A Change in Purpose

Hello blog readers and followers!

Previously, this blog was designed as a place that I could posts reactions and responses to my reading and learning in my EDRDG 620 class. However, I am going to be completely transforming it over the coming weeks.

By the end of this semester, this blog will be a literacy resource for teachers, parents, students, and anyone else who reads it. The newly designed blog will focus on adolescent literature and literacy, motivation for struggling or disinterested readers, and nonfiction reading/comprehension strategies. I'll also be including posts with resources I find that could help in terms of literacy in general.

Because I'm creating a resource, I believe a little background information about me is necessary. (Especially since one of the first things I teach my students is that it is important to find reliable internet resources, not just the first thing that pops up.) I am a fifth grade teacher in a suburban district. I am nearly finished with a Masters in Reading, which will also qualify me for a reading specialist license. I also coach middle school swimming, and thus, interact with students at that level as well. I am very involved with the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program which is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education. While working with this program, I've worked with students in grades 5 - 12, and with teachers and scholars from across the country. As a part of this program, students read and study the founding documents and several nonfiction texts - which is hard for many of them, even the good readers! For this reason, the teaching of nonfiction reading strategies has become an interest of mine. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I can be contacted at adazzlingdistraction(at)gmail(dot)com (which is also the email address for my Young Adult book review blog).

Enjoy!
molly