Autobiography Poem-Week 2

Jordan

Caring, forgiving, loving, and thankful

Little sister of Jonathan and Jaymie

Lover of God, animals, and people

Who feels blessed with the things I have, excited to be a teacher, and ready for the future

Who fears heights, spiders, and never carrying children

Who would like to see more love and less hate, less judgement, and someday the world

Resident of Columbia, Missouri

Burford

My favorite term introduced this chapter is interdisciplinary instruction. Essentially, this is the act of integrating reading and writing into all other subject areas. I think we should all strive to do this daily. Students gain so much knowledge from reading and writing; they gain empathy, the ability to focus, and improves vocabulary and language skills. There are so many different ways you can incorporate reading and writing into other subject areas. There are the basic ways, such as reading directions and writing down answers to questions. But what are ways you can think of beyond that? For this question I'm choosing one specific area and sort of flipping it: independent reading. After each book a student finishes, they have the option to choose many different things (listed below).

Create a painting based on how the book made you feel.

Write a story continuing the story.

Write an alternate ending to the story.

Create a 3D image of the story plot.

SO MANY MORE. There are so many ways to incorporate other subject areas into reading and writing and vice versa! Just be creative and don't make it too hard-students will show you what they learned in the most creative way possible if you allow them to!

Tips to get students to enjoy reading more!

First and foremost, make sure your students know how much you love to read! Read at your desk when they are having silent reading time. Read sometime when they are working, even if only for two minutes. My 5th grade teacher did this and it encouraged so many of my friends to read who had never liked reading before. This will encourage them to read in their free time. Make sure they are choosing books appropriate for them, but that they also enjoy. Help make it fun. Have "prizes" (dollar tree pencils, erasers, stickers, etc.) for students to pick out when they finish a book. The more they read the more they will find joy in it and want to do it independently!