MWSubstack 012: Picture Books; Summer Reading
Are you thinking picture books are just for little learners? Think again! And how can we best promote summer reading?
Welcome to MiddleWeb Substack. It’s a twice-monthly, two-topic, five-minute read for middle grades educators, featuring several of MiddleWeb’s most popular and influential articles, a book review, and a noteworthy 4-8 resource or project we’ve spotted. That’s it!
►PICTURE BOOKS
They really ARE for the middle grades.
In a trio of popular articles, beginning with Picture Books Are Perfect for Middle Schoolers, literacy teachers Jennifer Sniadecki and Jason DeHart explore three reasons why it's great to teach with picture books: engaging students, meeting standards, and setting the stage for other learning. They write:
Teachers continually search for new and engaging ways to help their middle school and high school students succeed. As we have found in our own classrooms and learning spaces, reading picture books is an effective use of precious instructional time....
Students at ages 9-13 still want to hear their teachers read aloud, want to sit on the rug, want to engage in stories – even if they feign reluctance at first, reading a picture book is a powerful time for all children....
Picture books are motivational, accessible, and powerful texts that students and teachers can and should use widely. Plan to include a picture book or two in your next unit of study and discover how “picture books are perfect” for you.
We think you'll be convinced by Jennifer and Jason's research-based and classroom-tested arguments. If you need further proof, we have it!
What Picture Books Add to a Middle School Class (Katie Durkin)
4 Ways to Teach With Wordless Picture Books (Megan Kelly)
SEL Picture Books for Middle School Advisory (Kasey Short)
10 Genius Picture Books for Genius Hour Kids (Gallit Zvi and Denise Krebs)
Picture Book Biographies for the Middle Grades (Christina Dorr)
Regie Routman “believes that we are most fully ourselves when ‘teaching, learning, and living are interwoven and seamlessly integrated.’ To show us this full self, she shares stories that might help us navigate our own worlds.“ – Read Sarah Cooper’s review of The Heart-Centered Teacher.
►SUMMER READING
A school-community partnership
Kasey Short has few equals when it comes to promoting reading. She's written nearly a dozen articles for us highlighting middle grades and young adult books she recommends for you and your students. So when she makes the case for summer reading, you can be sure it will include lots of tips and ideas. She writes:
Summer reading can inspire a love of reading, develop comprehension skills, increase vocabulary, and build background knowledge. It is also a time for students to choose books they enjoy reading and read for fun without the expectation of completing assignments or worrying about grades.
However, as much I hope all children will read over the summer, I know it is ultimately up to them and their families. Communicating with families, motivating students, providing choices, increasing access to books, and encouraging participation in public library summer reading programs all help encourage students to read during our longest break of the year.
Read Kasey’s post 27 Tips to Boost Kids’ Reading This Summer if you're looking for ideas for your school and community. Also check out:
Help Students Become Super Summer Readers (Brenda Krupp, Lynne Dorfman, Aileen Hower)
Planting the Seeds of Reading Enthusiasm (Katie Durkin)
MiddleWeb's Summer Reading Resource (Susan Curtis)
►ELSEWHERE
A remarkable cache of teaching protocols
Check out the National School Reform Faculty's remarkable collection of teaching ideas (protocols) – downloadable free at this page on the NSRF website. As you'll learn, there's an even larger collection, updated for the contemporary classroom, available to educators who buy a $25 membership. Sample what's free and decide. (Read how teaching coach Emily Brokaw uses the protocols in this recent MiddleWeb article.)
►OUR BOOK REVIEW
Coaching in Gifted Education: Tools for Building Capacity and Catalyzing Change by Emily Mofield and Vicki Phelps.
"Over the past dozen years, I have been through countless mentoring and coaching trainings and have read numerous coaching books and articles," writes reviewer Kim Rensch, a member of the Gifted Services team for Fargo (ND) Public Schools. "If I could distill all the best learning from these trainings and texts, much of it would be housed in this book." Read the complete review.
►REVIEW THIS SPOTLIGHT BOOK
Literacy for All: A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching By Shawna Coppola. Routledge/Eye On Education, 2024.
Every student comes to the classroom with unique funds of knowledge in addition to unique needs. How can teachers celebrate and draw upon the valuable literacies each child already possesses to engage them more effectively in school literacy practices? GO HERE to see the free book and our reviewing guidelines.
►NEXT TIME
The Engagement Issue!