December's Free Education Professional Development

First off, I apologize for being absent for the past month. Between the usual school-related craziness that comes with November, the NCTE conference, the Thanksgiving holidays, and a cold have all conspired to keep me busy and away from the blog.

That being said, I'm in denial that December is upon us. However, even as the end of the semester comes hurtling towards us (I have two more weeks of classes and a week of finals/frantic grading), there are still professional development opportunities to be had. Here is a sampling of the free offerings for those in education.

The Association for Middle Level Educators (AMLE) has two upcoming webinars:

• December 2 at 3:00 pm ET is "Making Disciplinary Literacy Work in the Middle Level for the Common Core and More!"
• December 10 at 3:00 pm ET is "Shout It Loud: Tools and Apps for Amplifying Student Voices through Formative Assessment"

ASCD has a number of webinars in December, including:

• December 9 at 3:00 pm ET - "Close Reading: Teaching the Comprehension Skills of Text Analysis and Evaluation"
• December 11 at 3:00 pm ET - "What is PD Online, and How Can It Support My Professional Development?"

edWeb.net has a jam-packed schedule for the first half of December with webinar topics that range from using film in the history classroom to financial literacy for kids.

PBS LearningMedia is offering a webinar on December 2 at 6:00 pm ET entitled "Bringing Lessons to Life with Digital Primary Sources." This is done in conjunction with the Library of Congress, and I can't recommend this highly enough. At my first NCTE conference, I had the opportunity to attend a one-day workshop done by the Library of Congress, and it was very useful. At my most recent NCTE conference, the LoC had a booth in the exhibit hall to inform teachers about some great new resources available online. 

November's Free Education Professional Development

I can't believe that it is November already and that in 18 short days, I'll be heading to the East Coast for the 2014 NCTE Annual Convention and ALAN Workshop. The convention is one of the highlights of my year; I consider it my Comic Con (yes, I manage to out-geek even the geekiest). For those of you attending the convention for the first time, I'm hoping to have a post of advice and tips to help you make the most of the experience (and leave the convention with your sanity intact). I also think that the November 17 #engchat will be dedicated to helping new attendees get ready.

However, if you aren't in English or if you aren't able to attend the convention, there are still many virtual professional development opportunities that you can access for free this month.

PBS has some great-sounding offerings this month for teachers at all levels. The first, Finding Your Roots in the Digital Age, is hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and promises to have ideas for social studies and science teachers. The second is How to Integrate Game-Based Learning Into Your Classroom, and  it features gaming experts Alan Gershenfeld and Rebecca Rufo-Tepper.

As always, edWeb.net has a plethora of free webinars on topics ranging from differentiated instruction to gaming in the classroom. For ELA and English teachers, your best bets include:

• Picture This: Engaging Students with Online Images on November 3 at 4:00 pm
• Writing Instruction for Learning Synthesis on November 10 at 3:00 pm
• Getting the Most Out of Integrating eBooks in the Classroom on November 12 at 3:00 pm

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) has some intriguing offerings this month for their members (you can join for free):

• No Sweat, November! Keeping Middle Grades Students Engaged and Motivated on November 12 at 3:00 pm
• Six Secrets for Teaching Boys in Your Middle Level Classroom on November 18 at 3:00 pm

So Much to Read, So Little Time - October 2014

Since my school is having its fall break this week, I've been playing catch-up with all of the work that has been backlogged during the first half of the semester. Besides straitening my office, planning lessons, and grading papers, I've also been trying to do some more reading. I'm teaching a content-area reading course for the first time, and while it has required a lot of preparation and work, I've really enjoyed it. A new course is a great way to keep teaching fresh, since it forces me to start from scratch with the class objectives, assignments, readings, and activities. This particular course presents an additional challenge because I wanted to dedicate several weeks to supplementing content-area textbooks with articles and trade books. Consequently, I've been trying to do some extra reading in order to be able to share books with my students. Here's a partial list of books I've read this fall for my content area reading course:

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain - Intended for middle school students, this book examines the legacy of Angel Island, which some called the "Ellis Island of the West." However, despite this nickname, the immigrants who passed through Angel Island were often treated very differently than those who came through Ellis Island. This would be a great resource to use with middle school students who are studying immigration.

The End of the Line - This is an elementary/middle grade fictional story set in Amsterdam during World War II, and it follows two elderly brothers as they try to protect and care for a young Jewish girl whose mother is taken away by the Nazis. While the premise sounds intense, the book manages to provide accurate information about life during the Holocaust without being too graphic. However, I'm not certain that this is a book I'd use in an elementary or middle school class (the publisher page notes that it is intended for ages 8 - 11). Some elementary students might not be ready for such a heavy topic while middle school students might find the book too simple. That said, The End of the Line might work well as an alternative text in a middle school social studies class because it offers a perspective not always included in textbooks (the experiences of civilians during war) and because it could be a good text for struggling readers.

Kid Presidents: True Tales of Childhood from America's Presidents - I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and while it seems a little young for middle school, it has some interesting and fun trivia. For middle schoolers, I'd probably use the trivia at the beginning of the unit (or throughout it) to engage the students with the different presidents. Additionally, the book could be a good model for a final project where students would find trivia on the different presidents and compile it in a children's book for elementary students.

In the Shadow of No Towers - Unlike the previous books, this book is definitely more suited for high school students. Written and illustrated by Art Spiegleman, In the Shadow of No Towers examines the events and aftermath of September 11 from a New Yorker's point of view. The book has some adult themes and language, so it might not work for all high schools, but it is work reading and examining because of the way it captures the experience of being in New York during those dark and troubling times.

Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra - One distinct challenge about reading in the content areas is finding fictional books that would appeal to teens while also fitting in a particular subject. Do the Math manages to have a (relatively) strong connection with math while also being an engaging and accessible read. In it, Tess, an eighth grader who loves math and thinks about people and situations in terms of math problems, must deal with the social drama that comes with middle school while also confronting some moral dilemmas.

Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail - Danica McKellar (aka Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years) wrote this nonfiction book to show girls that math can be approachable and fun. I applaud the effort, and McKellar does a nice job explaining and walking the reader through different mathematical concepts in a way that is understandable, even for people who aren't that skilled in the subject. However, I'm torn about the way the information is presented, since it could be a little too girly or cutesy for some. That said, I could see it being effective for a specific group of students.

What have you been reading this fall? Do you have any suggestions for books that might work in a middle or high school content classroom? Please leave your comments and thoughts below!

National Day on Writing 2014: Are You Ready to Write Your Community?

The National Day on Writing is coming and coming soon (October 20). This day, established by NCTE, is a time to help make people aware of the importance of writing and to celebrate writing. According to the NCTE website, the National Day on Writing:

• points to the importance of writing instruction and practice at every grade level, for every student and in every subject area from preschool through university (see The Genteel Unteaching of America’s Poor), 
• emphasizes the lifelong process of learning to write and composing for different audiences, purposes, and occasions, and 
• encourages Americans to write and enjoy and learn from the writing of others.

October is Connected Educator Month

While I associate October with a lot of exciting things (fall weather, fall break, and the midway point in the semester), perhaps the thing that I'm most excited about (well, besides fall break :) is Connected Educator Month (CEM). According to the CEM website, the purpose of CEM includes:

• Getting more educators proficient with social media to improve their practice
• Deepening and sustaining learning among those already enjoying connection’s benefits
• Helping schools credential/integrate connected learning into their formal professional development efforts
• Stimulating and supporting innovation in the field

October's Free Education Webinars

Even though it seems like September just started, October is just around the corner, we have just started the sixth week of school, and some teachers might be experiencing the downward slide to the low point of the first-year roller coaster. However, virtual professional development, which is a great way to get rejuvenated, is just a few clicks away. Here are some of the free upcoming webinars and online professional development opportunities coming in October.

Questions and Topics to Explore for Banned Books Week

In the United States, it can be easy to assume that censorship is something that doesn't happen here. It is something sinister and shady that only happens in other places or at other times untouched by such protections as the First Amendment. However, Banned Books Week is a time to remind us that censorship is an all-too-real threat here and now. When I teach my education students (and when I taught high school), I like to use Banned Books Week as an entry point for us to discuss some difficult concepts and questions. For my English education students, the issue of banned or challenged books is an all-too-real threat, and this gives them the chance to discuss and think through their conceptions and concerns. For my other students, this provides us the opportunity to think about curriculum and the potential controversies that might exist in their subject areas. The questions and issues we consider might include:

Preparing for Banned Books Week 2014

Earlier this week, I saw an article on The Atlantic website with the provocative title, "Who Should Decide What High School Kids Are Allowed to Read?" The article examines the recent controversy surrounding the young adult novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which is about a gay teenager who is trying to come to terms with her identity. Although it focuses on the debate on whether or not Cameron Post should be an option for students at Delaware's Cape Henlopen High School (the school board first voted to remove the book from a reading list and then, after the backlash, they reinstated the book but also decided to abolish the list to allow students to choose anything they wanted for summer reading), it also provides an opportunity for readers to think about censorship in general, especially when it comes to students.

Tips for Building Your Classroom/Office Library

For many new teachers, the list of things needed is long and the resources to get these things are limited. This is especially true when it comes to the classroom/office library. Having books in a classroom or office for students to read and use is very important. Besides serving as a resource for students, books also give a space a more welcoming feel and provide a tangible (and practical) link to the subject area. However, books are expensive, and given that teachers often spend their own money on such necessities as pens and paper for their students, a classroom library might seem like a chimera. However, there are resources where teachers can find cheap or free books to help them create a classroom library of their own. Here are a few of my favorites:

September's #nctechat on Comics & Graphic Novels is Sept. 21

In preparation for Banned Books Week (Sept. 21 - 27), this month's #nctechat is on comics and graphic novels in the classroom. Join in the conversation on Sunday, September 21 at 8:00 pm ET.

Helpful hints for participating in #nctechat:

• NCTE puts the chat up on Storify afterwards so you can go back and review what was said (or you can read people's responses if you couldn't make the chat). For instance, you can see July's #nctechat on the teacher as writer.
• For the sake of your sanity (and because there is often a lag on Twitter with the most recent tweets), you might want to use a tool like TweetDeck or TweetChat when participating. I'm partial to TweetChat because I find it more straightforward than TweetDeck (and its many columns). I also love that it automatically adds the hashtag to any tweet I do.
• If you've never participated in #nctechat, don't be shy - it is a fun and welcoming group. You don't have to respond to every (or any) question on conversation that is happening. If you do decide to join in, just be certain to use the hashtag when responding. Also, be certain to denote which question you are answering (for instance, if you are responding to question 1, put A1 at the beginning of your tweet).

Do you have questions, comments, or concerns? Please feel free to leave a comment or send me a tweet.

Free Education Webinars Coming in September 2014

I can't believe that September is almost here! While the weather is currently warm and muggy (at least in northern Indiana), soon the air will turn crisp and cool, and summer will be a distant memory. Before that happens and before the semester gets too busy, now is a good time to look at some of the free virtual professional development opportunities on the horizon.

Books (Professional & Otherwise) for ReadaThing

LibraryThing's ReadaThing has already started, and while I'm not scheduled to start my official reading until later today, I have several books that I hope to read (and possibly finish) this weekend. While many are related to teaching in some way, I also have some that are just for fun. My to be read/to be finished pile for this weekend includes:

• How We Learn by Benedict Carey - I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and am about halfway through. Carey provides a nice balance of research study overviews and personal anecdotes to help illustrate the fact that things like distractions, forgetting, and changes of scenery can actually help our learning.
• Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time by Teri Lesesne
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor Revised by Thomas C. Foster - I have a great fondness for the first version of this book, and I'm excited to see the changes and additions Foster made to this new edition.
• A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children by Caroline Kennedy
• A Nancy Drew book - I have several of the reprints that Applewood did of the original Nancy Drew books, and while I've read them before, I'm looking forward to having the chance to revisit them.

What are you planning to read this weekend (for ReadaThing or otherwise)?

A Video Playlist for the First Day of School

While I'm sad to see the end of summer vacation (and its flexible schedule, absence of assignments to grade, and time to read a lot), I'm also excited for the beginning of the school year. Besides giving me the chance to work with students who want to be teachers, the start of school also signals a chance to start anew, to set new goals, and to do things differently (and hopefully) better than I did before. However, in all of the craziness that comes with back to school, it is easy to get overwhelmed and to forget about the joy, the excitement, and the possibilities the new year holds. To serve as a reminder of these aspects and to help set the tone for the school year, I've put a video playlist for the first day of school. Enjoy, and have a wonderful school year!

LibraryThing's August/September ReadaThing

Since the start of August (and the unofficial end of summer break), my schedule has been filled with meetings, planning, and class prep. Consequently, it has been hard to find (or to justify) time to just read for fun. Luckily, LibraryThing, which is one of my favorite websites and teacher resources, is holding its ReadaThing Labor Day (US) Weekend. From August 28 - September 2 (the dates/times depend upon your location), you can sign up to participate for an hour or two or more. Participation means that you read at a particular time. However, if you know that you will be reading but you aren't able to commit to a specific time, you can still sign up outside of the timeline.

While I don't know where I'll be in terms of my reading by the time August 28 rolls around, I'm hoping to follow Daniels and Zemelman's idea for a "balanced diet of reading" from Subjects Matter and read a mix of professional texts and trade books.

Will you be participating in ReadaThing in an official (or unofficial) way? If so, is there anything you hope to read? Let me know in the comments!

Pre-Service Teachers & Professional Development: Virtual Options (Part II)

from Edudemic.com

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm hoping to do a better job encouraging my students, who are pre-service teachers, to become more involved in professional development. My first year in my education program, I had the good fortune to attend the annual meeting of the TCTE, and it changed my life. Besides giving me a different perspective on education, it made me feel like a professional who was part of something bigger than myself. For this reason, and for the reasons mentioned in the other post, I want my students to have the opportunity to experience professional development before they enter the classroom. However, I realize that, as students, their time and funds are limited. Consequently, this post is going to provide some ideas on ways students can participate in professional development using social media and other virtual tools. Not only does this provide a more convenient and more affordable alternative to attending in-person professional development events, but it also shows students that professional development is only a click away.

August's #nctechat on Building Classroom Community is Sunday (August 17)

One of my favorite virtual professional development activities is the monthly #nctechat on Twitter. While it can be a rapid-fire experience, I always walk away from the discussion inspired by lots of great ideas. This month's #nctechat is on building a classroom community. Come join in the fun this Sunday (August 17) at 8:00 pm ET.

Helpful hints:

• NCTE puts the chat up on Storify afterwards so you can go back and review what was said (or you can read people's responses if you couldn't make the chat). For instance, you can see July's #nctechat on the teacher as writer.
• For the sake of your sanity (and because there is often a lag on Twitter with the most recent tweets), you might want to use a tool like TweetDeck or TweetChat when participating. I'm partial to TweetChat because I find it more straightforward than TweetDeck (and its many columns). I also love that it automatically adds the hashtag to any tweet I do.
• If you've never participated in #NCTEChat, don't be shy - it is a fun and welcoming group. Just be certain to use the hashtag when responding. Also, be certain to denote which question you are answering (for instance, if you are responding to question 1, put A1 at the beginning of your tweet).

Do you have questions, comments, or concerns? Please feel free to leave a comment or send me a tweet.

Pre-Service Teachers & Professional Development (Part I)

One of my goals for the upcoming school year is to do a better job encouraging my education students to become more aware of and more active in professional development. While I realize this might seem a little premature, especially since some of my students are still trying to decide whether or not they want to enter the teaching profession, I'm going to place a bigger emphasis on it for several reasons. Here they are, in no particular order:

YA Book Review: My Basmati Bat Mitzvah

In 1970, Judy Blume featured an interfaith family in her seminal Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. The protagonist, Margaret Simon, not only has to worry about coming of age, but she also has to contend with the challenge of being torn between two religions (Judaism and Christianity) in a time and place where such a conflict is unusual. Margaret spends a year trying to figure out which religion she belongs to but comes to no final answer. Fast-forward 44 years, and Paula J. Freedman tackles a similar situation in My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, in which Tara Feinstein must figure out a way to negotiate both of her cultural heritages. In many ways, Feinstein’s work serves as a great companion piece of Are You There, God?. While it occasionally falls into sitcom territory and the ending might be a little too pat, the character interactions and the skillful way Freedman portrays Tara make this a worthwhile read.

Resource Review: The Literature Teacher’s Book of Lists

When I was getting my doctorate, I worked for a year at the university’s bookstore. While this occasionally was a crazy experience (complete with confused undergraduates, angry and frustrated parents, and the occasional unhinged patron), it was also very rewarding. I worked with some fantastic people, and I got a great discount on books. One of the books I purchased with my employee discount was The Literature Teacher’s Book of Lists (2^nd edition) by Judie L. H. Strouf, and I have never regretted buying it. With over 250 lists on topics ranging from literary allusions to literary periods, it an indispensable resource for English teachers and English teacher educators, and it is a fun and interesting read for those who like trivia (or perhaps aspire to be on Jeopardy! one day). 

YA/Children's Book Review: The Family Romanov

Since I was young, I have been fascinated by the last Russian tsar and his family. After reading about Anastasia Romanov in a library book about great unsolved mysteries in the 1980s (before the remains of the Romanovs were found and identified), I wanted to learn all I could about the tragic family. In the days before the internet, I had to rely upon the books available in my town’s small library, and while it had several books on the Romanovs, Nicholas and Alexandra and Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson were a hard slog for nine-year-old me. After trying to read these books, I still had an incomplete and highly romanticized idea of the Romanovs and the Russian Revolution.

Even though that was many years ago and I’ve since had the chance to learn more about Revolutionary Russia, I was thrilled to read Candace Fleming’s The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia. In it, Fleming presents a well-written and well-researched account of a Russia’s last tsar and his family and the inequality and discontent that led to their downfall. This is a considerable undertaking, and the author navigates the complexity of the task with ease. The result is a lively and compelling narrative that keeps the reader engaged while also being informative.

YA Book Review: Grim

“Someday my prince will come…”

“When you wish upon a star…”

Thanks to the ubiquity of Disney in our culture, these are often what we associate with fairy tales. To many people, fairy tales are light and enjoyable wisps of stories that make perfect fodder for bedtime stories and animated musicals. Grim, an aptly-named collection of 17 stories by various young adult authors, tacitly acknowledges this in its back cover synopsis:

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today.

Although this is accurate in that the stories in Grim tend to be dark and sinister, the stories in the anthology are closer to the original tales than the back blurb suggests. Despite fairy tales’ reputation and treatment in much of the media, the original works have another, more sinister side to them. Cannibalism, incest, and child abandonment and abuse are par for the course in many fairy and folk tales, and they sometimes more closely resemble the work of David Lynch than that of Walt Disney.

YA Book Review: Fangirl

Cover: St. Martin's Griffin

One of the most aptly named books about books is Nancy Pearl’s Book Crush, which offers reading suggestions for children and young adults. The idea of having a crush on a book might sound a little crazy to non-readers, but it is certainly something that most readers and bibliophiles can relate to. While I read a lot, I don’t often develop book crushes. This is likely due to the nature of the books I tend to read; I enjoy reading about curriculum and pedagogy, but these books don’t typically inspire the swoony, happy feelings associated with crushes. However, I’m this summer I officially got my first book crush in a long time after reading Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

EdumodoCon 2014

My last few weeks of summer are packed with virtual conferences. Besides SummerTeen, I've also registered for EdumodoCon 2014. It is a free online conference dedicated to helping teachers use Edumodo. Since I'm a relative newbie to Edumodo, I'm looking forward to attending and learning more about using it with my students.

The conference is on August 6, 2014, and it is free. To register, visit the EdumodoCon 2014 page.

Free Online Conference on Young Adult Lit this Thursday (7/24/14)

This Thursday (July 24, 2014), the School Library Journal is holding its third annual SummerTeen virtual conference. The conference features YA authors discussing their writing and publishers featuring new and upcoming books.

For more information or to register, visit the SLJ SummerTeen page.

Welcome to the English Ed Department!

Welcome to my new blog, The English Ed Department!

As you likely guessed from the title, it is a blog dedicated to English education, which means that I will be writing about different topics related to teaching English at the middle and high school level. This will range from book reviews, especially on young adult literature and professional teaching texts, to information on what's going on in the world of English education. Also, if there is something you'd like to see featured here related to English education, please leave me a comment.

My plan is to post at least twice a month during the school year. I'd love to post more, but I make no promises since I've found that the time during the school year quickly passes :).

Now that you know a little more about this blog, please have a seat, grab a cup of tea (or whatever beverage you would like), and make yourself comfortable. I hope you visit often!