctant teacher in the comments below 👇🏾

Is your cart ready? Cause mine is 🙌🏾 GO DO S

Is your cart ready? Cause mine is 🙌🏾 GO DO SOME REVIEWS FOR FREE CREDIT FYI #tpt #tptteachers #tptseller #teachertips

August #tbrstack.. 🤞🏾

August #tbrstack.. 🤞🏾

Getting my back to school #ootd ready.. 💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️ #teachertees for days!! Celebrate 🎊 Now to order my teaching ain’t political tees for all those staff and district meetings 😝😱😬 #teampetty #teachersofinstagram

Enjoying the calm before the storm hits with one o

Enjoying the calm before the storm hits with one of the books from my July #btrstack 🤷🏽‍♀️
⠀
Stay safe my Florida peeps.. even though it’s a little one, 2020 certainly has taught us that we can’t control nature. #floridateachers #floridaliving #floridateacher #igteacher

As a Title 1 teacher, I love the passion and energ

As a Title 1 teacher, I love the passion and energy my students have. Most times when comments start off with ‘Title 1’ in the teacher sphere, somehow it is followed up with a negative comment about behavior and attitudes of students. Guess what?

Oftentimes that’s more a reflection on the teacher’s attitude and behavior.
As far as THIS Title 1 teacher is concerned, my students are full of life, intelligent, hungry for knowledge that pertains to them, committed to excellence, and so much more.

THEY ARE LEGENDS!

These communities are special and should be served by those who are committed to students’ needs and can feed off of their energy to know what drives our babies.

This school year I am focusing on trying to ensure that this sense of unity and culture is still felt even if it is virtually in the classroom.
#thankyouforcomingtomytedtalk

I love starting the year off with Nickname Game be

I love starting the year off with Nickname Game because it addresses the topic of how we view ourselves and what happens when we reframe the words we speak over our lives.

With so many students entering my classroom as dependent and striving readers, I’ve learned that part of the work I do as their reading teacher is to equip them not only with skills to improve but also equip them to believe in themselves again.

What book do you start the year off with? 📚

Can’t wait to go on IGTV and do me review on thi

Can’t wait to go on IGTV and do me review on this delightfully surprising book by @janaemarksbooks .. sneak peek: great for middle and high school classrooms with an important conversation woven through a story that I feel all kids can relate to. I already know my text connections and writing ideas that I can’t wait to share soon..

After listening to Rep Ocasio-Cortez eloquently de

After listening to Rep Ocasio-Cortez eloquently defend herself, it reminded me why I spend so much time telling my students that words have power. When they learn to put the right ones together in the write order, they will always have a voice. Teach children to have a voice. #creatingfortheclassroom #iteachtoo #iteachsecondary #igteachers #weareteachers #teachersofthegram

Instagram post 17893383661569729

Instagram post 17893383661569729

Working this weekend on how to accomplish filling

Working this weekend on how to accomplish filling these needs in a virtual classroom. #distancelearning #weareteachers #remotelearning #teachertips #igteachers

Things happen.. Covid-19 happens.. progress happen

Things happen.. Covid-19 happens.. progress happens... Life continues.. stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.. #mymotto #teachersofinstagram #mindshift #teacherlife #weareteachers

Not quite fully tech but I love this website for o

Not quite fully tech but I love this website for original and unique images to use in my classroom. Picture for writing responses, brain breaks, you name it! Swipe 👉🏽 to see some that I plan to use. #distancelearning #writingprompts #writinginspriation #igconnect4edu #teachertips #weareteachers

A collaborative, digital whiteboard that makes it

A collaborative, digital whiteboard that makes it easy to create and share ideas in real time.

Jamboard makes learning visible and accessible to all collaborators on the jam session.

You can pull in images from a Google search, save work to the cloud automatically, use the easy-to-read handwriting and shape recognition tool, and draw with a stylus but erase with your finger – just like a whiteboard.

An entire class can join the same jam from other Jamboards and phones and tablets with the Jamboard app. You can also assign students to individual pages within a jam and monitor their work like you would In slides.

Think vocabulary activities.Think sentence diagramming.Think hexagonal thinking. Jamboard opens up a realm of possibilities as students learn, collaborate, and engage in active new ways. #creatingfortheclassroom #remotelearning #distancelearning

You Go First is an engaging book that I’ve used

You Go First is an engaging book that I’ve used excerpts from as part of our identity unit. I like to incorporate books into my sixth grade class that touches on concerns that we know many sixth graders feel about this transitional time in their lives. It helps them to feel not alone when someone puts words to their thoughts.
I’m now revisiting it to decide if I’m going to replace the 6th grade Nickname Game with this book because last year’s group didn’t gravitate to Nickname Game as much as previous students did.
It’s good practice in my book to reflect and modify your lessons to make sure they work for your students. #iteachela #middleschool #elateacher #middleschoolers #teachersofig #weareteachers #teachertips

I love student collaborating. I love listening to

I love student collaborating. I love listening to the students teach each other and learn to work cooperatively. So I HAD to figure out how to integrate collaboration while working remotely. Sharing those ideas with you at the upcoming @ela_success_summit. Visit their site to register so you do not miss out on my tips and many many others geared specifically for literacy instruction. #distancelearning #remotelearning

I recently found out about this feature Google Cus

I recently found out about this feature Google Custom Search and I am super stoked about it because my classes do a lot of online research as part of their inquiry projects or when creating their TED TALKS and podcasts. This would help me help them focus in on collecting information.
1. Visit their site.
2. Click create new search engine.
3. Add the web pages that you want your students to ONLY be able to populate search results from.
4. Choose view it on the web.
5. Share link with students.
6. Voila! They put in what they want to search and results are filtered based on searching just the sites you want them to search.
Part of digital literacy 👩🏾‍💻 is teaching students how to look for reliable and valid websites when doing research so scaffolding them with specific webpages, I am modeling for them what type of sites that should be.
🚗 Technology is a vehicle for so many things. 🚗

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