5 Innovative Ways to Spark a Love of Reading in Your Middle School Classroom

If you find it hard to get your classroom full of tweens to crack open a book, you are not alone. The leap from easy read chapter books to full-blown YA novels can be daunting. Even the most avid readers in elementary school can find it difficult to summon the time or desire to read for fun. Here are some sure-fire tips to help you spark or re-kindle (no Amazon-based puns intended) the love of reading in your middle school classroom.

In-Class Book Clubs

Leadership Coach and former educator Elena Aguilar, in her blog post titled Ten Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading in Students, says, “Many students (especially boys) need to interact with each other around texts. It greatly enhances their comprehension and makes it so much more enjoyable.”

Creating book clubs is a great way to divide the classroom into smaller groups, which makes it easier and less intimidating for in-depth discussion among the students.

And here’s an idea… Continue reading “5 Innovative Ways to Spark a Love of Reading in Your Middle School Classroom”

Shock & Giggles: Most Memorable Fan Experiences

This week in the YA Indie Carnival we were asked to write about our most memorable fan experience. I am fortunate to have a few.

I recall a little brown eyed, brown haired girl that attended the Midnight Child launch party. She couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven and looked a lot like I did at that age. She giggled when she asked me to sign her book and giggled again when she told me that William was her favorite character. She asked me if I had read Twilight and if I was Team Edward or Jacob. When I told her Continue reading “Shock & Giggles: Most Memorable Fan Experiences”