So, I am too overwhelmed with September to start a new professional book, but Teaching with Poverty in Mind is my next read.
Getting geared up to present on the Common Core with Teach Plus next weekend. I'll post some of the ideas here next week.
I've also been preparing for NCTE. I am presenting with a colleague on the following topic: (Re)Inventing Non-Fiction in the Secondary ELA Classroom. I'm thinking that the main idea of my talk is the importance of exposing students to non-narrative non-fiction.
Right now, people teach The Autobiography of Malcolm X (one of my favorites) or In Cold Blood (ditto) and say they are teaching non-fiction. Of course, they are, and this exposure helps students become college and career ready.
But so much "non-fiction" reads just like fiction, and it doesn't necessarily help students struggle with abstract concepts and organizational strategies (other than chronological order).
So, I am starting the book Feed with my students this week. I'm spending some time today finding texts with which to pair it. I'm reading "Does Google Make Us Stupid?" and selections from other texts.
If you have any ideas, feel free to let me know!
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