30 Days/30 Posts Tip #2 - Story Time for Big Kids

TIP #2 - If you think story time is just for elementary, then think again! I've been using story time in my middle school classes for years, and it never gets old. If my lesson is feeling a little dry, and I'm even putting myself to sleep, I just call out "Story time!" Everyone breaks into a smile as they move from their seats to the floor. Sometimes they moan a bit about having to sit on the floor, but they secretly love it.

Excerpts from YA books are perfect for this. So are children's books, short stories, magazine articles, and anything else that goes along with what we're learning. I've found that students' attention spans can handle about 5-10 minutes of listening to me read. They can also handle a few minutes of discussion about the reading, but that's about it. Anything past that becomes a discipline challenge.

Today I chose two entries from Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl to go along with our study of WWII and the Holocaust. I projected a slide on the board behind me with pictures of Anne, the yellow star, and the secret annex in Amsterdam. The kids were hanging on every word, and we had longer, more in-depth discussions than usual because they really connected with this topic. I can guarantee they'll remember more from today's story time than from the notes we took yesterday.

Here's what works for me:

• Introduce the idea as a throw back to the good ol' days in elementary school. I even jokingly refer to it as kindergarten story time and myself as the library story lady. Kids buy into this much better if they know they;re not actually being treated like little kids. It's just something different...and chance to get out of their seats and avoid "real work" for a few minutes. It's just for fun, and they know it (even though an AMAZING amount of learning takes place anyway).
• Pull up a chair, any chair, and have the kids sit on the floor in front. Some try to stay in their seats...I cajole them into cooperating if there isn't a good reason why they need to sit in a chair.
• Once everyone is seated, the regular classroom rules for attentive listening apply. I don't let them get away with lying down, braiding hair, whispering to neighbors, etc.
• Keep the reading material as high-interest as possible. There are so many good books that have lessons to teach about the cultures and historical events we discuss in geography. I'm working on a list for a future post...but there are just SO MANY!
• GeoMysteries are perfect for story time. They are short stories about a real person, place, or event, and they end with a question. The kids have to guess the answer. I usually have them play 20 questions, and they get pretty good at deductive reasoning.

30 Days/30 Posts Tip #1 - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I've been blogging for years, but my posts have always been few and far between. SO, in an effort to change that, I'm committing to 30 days of posting about one teaching tip. I'm not actually sure I have 30 whole entire tips to share but we're about to find out...

Tip #1 - Adding daily, high-interest reading to my social studies classroom is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I usually use ReadWorks passages, but sometimes I write my own just for fun. I choose short, interesting passages that are related to the region we're studying in geography, and I assign 5-10 minutes of silent reading time. Then the kids write 2-3 "smart facts", which we discuss after I've taken attendance and prepared for the beginning of class. So far, the kids really seem to enjoy it...probably because I absolutely love it and tend to be ridiculously enthusiastic about every smart fact they share. Here are some ideas for making this work in your classroom.

1. Choose passages on or below your students' average reading level. ReadWorks gives a level for each passage. Offering differentiated articles to students on higher and lower levels would be ideal if you have time to organize it all.

2. Students can read ReadWorks articles online if they have access to devices in class. You can set up free class accounts and assign individual passages or Article-a-Day sets for kids to read. You can also have them write entries in their own Book of Knowledge (provided on ReadWorks) instead of writing on paper.

3. A class set of articles and notebook paper answer sheets work just as well if you don't have enough devices for everyone. Some days I don't have Chromebooks in my class, and the kids are just as happy to read paper copies of the articles.

4. Look for articles about weird, amazing, or out-of-the-ordinary topics that probably won't be in a textbook. We read the Article-a-Day set about European composers, and it really caught my kids' interest. They wanted to look up YouTube clips of Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms to share every day. It's a good day when a middle school kid can't wait to tell you about the Wagner piece he heard on a movie last night at home!

5. Protect the silence of reading time and walk around the room occasionally to see what the kids are writing for smart facts. The students who are staring off into space, or chatting with a neighbor, will get the message and at least look down to read a few sentences.

What are your thoughts on getting kids to read in the social studies classroom? Please share in the comments section below!