students choice – Pernille Ripp

Note: Yes, you may adapt this to fit your own needs, please just make a copy because these are my original documents. Please give credit and also do not adapt it to sell it online or in any way benefit financially beyond your salary as an educator.

We got the the news yesterday; school will be physically shut until the end of the year. The emergency remote teaching will continue. I cried when I heard. I know it seems so silly in the grand scheme of things but I miss our community so much, we didn’t say goodbye, I worry about them, the work I am assigning and everything in between. While the year is not over, it still feels so final. Who would have thought that this was it when I told them to take care of themselves and have a great weekend on March 13th?

And yet, we have also prepared for this type of teaching and learning without even knowing it would be needed. As detailed in my book, Passionate Learners, we pursue independent choice-based learning in almost everything we do all year, not by happenstance but by design. We focus on creating opportunities for students to be independent while figuring out how they learn best as individuals. We focus on choice, personalization, and giving tools for students to speak up for their needs. We do self-paced learning throughout the year and have introduced tools to them as we need. We didn’t plan to finish the year apart, but we are as ready as we could be.

The first round of choose your own learning was fairly successful. Many students appreciated the choices, many students enjoyed the opportunity to pick something that would fit their own learning needs right now and then pursue it with different levels of support from their teachers. Many students clearly showed off their learning and found it worthwhile, fairly stress free, and interesting.

As I would in our classroom, I asked for their feedback before kicking off this second round and tweaked a few things. I also added a new option for them; the daily writing exercises as a way for students to flex their writing muscles without worrying about a long piece. I added better instructions a few places, added in a check-in virtually for others. I am sure there is still much that can be done.

This second round will last a little more than two weeks hopefully. If we need to adjust we will, if we need to change it mid-flight we will. And yes, I share so that perhaps others can use it, please adapt it to your own students as this is made for the ones I know. I will try to give links here to everything that I can.

I welcome the students every time with a slide show posted in Classroom. This is where they will see me welcome them back in a video, see the choices and also make their selection on the survey toward the end. To see the slide show, go here it is short and to the point on purpose.

Three out of the five projects require a weekly meeting with me, students are simply asked to sign up on a form that looks like this.

So what are the choices?

Choice 1: The independent reading adventure.

On this adventure, you will use a self-chosen fiction chapter book to further your reading analysis skills. Read and either record or write answers to questions that show your deeper understanding of your chosen text.

Students are given a choice board where they select 4 “boxes” to do with their book. Every box has a video to help them in case they are stuck. These are mostly lessons from me so if you use this, i would encourage you to make your own lessons for your students using language that is familiar to them.

This used to be a much more art-based project, I modified it to fit a written response, only because I am not sure if kids will have access to art materials. However, kids can still choose to illustrate and use art to answer their selected questions. All of the questions are review, so we have done this work before but they get to practice by applying it to a new book. This was inspired by the one-pager project, my colleague does and I am grateful for her work.

This required more independence from students then I think some realized and so a tweak I have made for the second round is that students need to check in once a week with me to discuss their progress.

To see the overall directions for teachers and for students to make their choice, go here

To see what students are given to do the project, go here

Choice 2: The picture book read aloud.

On this adventure, you will listen to a picture book being read aloud every day by lots of fantastic people. Then you will write or record a response to a specific question every day.

This was a popular choice the first round because a lot of students felt it was easy to manage; listen to one picture book read aloud, write a response a day. I love it because it honors the picture book read alouds we have done throughout the year, and it allowed me to gather fantastic picture book read alouds that have been shared. I tried to make sure that all choices here are following fair use and copyright guidelines as I do not want to harm any of the creators whose work is being shared. Sample questions can be seen below and the rest is found in the links.

To see the overall directions for teachers and for students to make their choice, go here

To see what students are given to do the project, go here

Choice 3: The Inquiry Project.

Ever wanted a chance to just pursue a major topic of interest for yourself? Now is the chance, craft a learning plan for yourself with Mrs. Ripp, learn more about your topic and then showcase your learning to our community. The students who chose this in the first round, really liked it and said this was easier than they thought, so don’t be afraid to try this project.

Project requirement:

Identify an inquiry question you want to pursue – remember, inquiry questions are not straight “Googleable,” they will need learning from many sources or experiences to answer.
Fill in the learning plan to show what you will be learning and how you will challenge yourself.
Do the learning on your own, checking in with Mrs. Ripp every week virtually.
Create a product of your choice to showcase your learning – you have many choices of what to create.

Independence expectations:

This is a project that will require discipline and focus. Because you will not be creating a day-to-day product, you are expected to produce a larger final learning product to share your learning.
The inquiry question you choose to pursue can be one that you already know something about or one that you know very little about, it is up to you.
There should be NEW learning though that happens throughout, not just a summary of what you already knew.

Students will be asked to do a learning plan, so I can support them if they choose this project. It looks like this:

We have done two other inquiry projects so I have seen students navigate this before, I am hoping this will give kids a chance to explore what they would like to explore rather than all of their learning choices being dictated by adults. The few students that chose this the first round loved it and I hope their enthusiam gives other students a chance to try it as well. It was wonderful to see students immersed in learning that they chose again and also thinking about how to showcase it in a way that they may not have used before.

To see the overall directions for teachers and for students to make their choice, go here

To see what students are given to do the project, go here

Choice 4: The Creative Writing Project.

Have a story to tell? Here is your chance to use dedicated time in English to pursue your own writing craft and put some of those sweet writing moves you have been working on into action. Decide how you want to grow as a writer, discuss with Mrs. Ripp, and then start writing. Teaching points will be based on what you are hoping to work on.

The few kids that chose this loved it. They loved the choice in lessons and the feedback that allowed them to write something meaningful to them. To help with lessons, students are given a video bank of lessons that they can choose from every day, as well as the option to find their own lessons and post those. They are asked to create a daily writing lesson plan so that I can see they are working. The once a week check-ins worked well as well because they were just like the writing conferences we would have in class.

Project requirement:

Identify your areas of strength as a writer – what do you already do well in writing?
Identify areas of growth in writing for yourself – how will this project challenge you?
Actively work on those areas of growth through independent study of craft techniques and conferring with Mrs. Ripp.
Choices:
- If a mini-story: Produce 2 or more pages of a full story.
- If a longer story (part of a larger piece): Produce a scene or chapter from beginning to end.
- If poetry: 5 or more poems or a short story in prose form.
- If a graphic novel or comic strips: Discuss with Mrs. Ripp

Schedule a conferring time with Mrs. Ripp each week – that is twice over the two weeks. These will be via Google Meet.

Independence expectations:

This is a project that will require a lot of discipline and focus. Because you will not be creating a day-to-day product, you are expected to produce a larger final learning product to share your learning.
The creative writing project you pursue should be meaningful to you and show growth in your writing tools.
There should be NEW learning that happens throughout, not just a summary of the skills you already have.
You will need to fill in a learning plan and submit it to Mrs. Ripp for approval. It will be posted in Classroom.

Those who chose it loved it but some chose to do poetry rather than story writing so I added some guidelines for that. I also added videos that were shared by students to our daily lesson video bank.

To see the overall directions for teachers and for students to make their choice, go here

To see what students are given to do the project, go here

Choice 5: Daily Writing Exercises.

Have you wanted to expand your writing techniques and craft? Here is your chance to be introduced to a new writing exercise a day and then trying it in your own writing.

Project requirement:

Watch the video posted for each day (preview in the table below)
Respond either in typing in the box or by submitting an image of your writer’s notebook if you are handwriting.
You will be given a separate document to record your answer in, this is what you will turn in.

I spent time pulling together ideas for stand alone writing exercises and am incredibly grateful to Amy Ludwig VanDerWater for sharing her daily writing exercises, as well as other resources out there.

I wanted this opportunity to be a way for kids to just have some fun with writing and also have a project that mirrored the manageability of the picture book choice, allowing them do one thing a day and not having to attend to a longer project. I am excited to see how this one will play out.

To see the overall directions for teachers and for students to make their choice, go here

To see what students are given to do the project, go here

A note on choices: Students will indicate their choice on the survey form – this will offer me a pathway forward so that I can send the proper resources to them. Because Google Classroom allows me to only give certain things to certain kids, I can easily provide them the next steps in their choices such as learning plans or other tools. I am encouraging them to choose something else than what they did the first round but have already discussed with one student who would like to continue working on their story. There will be exceptions made as needed in order to make sure this is meaningful to all kids.

A note on grades: You may have noticed that these projects encompass different standards, this is okay because both of these. rounds will be counted toward the same standards. I have also decided that if a child shows any kind of effort then it is an automatic “3” or higher. This is not the time for me to do deep assessment because all I am assessing then is their access to the learning, it is not fair to students, there are way too many inequities playing out for me to pretend that grades would be fair or objective. As far as if a child does not “show effort” then I will be reaching out and discussing with them.

A note on support: I will be individualizing support for my students. For some this will mean just check-ins, for others it will be sharing further resources for their learning. Most kids were successful the first round, some were not, so I will adjust support accordingly. I also have support from an incredible special ed teacher, as well as para educators that I can ask for help from.

If you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page. I offer up workshops and presentations both live and virtually that are based on the work I do with my own students as we pursue engaging, personalized, and independent learning opportunities. I also write more about the design of my classroom and how to give control of their learning back to students in my first book, Passionate Learners.

achievement, Be the change, students choice, students teach me

Helping Students Set Better Reading Goals

January 7, 2019 Pernille Ripp

An often asked question I receive is, “How do you help kids set a reading goal?” And while the answer really could be an entire book, I promised the Passionate Readers Facebook group that I would write a little bit about my process here. After all, perhaps something I am doing as I try to figure this out myself can help someone else, or perhaps, and this is often the case, somebody else has great ideas that they can share in the comments.

In the past, I used to set the reading goals for all of my students, after all, as the adult in the room I thought it was part of my job to set attainable goals for all students in order for them to read more, comprehend more, be more. And yet, whenever I sat with a student and we discussed these goals that I had pre-determined based on what I saw as their needs, unsurprisingly there wasn’t always full buy-in. Sure, some kids were onboard and appreciated the goals, some even took them to heart and really worked on them, but some also (sometimes many) forgot everything about the goal the minute our conversation ended. This then began a chain of reminders, notes, and post-its for their notebooks as I tried to somehow get them all to not just remember their goals but actually invest in them. Perhaps you have been in this situation as well?

It took me a few years to realize that part of the reason these goals failed was that they had little student input. The goals were, mostly, determined by me, and while many of them were sound and based on best practice within reading instruction, they offered students little chance for ownership or engagement with the goal. This meant there was no skin in the game for our students and the goals were easy to dismiss. There was also a distinct lack of conversation surrounding the goal, sure, we conferred, but it often followed a “script” in a way and didn’t allow for a lot of natural conversation to occur. While I liked having a format as a newer teacher, it stopped me at times from really listening and reacting to what they were saying.

Realizing these two things was a huge step and yet it still didn’t solve my problem; how do we create goals that students may actually want to invest in? Well for me the answer was student reading identity. Not the goal itself, but instead students (re)discovering who they are as a reader because without any kind of realization of this, they won’t do well setting goals.

Knowing this, we start every year with a survey, a reflection, and a discussion of who they are as a reader. The survey changes every year, as it should, but it still creates the foundation of our very first discussion the first time we meet. It allows me a small peek into how they view themselves as readers as we get to know each other. And so the very first goal is typically many-pronged. Many of our students need to increase their reading and so for many that is part of their goal, and yet, that in itself is not a great goal for many. There are many of our students who should be reading more but they have habits that need to be changed first before they can even accomplish that goal. Our conversation may then center around the following items:

Desire – to increase reading stamina, success, and better relationship with books.

Barriers – Doesn’t know how to select a great book, doesn’t take books home, doesn’t have “book people,” and doesn’t actually read outside of class, in fact, some days doesn’t even read in class.

Old goal: I would have asked the student to increase their reading outside of school without realizing which and how many barriers they may be facing.

Potential new goal: Figure out which books they like to read. OR add more titles to their to-be-read list. OR…. (this is where the conversation comes into play – what makes sense for them in order to challenge themselves as readers?)

Questions I (may) use when discussing whether a goal make sense:

Is this a goal that will actually work for you?
How will this goal challenge you?
What barriers are in place for you to reach this goal?
Which habits do you need to change in order to reach this goal?
What is your next step toward this goal?
How can I support you in reaching this goal/What would you like me to do?

The thing is, we need to give students more opportunities to discuss what they know about themselves as learners. And when some students inevitably tell us that they don’t know who they are as readers then that is where we start our conversations. We become detectives trying to help them recognize and then further their own reading identity, this then leads to them discussing and then choosing potential goals, even if for some it is a reluctant goal. The one they set for themselves is recorded and then discussed whenever we meet. This goal may be a goal that some of our students work on all year and while this may seem disheartening, I don’t think it is, in a way it makes sense; after all students sometimes have well-established habits that can take years of great experiences to undo – don’t we all?

What I have learned in goal-setting with students is simple yet has once again transformed how I treat our year together. Conversation and uncovering/rediscovering their reading identity and then basing everything on that is what will fuel our goal setting. The students have taught me that everyone needs a unique goal. That the best goals start with reflection, conversation, and then are set. That goals only mean something if students are part of the conversation. That goals can change. That we should not set the goal for them if we can help it because this transfers the ownership. (Note: I have goals I set for kids privately but that is to inform my teaching and not part of our conversation.) That goals need to mean something.

So as I sit with kids every day discussing what they are working on as readers, I am always amazed at the conversations we have. On how they reflect on themselves and what they need to do. On how more are realizing why this goal setting is actually worth their time. On how proud they are for reaching goals that matter to them. And while I am proud of all of our readers, I cannot help but smile the widest when a child discovers just how much they have grown. Not because a test told them so but because they realized it by thinking about themselves and their progress. Isn’t that how it always should be?

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

Be the change, being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, students choice, students teach me

How Do You Reach Your Vulnerable Readers?

January 16, 2018January 20, 2019 Pernille Ripp

This morning I was asked what we do for our most vulnerable readers to help them be successful. As I took a moment to ponder this question, I realized a big thing; what we do for the most vulnerable is also what we do for all of our readers.

We have fidelity to our students, not to our programs.

I work in a district that believes in fidelity to the students and not to the program. Think about that for a second. Oregon School District believes in staying true to what the children need and not what an outside purchased program, no matter how research-based it is, tells us what to do. We use components from incredible programs, but they do not dictate our decisions; our students do.

We place them with amazing teachers.

We give them the best teachers we have to work on interventions. These teachers know their research and use best practices. They are given longer books, they have choice, they do meaningful work. We make sure they work on stamina in books, not chopped up passages to just check their skills.

And we do not put them in front of computer programs. We need our students to read, to think, to work through a text and then come out on the other side with a deeper understanding. We need face-to-face interactions to gauge what they really know, not what a computer may think. There is no replacement for a qualified teacher and so every child deserves one, especially those who are not where we would hope they would be.

We have them surrounded by books.

We have a beautiful school library, staffed by a fully certified librarian, and we also promote classroom libraries. As Neumann researched, having a classroom library can increase reading up to 60% and so we believe in the power of great books within their reach at all times. As one student told me Friday, “Mrs. Ripp, I love that we have great books right here, I never have to go far to find my next read.”

We are also mindful of the books we surround them with. Inspired by the work of Dr. Simms Bishop, Chad Everett, Nerdy Book Club, and so many other passionate advocates for better library experiences, we think of how our library shapes our students’ identities. Can they see themselves? Can they see others? Who is represented, how are they represented, and who is not? All of this pushes us forward as we purchase more and better books.

We are careful with our language.

I flinch a little whenever I hear the term “struggling readers.” As Donalyn Miller has taught me, there is little hope in that term. How about vulnerable? How about careful? How about developing? How about just readers? Our language promotes a growth mindset so we have to be aware of what our language does to shape their self-image. How do we speak about our readers when they are around or not around?

We cultivate patience.

It is really hard to not lose hope when you have implemented best practices (choice, time, books, and a reading community) and then see little results. And yet, sometimes we are working against years of a negative reading identity. We are working on catching up years of stalled reading experiences. We are working against unseen forces that derail us any chance they get. So we must be patient. Patient with the child who is trying. Patient as the teacher hoping for results. I have said it before and will say it again; sometimes we are just the tourniquet that stops the growth of the hatred of reading or the negative reading experiences, not the teacher that will see the actual seeds of change grow and bloom.

We balance our purchasing decisions.

While we may be going one to one with Chromebooks, my principal will also tell you that she always has money to purchase books. Our literacy coach asks us if we want more books because if we do then she will get us some. This speaks volumes because if a district is spending money on technology without spending money on books there is a serious imbalance in priorities. And if that is the case, a conversation needs to be started about what is more important?

So when I think of what we do for our vulnerable readers, I once again see the thread that runs through our entire school community; every child a reader, every single day. Every child deserves the best chance. Every child deserves the best teachers. The best experiences. The best, period.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a teacher, students choice, students teach me

On Student Talk and What to Look For

December 12, 2017December 13, 2017 Pernille Ripp

I am struck by the noise that surrounds us. As I walk through my school, Oregon Middle, the voices of kids float through the open doors. Sure, the teachers can be heard as well, but over and over, again and again, there the kids are. Asking questions, discussing, getting passionate. We are carried forward by the voices of the very kids we serve. It makes me even prouder to be a teacher here.

And yet. I think back to the days where I thought silence meant learning.

Where I thought deep engagement was almost always quiet. Punctuated by brief answers facilitated by me to check for understanding.

Where I thought that if only I could get them to listen, then they would learn.

If only they would stop talking then they would really understand.

If only one child answered then surely that was engagement.

If only they turned and talked when I asked them that meant we were doing student talk right.

And while we still savor the quiet hush that surrounds us when we reach the zone with our books or with our thinking or with our writing, we also relish the noise that comes from student engagement.

But not just any type of noise, the productive kind. The one that goes deeper. The one that isn’t just because the kids are being compliant but because they actually care. That is when student engagement is done right. So what can we look for when we evaluate the types of noise our kids are making?

Who is making the noise?

Is it you or is it them? While there is much to be said for teacher-led discussion, at some point we have to turn it over so the kids can do the probing, the analyzing, and the digging deeper. What if we didn’t give them all of the questions, but instead gave them the time to discuss? What if we modeled it but then truly let them take the reigns, not just once in a while but almost always? What if students came up with the discussion questions as well as moderated the flow?

How much noise is it?

Is the noise contained to brief periods of time in your class or is it throughout? Are students engaged outside of the questions we ask? Are the teaching points inspiring them to care more? To ask more? To push their thinking? Or is just having them discuss one thing and then lapsing into silence as they wait for the next direction?

Who controls the noise?

While I see many teachers embrace the “turn and talk,” I wonder how often that’s it for student talk. I am guilty of this thinking; as long as they turn and talk then surely there is student engagement. Yet I have found that in my eagerness to get to the next thing, I have often cut off the kids from going deeper into their conversations. That my desire to ask the next question has stopped their further inquiry. That my casual discomfort with student silence means they are not getting time to just think. I am working on seeing where it goes and following along when we can.

What emotions lie behind the noise?

I loved the discussion unfolding in our classroom today as students discussed “Who should get the baby?” after listening to an NPR podcast. They were so upset, not with each other, but with the facts of the case, how it wasn’t black and white, and also how others were not agreeing with them. To see this passion for a podcast as we discuss uncovering facts to change our perspective is exactly what I hope for; that they care about it. That they speak up because they cannot imagine staying quiet. That it matters enough for them to actually bother with adding their voice.

And for me that’s it; when I think of true student engagement through student talk, I look for the emotions. How students speak. Why they speak. What they say, but also how they say it. Within this exchange, we can gauge their interest. We can see whether they are simply going through the motions or whether our class, our learning exploration, actually matters to them. And so this is where we start, where I start every time I evaluate our student talk; with the emotional investment or lack thereof. It turns out that the truth can really be found in how they speak their words.

being a teacher, books, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, students, students choice

Find Them a Book

April 15, 2016 Pernille Ripp

It was just before school ended that I realized that he hadn’t really read any books. That my feeble attempts at finding just the right book had been just that and that he had successfully managed to mostly fake read throughout the entire year. I remember the feeling of how I had failed, wondering how I could have been so blind. Chalk it up to 120 students. Chalk it up to my first year as a 7th grade teacher. Chalk it up to 45 minutes or to the demands of all the new, but still how could I have let a student slip through my fingers that way? How could a kid fake read in our classroom when my mission is exactly the opposite?

So I wrote a post-it note to myself and taped it to the wall by my computer. Nothing fancy but a stark reminder of what I needed to do the following year. “Find them a book…”

A year later it still hangs there. New tape applied when needed. No fancy script or colors. Yellow, slightly faded, yet so important still. Find them a book, indeed, and then find them another, and another, and another, until one day they no longer need me and they find their own.

I think of this as one student, a self-identified child who dislikes reading, has just finished sharing with me how The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is the best book he has ever read. How nothing will ever compare to that book, but that he will continue searching for one that might, but he might need my help. That he loved that book so much but now is not sure what to read.

So we book shop together and I dig deep for all of the books that he may like. I stack them high and walk away hoping that in that pile he will find a book that will move him forward on this new fragile path. That in that stack he will see glimpses of what it means to be a reader.

Because we may tell our students that they just need to find the right book to fall in love with reading. We may spend hours helping them dig into who they are as a reader. We may put book after book in front of them in the hopes that they will find The One. But it is not just about The One. It is about the one after and the one after that. It is about the many. Because it is in the repetition of falling in love with a book that we fall in love with reading.

So when a child finds their book, we must pay attention, because this is when reading is at its most precarious. This is the moment where they start to see that one great book was not just a fluke, but instead a taste of what is to come. What is waiting for them on our shelves.

So find them a book. Then find them another and another. Fill your classroom and schools with titles that beg to be read. Teach them what to look for and know when to walk away. We may start our journey with reading when we find the first book to fall in love with, but we choose to continue that journey when we find the next one.

This post is a part of the Age of Literacy that ILA encourages all of us to participate in on APril April 14th. How are you a literacy leader? If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am working on two separate literacy books. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. Those books will be published in 2017 hopefully, so until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a student, being a teacher, Literacy, questions, Reading, Student Engagement, students choice

How Do We Best Do Literacy Interventions?

January 8, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Literacy intervention has been weighing heavily on my mind this year as I vow to do a better job for all of my students. I think most of us would agree that we are willing to move heaven and earth to help students become successful, yet there are times where it seems like every great idea we have is simply not enough.

And I keep wondering; what do we first focus on; engagement or strategies? I know I always tend to lean toward student engagement first and finding a way to combine it with strategies, but I still wonder is it okay to use a program that may teach students incredible strategies to bolster their reading skills, thus making reading more accessible, even though we hear students dislike the program? Do we focus first on re-connecting students with a like or love of reading and writing and then worry about the strategies? I know that ideally the programs that we use would be a combination of both, but is that even possible? Are there intervention programs out there that students actually like? Or is it on a case by case basis?

As you can see, I have more questions than answers. I have thoughts, sure, and I know where I tend to fall; student engagement above all, but what if this isn’t enough? What if a child will never be fully engaged until they have mastered better reading strategies that can only be taught through repetitive means?

Therefore I wonder; what would the ideal literacy intervention program look like? I have seen many variations, some amazing, some not so much. I have seen an incredible combination of ideas that have worked incredibly for some students, and not so much for others. And while I doubt that there is one right answer, there has to be an overall approach that gives us a better result for many students. I am hoping with this post that you will share your ideas. Lend your thoughts.

Where do we start? Do we worry about students loving reading or writing or do we worry more about giving them the tools to master the skills needed? Is there a right way to bolster students?

If you are looking for a great book club to join to re-energize you in January, consider the Passionate Learners book club on Facebook. We kick off January 10th.