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One of the best ways to get your students motivated about reading is to provide them with online platforms where they can meet other student readers and share their recommendations, reads, and book reviews. When students know that people other than their fellow mates or teachers can read and interact with what they post, they can show more engagement  and interest .

It's actually pretty hard for me to write this type of a post. I don't do well with being informational and I'm nervous letting you into my world when it comes to how I actually teach. Perhaps I'm afraid of being judged. Perhaps I will look too traditional or, at the opposite end, too far away from the research-based "best practices." I made a ton of mistakes last year. However, one thing that seemed to work was an increase in motivation to read. I'm not entirely sure why this was the case, but I think it had to do with autonomy, choice, getting help with skills, critical thinking and high-interest texts

Welcome to the Authors Who Skype with Classes & Book Clubs List!  I’m Kate Messner, the children’s author and educator who maintains this site.  I started it because I’ve found that virtual author visits are a great way to connect authors and readers, and I realize that many schools facing budget troubles don’t have the option of paid author visits. With that in mind, this is a list of authors who offer free 20-minute Q and A sessions with classes and book clubs that have finished reading one of their books. As an author, I offer free Skype chats for the following titles:

Called 60 Second Book Hooks, we've asked our students to generate short, persuasive metaphorical reviews of the books that they are reading.

Dr. Hiebert recommends using the acronym KNOWS as a way to guide students in making connections:

This is because so much of aging is independent of lifestyle, diet, stress level or anything else that might distinguish some people from others—in particular, a great deal of the rate of aging is determined by the chemistry associated with oxygen consumption. In a nutshell, breathing is bad for you...but it’s rather non-negotiable."

One way we talk about informational text is through a creative writing project called Imaginary Peaceful Lands. Students read and analyze text structure of travel brochures, and then create their own, built around the themes of an imaginary place and elements of peace. Of all the projects, this is often the one that they say they had the most fun with at the end of the year reflection.

unit in media criticism as much as reading non-fiction tex

The image projected on the screen in the front of the classroom is Magritte's painting of a pipe, including the words, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." (1) I ask the students to each briefly make a guess why they think Magritte wrote that, since the painting is obviously a pipe. Some volunteers share their guesses with the class. One student nails it. "It's not a pipe; it's a drawing of a pipe!"

There are going to be times when they will be scratching their heads over something they have read, but not quite understood.