On My Bookshelf: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

The basic plot from Amazon: When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone, and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship, one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self—even if she’s not quite sure who that is.

Why I liked it: The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning read about a young girl who loses her parents and realizes her sexual identity in the same day. Her aunt and grandmother take over her care as she wrestles with the guilt of her desires and is eventually forced to attend a conversion therapy program.

What I loved most about Cameron was her youth and innocence. When she first kisses a girl, who also happens to be her best friend, she doesn't have a name for the feelings she has. She struggles to try to fit into the mold of a "typical" girl, but has more male friends than female ones and throws herself into athletics as an outlet. As she grows older, she engages in very few relationships with other girls, but each time she does, she opens herself up to the judgement and worse, condemnation of her community.

Classroom application: The first section of the novel would be appropriate for middle school, but as Cameron progresses into high school, the more mature content makes this novel overall more appropriate for high school. I haven't seen it yet, but the book has recently become a Sundance film so a comparison could be done between the two.

After reading, I would highly encourage a discussion about the dangers of conversion therapy.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Miseducation of Cameron Post for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

The basic plot from Amazon: While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Why I liked it: Trail of Lightning  was like nothing I've ever read before. It's a fantastic mix of Native American mythology, science fiction, and fantasy with a post-apocalyptic setting and elements of the mystery and thriller genre. The protagonist, Maggie, is a fierce female with a male sidekick, Kai, who needs rescuing just as much as she does.

As Maggie and Kai hunt for more information about the most recent monster attacks, they encounter an eclectic mix of multi-dimensional characters. Everyone seems to have an ulterior motive for their actions though no one is strictly good or evil. The action in the story is constant leaving no room for a dull moment in the plot. I am excited to see what the rest of the series brings.

Classroom application: I would recommend this one for high school and up because of the violence and gore. Your Marvel comic loving students will be hooked on this first book in the Sixth World series as will students interested in Native American mythology. After reading, students could do research into Trickster myths across cultures.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Lightning Trail for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

The basic plot from Amazon: You go through life thinking there’s so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.

Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

Why I liked it: I cried my way through Hold Still two years ago and had a similar reaction to We Are Okay. Both are beautifully written, but filled with incredible sadness. In We Are Okay, Marin is raised by her grandfather after her mother's death. Marin was just a toddler, when her mother, a surfer, died and has little memory of her. She has no other family and her grandfather shared little with her about her mother as she was growing up. Just before Marin is set to head off to college, her grandfather, who had worsening health issues, disappears, presumably purposefully drowning himself in the ocean. It is after his death that Marin discovers all of the belongings and photos of her mother he had hidden from her, including letters she thought he was writing to a friend, but were really to her mother.

Feeling completely abandoned, Marin spirals into a depression and leaves for college early, cutting herself off from everyone back home. Her best friend from back home, Mabel, forces her to allow her to visit over winter break and tries to convince Marin to come back home, but Marin just ins't ready yet, so instead Mabel's parents join them at Marin's dorm for the holiday.

Classroom application: I would recommend this for high school and up mostly because of the intense emotions.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of We Are Okay for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Steel Scars by Victoria Aveyard

The basic plot from Amazon: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, this 100-page digital original prequel novella follows Scarlet Guard leader Captain Farley as she exchanges coded transmissions with the resistance and travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital.

She was raised to be strong, but planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected—until she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation: Mare Barrow.

A rare look into the world of the Scarlet Guard, Steel Scars is the perfect companion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series.

Why I liked it: After finishing War Storm, the final book in the Red Queen series, I found myself wanting more, which led me to Steel Scars, a novella connected to the series. Steel Scars focuses on Farley, a leader in the Scarlet Guard and allows you to see the start of her relationship with Shade, Mare's brother, Shade's reaction to the reveal of Mare's powers at Queenestrial, and gives you more insight into Farley's character. 

Farley takes risks and her willingness to bend the rules and make her own decisions, even if it costs her the lives of her teammates in the name of the cause. While these characteristics make her a bit of a wild card, they also seem to be why she is chosen as a leader and given more and more responsibility within the Guard.

Though the novella was focused on Farley, I found I still had many questions about her past. What caused the strain in the relationship between she and her father? And what happened to the rest of their family? I also found the sections of the book formatted as messages to sometimes be confusing to read.

Classroom application: As with the rest of the series, there is violence in the novella, though mostly of the fantastical kind, so the book is appropriate for upper middle school and high school students.

The novella could also serve as inspiration for some creative writing for students. Students could choose a favorite novel or series and write a short story from the perspective of a minor character.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Steel Scars for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

The basic plot from Amazon: VICTORY COMES AT A PRICE.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all . . . starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolish everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power . . . for all will be tested, but not all will survive.

Why I liked it: I've been working my way through a bunch of series and just wrapped up the Red Queen series by reading War Storm (though there is also a short story collection that I haven't read yet plus a novella focused on Cal's mother). I loved the third book in the series, King's Cage, as well as the first book, Red Queen, but the second book, Glass Sword, dragged for me. I'm happy to report that the fourth and final book continued to come back with a vengeance.

Narration alternated primarily between Mare, Evangeline who is now betrothed to Cal, and Inge, Maven’s water nymph bride. Maven and Cal each had a single section at the end. While the introduction of multiple narrators in the previous book had been a bit off-putting at first, I loved hearing the the trio of powerful female voices in this book. I especially liked getting to know Evangeline better as she was very much an enemy earlier in the series and becomes an ally for Mare in this book. I was also relieved that Mare and Cal's relationship could be repaired. I liked them together too much to see Cal becoming king separate the two of them.

Classroom application: As with the rest of the series, there is violence in the novel, though mostly of the fantastical kind, so the book is appropriate for upper middle school and high school students. 

Issues surrounding equality and different types of governments arise in the book and would be perfect for making cross curricular connection with history and/or real world connections to current events.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of War Storm for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Using Daily Agenda Slides to Stay Organized & On Task

At the end of last school year, the other two members of my sixth grade team and I sat down together to reflect on our year. One of the big issues that came up was our students' struggles with the transition from fifth to sixth grade. 

We work in a K-8 school and the fifth grade classrooms are self-contained, so moving up to middle school and switching classes in sixth grade can be a big adjustment for many students. Moving from room to room and teacher to teacher means students had to now keep track of all of their belongings in additional to several different teachers' personalities, expectations and routines. 

One solution for easing this transition and creating some consistency from class to class was for all of us to use a daily agenda slide made using Google Slides. All of our students have Google accounts and we already use Google Classroom as our learning management platform. In addition to displaying our daily agenda slide at the start of class, we also all posted our daily agenda slides in the same place in our Google Classrooms so students could access them at home.

My daily slide includes the date, our agenda and objective for the day, any materials students need to have out, homework and other reminders, and a timer. Having all of these things together in one place has helped me to be more intentional about connecting the objective to our activities for the day. I never forget to assign the homework or remind students about upcoming events. Having the ten minute timer for our independent reading on the screen means we can go right into reading once we've reviewed the agenda slide.

So that students have access to this daily agenda after class ends, I have the Slides posted in the Stream on their Google Classrooms. That's the only thing I have posted there (in "settings," you can turn off classwork notifications so they don't appear in the stream) so it can't get lost among other postings. I have found that the posting disappears after time, but clicking "move to top" (even though there's nothing else there) makes it reappear. Because Google Drive resources automatically save and update, there's no need to ever repost the Slides.

While I encourage parents to sign up for Google Classroom email summaries and sit down with their child each night to review homework, technically parents can't access Google Classroom on their own, so I also have my daly agenda slides posted on my classroom website (created with Google Sites).

I'll be using the same Google Slides presentation with my daily agenda for the entire year. Each day, I pull the most recent date to the front of the presentation. Having a single presentation allows students to look back at previous days, which is extremely helpful if they missed class for some reason or were absent. I also link other Slides presentations, handouts, etc. to my daily slides to make finding materials easier. This will be such an amazing resource to have next year.

Interested in using a similar daily agenda Google Slide in your classroom? Find it a completely customizable one here, including two different layouts and eighteen different color combinations.

On My Bookshelf: Posted by John David Anderson

The basic plot from Amazon: In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever.

When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well.

In the middle of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost’s lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at Branton Middle School, and it’s clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won’t easily hold another. As the sticky-note war escalates, and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this year, nothing will ever be the same.

Why I liked it: Posted is a book about bullying, but also about growing up, coming into your own, and the growing pains and strains of friendships. Despite their friendship, Frost, Deedee, Wolf, and Bench are all very different from the start, and  their responses and reactions are to the events in the book are just as different. I think this is an important portrayal of friends and friendship for young people to read. Friends are not people who are just like you, and as you grow and change, so do your friendships and that is okay.

Classroom application: I would recommend Posted for middle school and up. Students who read and liked this book would enjoy The Misfits series by James Howe and vice versa. While I don't know that middle school students should be watching Stranger Things, students who enjoy the dynamics of that group of friends would also enjoy this book.

After reading activities could include researching the relationship between technology and inhibitions (why are people more likely to say cruel things in a text message or online than they would be to say those things in person). The book could be tied into activities for National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month (October) and used with these resources.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Posted for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Point of View Rewrite Activity for the Review Win

I've written about the activities and texts I use to teach point of view in the past, but wanted to also share a quick activity I used this past year to review point of view.

For sixth graders, point of view isn't a new concept, but students definitely need reinforcement of the types of point of view and the differences between them. I introduce second person and third person objective, but I focus on first person, third person omniscient, and third person limited. Last year, we started working with point of view before the winter holidays, so I wanted to do an activity that would ease students back into learning while also acknowledging their time away from school. 

On My Bookshelf: The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee

The basic plot from Amazon: When you have everything, you have everything to lose.

Welcome back to New York, 2119. A skyscraper city, fueled by impossible dreams.

LEDA just wants to move on from what happened in Dubai. Until a new investigation forces her to seek help—from the person she’s spent all year trying to forget.

RYLIN is back in her old life, reunited with an old flame. But when she starts seeing Cord again, she finds herself torn: between two worlds, and two very different boys.

CALLIOPE feels trapped, playing a long con that costs more than she bargained for. What happens when all her lies catch up with her?

WATT is still desperately in love with Leda. He’ll do anything to win her back—even dig up secrets that are better left buried.

And now that AVERY is home from England—with a new boyfriend, Max—her life seems more picture-perfect than ever. So why does she feel like she would rather be anything but perfect?

Why I liked it:  I was so excited to finish the Thousandth Floor trilogy and The Towering Sky did not disappoint. Like The Thousandth Floor and The Dazzling Heights, The Towering Sky has multiple narrators and begins with its ending. While the narrators changed slightly from book 1 to book 2, they remained the same from book 2 to book 3, and while this time I was certain I knew whose death would come at the end of the book (and I guessed correctly!), there were still twists at the end that I didn't see coming. But thank goodness for those twists because I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

When the book begins, many of the characters have become distant from one another for a variety of reasons, but a renewed investigation into Eris's death and their shared guilt over the knowledge of what really happened that night on top of the tower bring them all back together. Calliope's character grew on me as did Avery's over the course of this book, and I was eager to see what would happen to my old favorites like Watt, Rylin, and Leda.

Classroom application: This series is appropriate for high school students due to mature content (sex, drug and alcohol use). As with the previous books in the trilogy, since the novel is set in the not too distant future, the novel could also serve as a springboard for students to develop their own "utopian" worlds with consideration to economics, government, education, transportation etc.

Watt's relationship with his computer Nadia becomes increasingly complicated and could lead to research and possibly an argument essay or debate about the dangers of technology becoming too "smart."

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Towering Sky for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Professional Development for the Secondary ELA Teacher

This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about professional development. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed their favorite professional development books. Teachers also shared what professional development looks like at their schools.

Scroll down to read through the chat. You'll get ideas about in-person and online PD opportunities outside of your school. You'll also find ways to bring learning from PD back into your classroom.

Hope you'll join us next week for another chat. We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group (even if you aren't on Twitter). 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

Professional Development for the Secondary ELA Teacher

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Sunday 11/17: Nonfiction & Real-World Connections

Brynn Allison,  The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Sunday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Friday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Sunday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last year and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Sunday, November 17, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about nonfiction and real-world connections.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Sunday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @spanglermiddle) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged as well as using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Sunday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

Host a Photography Contest to Reinforce Figurative Language & Imagery

I have written in the past about the activities and texts I use when teaching figurative language, but also wanted to share an activity I used this past year to specifically reinforce imagery and personification.

I needed a quick activity for practicing these concepts that would keep students engaged before winter break, so I came up with the idea of a winter themed "photography contest."

Students had to select a picture the captured some element of winter and write a description for their image using imagery and personification.

I pushed the assignment out to students on Google Classroom using Google Slides. The first slide had the directions, the second had an example, and the third was a blank template for their photo, description, and title.

I looked through them as students were working just to make sure there were no repeat images and then printed them out when students were finished. After hanging them, students voted for best photograph, best description, and best overall.

The activity could easily work for any season (or any theme really) and the use of other types of figurative language could be required. With a little more advance planning, I would also love to have students actually take their own photographs for it.

On My Bookshelf: Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

The basic plot from Amazon: Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in their snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return.

Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town's lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger.

Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter...

Why I liked it: Before I Let Go is dark like her first novel, This Is Where It Ends, though slightly less unsettling. The novel centers around the guilt Corey feels after her best friend's suicide, explores the stigma around mental health issues, and includes elements of magical realism. It is unclear at times what is real versus imagined by the main character.

The main character is exploring a best friend’s suicide after a period of separation similar to She Was Here by Gayle Forman. Corey suffers from survivor guilt, but also all of the what ifs in their strained friendship.

Kyra was diagnosed as bipolar, but the medications she was prescribed were not effective and her therapist recommended more serious treatment unavailable in the small town in Alaska where Kyra lived, largely cut off from the rest of the world. Her parents withheld her medication and refused to let Kyra seek additional help because of the amazing art she produced during her manic periods.

After being pushed away for so long, Kyra was at first happy to feel wanted by the townspeople, but quickly realized it was her art, not her that people were interested in. Her art predict a happier future, so the town, particularly her father would not let her leave. She fell through the ice after a failed attempt at running away. Everyone watched her die and no one interceded because her death had been foretold in one of her own paintings.

Classroom application: Because of the dark content, I would recommend this one for high school and up. After reading it would be interesting for students to research the connection between witches of the past and the mentally ill.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Before I Let Go for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Sunday 11/10: Movement in the Classroom

Brynn Allison,  The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Sunday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Friday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Sunday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last year and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Sunday, November 10, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about movement in the classroom.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Sunday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @spanglermiddle) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged as well as using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Sunday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here: