March 31, 2019

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 4/2 Topic: Mentor Texts and Sentences

Join secondary English Language Arts teachers Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EST on Twitter. This week's chat will be about using mentor texts and sentences in the classroom.Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week 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 Tuesday, April 2, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about using mentor texts and sentences in the classroom.

Join secondary English Language Arts teachers Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EST on Twitter. This week's chat will be about using mentor texts and sentences in the classroom.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday 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 @2peasandadog) 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, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurlbitlygoo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. 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 Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

March 29, 2019

Using Literature Circles to Bring Readers Together

Literature circles allow students to collaborate and share their ideas about a shared text of their choosing. This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about literature circles. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed how book selections are made, by theme or by genre. Teachers also shared the titles of their favorite books to use for literature circles. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.
This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about literature circles. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed how book selections are made, by theme or by genre. Teachers also shared the titles of their favorite books to use for literature circles.

Read through the chat below to find out how to group students for literature circles. You'll get ideas about holding students accountable for their reading. You'll also find ways to assess students during and after reading.

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.




Literature circles allow students to collaborate and share their ideas about a shared text of their choosing. This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about literature circles. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed how book selections are made, by theme or by genre. Teachers also shared the titles of their favorite books to use for literature circles. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.