#SOL18 March 2nd

Read Alouds are so fun, even in Junior High. My slice of life moment today is brought to you by the letter S for Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart. This book has my students so hooked. They are whispering about the book as I read, they are on the edge of their seat as I slow my reading to emphasize a moment. They gasp as they make connections or yell out predictions and connections. Yesterday they yelled at me to keep reading. Today they were upset that class has ended. My Slice of Life would not be complete without reflecting on this practice and the fun that comes from students (even in Junior High) just sitting on the edge of their seats. Funny however that my 8's passed on the read aloud today, they just wanted to read their choice books. Maybe they were tired of me but I like to think they just really love their books. This morning I talked on Twitter of my disdain for Accelerated Reading (AR) seeing some post about a "March Madness" AR reading challenge being passed around like the most engaging reading tool ever. I have never seen students sitting on the edge of their seats to do an AR quiz. Engaged readers or even listeners are so fun to listen to, to watch and to learn from. Today was a day that keeps me hopeful that readers are being developed in my room. Students that appreciate a text. Today was a good day and read alouds are awesome. Thanks for this quick reflection opportunity.