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4 Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency
Essay. Poetry. Book Clubs. Digital Composition. Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher extend their work in 180 Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents by taking a deep dive into four essential studies. Their aim is to move beyond compliance and formula, and to develop students’ agency, independence, and decision-making skills. These four practices, they argue, have the power to transform students’ relationship with literacy—and truly prepare them for the more demanding work of college.
A central belief underlies each of the four studies—that composing involves choosing, picking among options. It is not following a pre-set pattern. But if students are to make these choices, they need to be aware of the moves and possibilities open to them. That’s what this book does—it shows how teacher demonstrations, the skillful use of mentor texts, effective feedback (and many other tools) can make choices possible.
By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, book clubs, and digital composition, we can open the door to more engaged, connected, and challenging learning.
A central belief underlies each of the four studies—that composing involves choosing, picking among options. It is not following a pre-set pattern. But if students are to make these choices, they need to be aware of the moves and possibilities open to them. That’s what this book does—it shows how teacher demonstrations, the skillful use of mentor texts, effective feedback (and many other tools) can make choices possible.
By reimagining how we teach essay, poetry, book clubs, and digital composition, we can open the door to more engaged, connected, and challenging learning.
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Published June 28, 2022
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About the author
Penny Kittle
17 books486 followersPenny Kittle teaches writers at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She is the author of Micro Mentor Texts (2022), 4 Essential Studies &180 Days (with Kelly Gallagher), Book Love (2013), Write Beside Them (2008), The Greatest Catch: a life in teaching (2005), and Public Teaching: one kid at a time (2003); she co-authored Inside Writing (2005) with Donald Graves and edited a collection of Graves' work with Tom Newkirk, Children Want to Write. She presents at writing conferences throughout the United States and Canada and sometimes much farther.
But if you want the real story… she dances and sings along to really loud music in her car; she just ate all of the M&M’s out of her trail mix; and she is the first one to keel over when they do those balancing moves in Pilates.
But if you want the real story… she dances and sings along to really loud music in her car; she just ate all of the M&M’s out of her trail mix; and she is the first one to keel over when they do those balancing moves in Pilates.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
May 3, 2022
This PD book put my ideas in the ignition and I’m ready to drive them next year. So many big and little tweaks. I know I can’t tackle them all and keep my sanity, but I have a big list of them to start ticking off. I was so inspired listening to Kelly at our literacy conference this spring, and continued to ride the momentum reading this book. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge Kelly and Penny!
August 5, 2022
I am writing this review mostly for myself to help me remember what I learned. If this review helps someone else decide to read this book, I'd be glad for that, too. I'll review each part of the book individually.
Introduction: Who Is Making the Decisions?
In their introduction, Kittle and Gallagher laser beam the problem currently facing high school English teachers: "Jillian's good grades [in high school] represented acts of compliance, not decision-making, and how that's she in college, she is beginning to understand what she doesn't know" (p. xix) and "Completing teacher-generated step-by-step work is not learning; it masquerades as it" (p. xx). As a high school English teacher, I can attest to this. I tell students how to write their five-paragraph essay; I tell students, not explicitly, but by the assignments I give, how to read our whole-class novel ("Skim it in order to extract the answers to these specific questions I've given you"). The result is students like Jillian, whose good grades are signs of compliance, not a sign of having gained skills in self-directed reading and writing. "Students need the space to struggle, to wrestle"; students need decision-making handed back to them, where it belongs (p. xxi). This, say Kittle and Gallagher, is the work of their book, presented in four sections: essay writing, book clubs, poetry, and digital composition. I am excited to start reading because I know I need this!
Part 1: Teaching the Essay as an Art Form
First, Kittle and Gallagher suggest English teachers fundamentally shift essay-writing assignments from a prescribed, analyze-this-text exercise to an "invitational space" in which students try to articulate their ideas on a self-selected topic of inquiry (p. 1, quoting Christina V. Cedillo). Kittle and Gallagher remind us that "essay" comes from the French essai, which means try or attempt. This definition is worthwhile sharing with students as a way to begin inviting them into the essay space.
"We have to create conditions that allow [students] to struggle without penalty," say the authors, suggesting that we work against the negative effects of grading (p. 3). The biggest negative effect of grading, it seems to me, is that grading forces students to comply with teacher directives, making grade-conscience students to write "what the teacher wants" without needing to wrestle with questions such as What's important to write about? How should I organize my writing? What format or genre would best enable me to say what I am trying to say? What am I trying to say?
When I taught SAT Prep, I was proud of the two-day lesson plan I wrote to teach students how to do well on the SAT Essay. While the lesson was good, what I shouldn't have been proud about was the meta-lesson I was inadvertently teaching, that writing in school is all about plugging in the thesis statement, three reasons why, and evidence to support those three reasons. This meta-lesson is a terrible lesson for kids to learn, for it teaches them that formulaic writing is how they are supposed to write! Formulaic writing deadens their writer's voice, undercuts their joy in discovery in writing, and depletes their writing of "energy" (p. 4, quoting Katherine Bomer). Inadvertently or not, I do not want to hold up this kind of writing as a model for students any longer.
The authors help us with practical concerns--how can we teachers accomplish this sea-change, practically, within the day-to-day work of our classrooms? One way is to show students many different examples of essays (perhaps centered on the same topic, but all written in different formats to show students possibilities), and have students, in pairs or small groups, notice the "craft moves" the writer made (p. 11).
Another practical tip the authors give us English teachers is to assign our students "a volume of ungraded practice" in the form of free-writes (p. 13). Ungraded free-writes give students the freedom to experiment with things they've seen other writers do--writers we've studied in class and writers they've encountered on their own (perhaps through Silent Sustained Reading).
On the practical necessity of grading, the authors write, "We give our students credit or no credit for their practice both inside and outside of class. We give credit for total pages written--in words or in sketches--in writing notebooks. We ignite the practice in class each day with poetry or other provocations... We hope this 'together practice' will inspire 'alone practice' outside of class, [but] we do not grade students for regular notebook practice outside of class" (p. 14).
It's worth mentioning that the authors "demonstrate [to their students] how we reread our notebooks, highlighting ideas we might want to explore in greater depth." They also demonstrated "underlin[ing] the last line of each entry, asking themselves, 'Do I have more to say about this?' (p. 15).
Other very practical concerns are (1) what should each day of the writing unit consist of and (2) how long should the unit last? On p. 15, Kittle and Gallagher share the speech they would use to introduce a writing unit to their students, including this statement: "We will be drafting for three weeks." However, writing skills should be taught throughout the year so that students can transfer them to many different tasks: "A student who learned how to write an anecdote in a narrative unit and then weaves an anecdote into their current argument piece" has gained the wide application of this skill (p. 27). Next, Kittle and Gallagher explain what they would do on each day of the unit. At the beginning of the unit, they would spend putting students in writing groups/pairs looking at example essays (including published essays, student examples, and the teacher's being-written-along-with-the-class, work-in-progress essay). At the end of the class, each writing group shares with the class their particular findings. After several days of this, the authors say they would revisit the essays with the students, having students rank them from most to least engaging; this is not so much to judge the essays but to prompt students to define criteria for excellence in essay writing. The student-generated criteria will then be used by the teacher to grade the students' essays (p. 17).
While these activities are first oriented toward looking at the essay as a whole, as the unit progresses, the authors study essays in part, looking at such things as an author's style, structure, and sentences. For example, after studying a piece of an essay at the sentence level, students might imitate the model essay's sentence frames (how they begin or end sentences) in a free-write (p. 19).
Midway through the unit, the authors allow students to choose the form--or even multiple forms, as in a multigenre essay--in which to write. "I choose this form orients the writer to the act of composing different than I will practice this form that was chosen for me. Again we ask: Who is making the decisions?" (p. 25).
As students begin writing their drafts, the authors do daily one-on-one conferences with their students in which their goal is to coach students (to encourage the strengths they see in their students' writing) and not to criticize. They say, "Until you set up a system to make this happen [conferencing one-on-one with students] regularly, you will never gain the insight you need to become the best writing teacher you can be" (p. 27).
As students continue to write and begin to revise, the authors encourage the use of writing groups (not peer editing groups). To get the most out of these groups, the authors advocate pairing writers up with other high school students in different parts of the country (using flipgrid.com to connect them) as well as modeling how to ask for specific feedback from one's writing group (pp. 31-2).
There is a list of suggested ungraded summative assessments--in addition to one-on-one student conferences--given by the authors on page 37.
At the end of the unit, as students are handing in their best drafts, Kittle and Gallagher also require students to submit end-notes answering the following questions: "Which mentor text had the biggest impact on your thinking and writing? Name a skill that you sharpened over the course of this unit. if you had more time to work on this, what would be your next move? Explain some choices you made while creating this draft? Is there something you want me to know about your process that is not evident in the best draft?" (pp. 39-40). This reflection helps students internalize their learning.
Finally, the best draft is graded by the teacher according to the criteria that the students came up with during their discussion on the best-written essay of all the mentor texts they studied (see above). The criteria will likely include aspects such as Scope, Sequence, Development, Craft, and Editing (p. 41-2).
Part 2: Book Clubs
Gallagher and Kittle start the chapter off with this profound point: "[Students in book clubs] talk more because they are actually reading and preparing for discussion" (p. 45). And again, "Telling students that they will begin the year by reading MacBeth—or any complex core text—is nonsensical. None of us would jump into class five rapids if we hadn't been in a kayak in months. But let's be honest, our kids are not even getting into the water. They are standing on shore, watching us paddle" (p. 46). In short, as all high school English teachers know, most students don't actually read the canonical texts assigned to them. Instead of making students pretend, book clubs fire students' interest by giving them choices and them provides accountability with a group of peers. The result of book clubs is that students get actual practice reading, analyzing, and discussing texts.
"Students often regularly see reading as one more task to complete to earn a grade for school, so they seek the easiest way to complete the work and move on" (p. 48). All I can say to that is preach it, sister. Preach it, brother.
Summarizing the introduction and the first two sections of chapter 2 ("Belief 1: We must build reading momentum before students enter book clubs" and "Belief 2: Rigor is not in the book itself, but in the work students do to understand it"), Kittle and Gallagher write, "We believe independent reading and book clubs lead our students to deeper thinking than whole-class novel study" (p. 49).
Kittle and Gallagher's 3rd belief is that "students practice the habits of lifelong readers when they engage in book club conversations" (p. 51). Students naturally like talking and thinking with their peers, an experience which is sorely limited in a whole-class text study, but which is eminently available to students when "four desks are huddled together" (p. 51). In these four-desk groups, "student-driven talk about books... moves beyond the book to life itself" (p. 51).
In the second half of the chapter, Gallagher and Kittle transition to their five essential practices for facilitating book clubs.
"Practice 1: We choose books that are relevant" (p. 52). The main point here is to choose relevant, diverse books, perhaps connected to a core text, perhaps not. A throwaway line was interesting to me: "Students sampled each of these [book club options] to decide which book they most wanted to read"—I was looking for how to facilitate student selections, and having students choose by reading a small section from each choice is a good idea (p. 52). Kittle and Gallagher also suggest book clubs in which students read many different books/essays/writings by the same author (they gave the example of Matt de la Pena).
"Practice 2: We connect readers across schools" (p. 55). Kittle and Gallagher provide the summary of this section for me. "We must emphasize this before moving on: Nothing we did in this monthlong book study elevated our students' engagement more than connecting them to students outside the walls of our own classrooms" (p. 56).
"Practice 3: We balance a volume of practice and close study" (pp. 56-63). There is a lot in this section. First, every day during a month-long book club unit, Kittle and Gallagher bring in a poem, infographic, piece of digital media (like a TED talk), image, artwork, picture book, or article that ties into the book club's theme. "Each day, we shared one text and asked our students to write [for as little as 4 minutes and as long as 10 minutes] in response to it. We did not give them questions to spur this writing. Instead, we asked them to select an idea, a word, a phrase—any hot spot pulled from the text that helped them to deepen their understanding of the idea of [the theme of the book club]" (p. 58).
Both Gallagher and Kittle start the unit by sharing their "finish line question" (AKA the question students will answer at the end of the unit as their summative assessment). For example, here is part of Gallagher's finish line question: "in an essay you will analyze the moves and techniques employed by the author that bring his characters to life. You should share (1) specific moves—with cited page numbers—that you find effective along with (2) explanations as to why you believe these moves are important" (p. 59).
They used weekly focus questions to guide students' thinking: "Week 1: What do we know about these characters? What is said? What is implied? ... Week 3: What trouble is brewing? What does this trouble tell you about big ideas that are emerging? Week 4: What craft movies are you noticing? ... What do you notice about the structure of the book? What decisions were made in the construction of the story?" (p. 61). Also, on page 64, here are more questions: "Week 1: What's worth talking about? Is there a passage that struck you as important in developing a character or a person or an idea in the book so far? Week 2: Name and discuss a big idea that's emerging. [Week 3: a question relating to the theme of the book club.]. Week 4: How has this experience of reading and listening to others changed your thinking?" For this last question, students can fill in these sentence starters: "I used to think ____, but now I think ____. I still think ____, but I'd like to add ____. Others think ____, but I think ____ (p. 73).
Additionally, the authors both "created a one-month calendar that included weekly meetings... We connected our students across classrooms via Flipgrid. We asked them to prepare for discussion by creating two-page spreads. In addition, we asked them to dedicate two pages in their notebooks to capture interesting, intriguing, and provocative language. We wanted students to consciously celebrate words and passages.... [In a short story study at the end of the unit,] we asked, "Can you find the significance of a character in a small detail?" (p. 61).
Kittle had students write alongside the texts she brought in, and then, just before book club discussions, she had them write again, asking them "to revisit their original thinking through the lens of the book they were reading. "[W]riting before talking focused and intensified book club discussions" (p. 63). Pages 73-4 have a list of specific writing prompts: "Find a gossipy moment in the book, identify the turns in the book, discuss a critical decision made in the chapter or the book, capture a shift in your thinking, discuss a minor character of major importance, pick a passage and read it [on Flipgrid.com] the way the author intended it to be read, identify and discuss the most important word in the passage, chapter, or book, annotate poetry."
"Practice 4: We increase student-generated talk" (p . 63).
I love Kittle and Gallagher's idea of having students generate two-page spreads, and for two different purposes. First, "to prepare for discussion by creating two-page spreads in their notebooks... bring[ing] evidence that they had been thinking about their reading" (p. 64). Second, "As we read, we'll be collecting sentences and passages from our books. When you come upon a sentence or a passage that you feel is important or well said, or simply beautiful, you add it to a two-page spread in your notebook" (p. 70). There are myriad student examples of both types of two-page spreads downloadable from Online Resources on Heinemann's website and from PennyKittle.net.
There was a short section on pages 68-70 explaining a mini-unit on reading graphs. Students analyze graphs for (1) what it is saying, (2) what it ISN'T saying, and (3) where it would best fit in the book (this is an act of literary analysis).
"Practice 5: We turn decisions over to students" (p. 74). Here Gallagher and Kittle simply list the decisions students make during a book club unit, from choosing the book they'd like to read to deciding what sentence or passage best demonstrates the author's writing craft.
The authors have a brilliantly simple way of grading the summative assessment of the book club unit, which is an essay analyzing how the author's craft moves are effective. The grading is done in five categories: scope, sequence, development, craft, and editing. It's worth reading pp. 75-6 for a full explanation of each of these categories.
Finally, the "Closing Thoughts" section (pp. 76-9) re-emphasizes that student desire should be the center point of every unit in an English classroom, which is the reason why Kittle and Gallagher like book club units: they stoke the fires of student desire. Also, the authors emphasize that just as, in Donald Murray's words, writing itself is the best teacher of writing, reading itself is the best teacher of reading.
Part 4: Digital Composition
At the beginning of the chapter, Kittle and Gallagher encourage teachers to stumble after them in creating a digital composition unit because it has "ignited energy in our classrooms." What's more, they believe that "the best way to become a critical thinker about digital media is to create in that genre" (p. 117).
Introduction: Who Is Making the Decisions?
In their introduction, Kittle and Gallagher laser beam the problem currently facing high school English teachers: "Jillian's good grades [in high school] represented acts of compliance, not decision-making, and how that's she in college, she is beginning to understand what she doesn't know" (p. xix) and "Completing teacher-generated step-by-step work is not learning; it masquerades as it" (p. xx). As a high school English teacher, I can attest to this. I tell students how to write their five-paragraph essay; I tell students, not explicitly, but by the assignments I give, how to read our whole-class novel ("Skim it in order to extract the answers to these specific questions I've given you"). The result is students like Jillian, whose good grades are signs of compliance, not a sign of having gained skills in self-directed reading and writing. "Students need the space to struggle, to wrestle"; students need decision-making handed back to them, where it belongs (p. xxi). This, say Kittle and Gallagher, is the work of their book, presented in four sections: essay writing, book clubs, poetry, and digital composition. I am excited to start reading because I know I need this!
Part 1: Teaching the Essay as an Art Form
First, Kittle and Gallagher suggest English teachers fundamentally shift essay-writing assignments from a prescribed, analyze-this-text exercise to an "invitational space" in which students try to articulate their ideas on a self-selected topic of inquiry (p. 1, quoting Christina V. Cedillo). Kittle and Gallagher remind us that "essay" comes from the French essai, which means try or attempt. This definition is worthwhile sharing with students as a way to begin inviting them into the essay space.
"We have to create conditions that allow [students] to struggle without penalty," say the authors, suggesting that we work against the negative effects of grading (p. 3). The biggest negative effect of grading, it seems to me, is that grading forces students to comply with teacher directives, making grade-conscience students to write "what the teacher wants" without needing to wrestle with questions such as What's important to write about? How should I organize my writing? What format or genre would best enable me to say what I am trying to say? What am I trying to say?
When I taught SAT Prep, I was proud of the two-day lesson plan I wrote to teach students how to do well on the SAT Essay. While the lesson was good, what I shouldn't have been proud about was the meta-lesson I was inadvertently teaching, that writing in school is all about plugging in the thesis statement, three reasons why, and evidence to support those three reasons. This meta-lesson is a terrible lesson for kids to learn, for it teaches them that formulaic writing is how they are supposed to write! Formulaic writing deadens their writer's voice, undercuts their joy in discovery in writing, and depletes their writing of "energy" (p. 4, quoting Katherine Bomer). Inadvertently or not, I do not want to hold up this kind of writing as a model for students any longer.
The authors help us with practical concerns--how can we teachers accomplish this sea-change, practically, within the day-to-day work of our classrooms? One way is to show students many different examples of essays (perhaps centered on the same topic, but all written in different formats to show students possibilities), and have students, in pairs or small groups, notice the "craft moves" the writer made (p. 11).
Another practical tip the authors give us English teachers is to assign our students "a volume of ungraded practice" in the form of free-writes (p. 13). Ungraded free-writes give students the freedom to experiment with things they've seen other writers do--writers we've studied in class and writers they've encountered on their own (perhaps through Silent Sustained Reading).
On the practical necessity of grading, the authors write, "We give our students credit or no credit for their practice both inside and outside of class. We give credit for total pages written--in words or in sketches--in writing notebooks. We ignite the practice in class each day with poetry or other provocations... We hope this 'together practice' will inspire 'alone practice' outside of class, [but] we do not grade students for regular notebook practice outside of class" (p. 14).
It's worth mentioning that the authors "demonstrate [to their students] how we reread our notebooks, highlighting ideas we might want to explore in greater depth." They also demonstrated "underlin[ing] the last line of each entry, asking themselves, 'Do I have more to say about this?' (p. 15).
Other very practical concerns are (1) what should each day of the writing unit consist of and (2) how long should the unit last? On p. 15, Kittle and Gallagher share the speech they would use to introduce a writing unit to their students, including this statement: "We will be drafting for three weeks." However, writing skills should be taught throughout the year so that students can transfer them to many different tasks: "A student who learned how to write an anecdote in a narrative unit and then weaves an anecdote into their current argument piece" has gained the wide application of this skill (p. 27). Next, Kittle and Gallagher explain what they would do on each day of the unit. At the beginning of the unit, they would spend putting students in writing groups/pairs looking at example essays (including published essays, student examples, and the teacher's being-written-along-with-the-class, work-in-progress essay). At the end of the class, each writing group shares with the class their particular findings. After several days of this, the authors say they would revisit the essays with the students, having students rank them from most to least engaging; this is not so much to judge the essays but to prompt students to define criteria for excellence in essay writing. The student-generated criteria will then be used by the teacher to grade the students' essays (p. 17).
While these activities are first oriented toward looking at the essay as a whole, as the unit progresses, the authors study essays in part, looking at such things as an author's style, structure, and sentences. For example, after studying a piece of an essay at the sentence level, students might imitate the model essay's sentence frames (how they begin or end sentences) in a free-write (p. 19).
Midway through the unit, the authors allow students to choose the form--or even multiple forms, as in a multigenre essay--in which to write. "I choose this form orients the writer to the act of composing different than I will practice this form that was chosen for me. Again we ask: Who is making the decisions?" (p. 25).
As students begin writing their drafts, the authors do daily one-on-one conferences with their students in which their goal is to coach students (to encourage the strengths they see in their students' writing) and not to criticize. They say, "Until you set up a system to make this happen [conferencing one-on-one with students] regularly, you will never gain the insight you need to become the best writing teacher you can be" (p. 27).
As students continue to write and begin to revise, the authors encourage the use of writing groups (not peer editing groups). To get the most out of these groups, the authors advocate pairing writers up with other high school students in different parts of the country (using flipgrid.com to connect them) as well as modeling how to ask for specific feedback from one's writing group (pp. 31-2).
There is a list of suggested ungraded summative assessments--in addition to one-on-one student conferences--given by the authors on page 37.
At the end of the unit, as students are handing in their best drafts, Kittle and Gallagher also require students to submit end-notes answering the following questions: "Which mentor text had the biggest impact on your thinking and writing? Name a skill that you sharpened over the course of this unit. if you had more time to work on this, what would be your next move? Explain some choices you made while creating this draft? Is there something you want me to know about your process that is not evident in the best draft?" (pp. 39-40). This reflection helps students internalize their learning.
Finally, the best draft is graded by the teacher according to the criteria that the students came up with during their discussion on the best-written essay of all the mentor texts they studied (see above). The criteria will likely include aspects such as Scope, Sequence, Development, Craft, and Editing (p. 41-2).
Part 2: Book Clubs
Gallagher and Kittle start the chapter off with this profound point: "[Students in book clubs] talk more because they are actually reading and preparing for discussion" (p. 45). And again, "Telling students that they will begin the year by reading MacBeth—or any complex core text—is nonsensical. None of us would jump into class five rapids if we hadn't been in a kayak in months. But let's be honest, our kids are not even getting into the water. They are standing on shore, watching us paddle" (p. 46). In short, as all high school English teachers know, most students don't actually read the canonical texts assigned to them. Instead of making students pretend, book clubs fire students' interest by giving them choices and them provides accountability with a group of peers. The result of book clubs is that students get actual practice reading, analyzing, and discussing texts.
"Students often regularly see reading as one more task to complete to earn a grade for school, so they seek the easiest way to complete the work and move on" (p. 48). All I can say to that is preach it, sister. Preach it, brother.
Summarizing the introduction and the first two sections of chapter 2 ("Belief 1: We must build reading momentum before students enter book clubs" and "Belief 2: Rigor is not in the book itself, but in the work students do to understand it"), Kittle and Gallagher write, "We believe independent reading and book clubs lead our students to deeper thinking than whole-class novel study" (p. 49).
Kittle and Gallagher's 3rd belief is that "students practice the habits of lifelong readers when they engage in book club conversations" (p. 51). Students naturally like talking and thinking with their peers, an experience which is sorely limited in a whole-class text study, but which is eminently available to students when "four desks are huddled together" (p. 51). In these four-desk groups, "student-driven talk about books... moves beyond the book to life itself" (p. 51).
In the second half of the chapter, Gallagher and Kittle transition to their five essential practices for facilitating book clubs.
"Practice 1: We choose books that are relevant" (p. 52). The main point here is to choose relevant, diverse books, perhaps connected to a core text, perhaps not. A throwaway line was interesting to me: "Students sampled each of these [book club options] to decide which book they most wanted to read"—I was looking for how to facilitate student selections, and having students choose by reading a small section from each choice is a good idea (p. 52). Kittle and Gallagher also suggest book clubs in which students read many different books/essays/writings by the same author (they gave the example of Matt de la Pena).
"Practice 2: We connect readers across schools" (p. 55). Kittle and Gallagher provide the summary of this section for me. "We must emphasize this before moving on: Nothing we did in this monthlong book study elevated our students' engagement more than connecting them to students outside the walls of our own classrooms" (p. 56).
"Practice 3: We balance a volume of practice and close study" (pp. 56-63). There is a lot in this section. First, every day during a month-long book club unit, Kittle and Gallagher bring in a poem, infographic, piece of digital media (like a TED talk), image, artwork, picture book, or article that ties into the book club's theme. "Each day, we shared one text and asked our students to write [for as little as 4 minutes and as long as 10 minutes] in response to it. We did not give them questions to spur this writing. Instead, we asked them to select an idea, a word, a phrase—any hot spot pulled from the text that helped them to deepen their understanding of the idea of [the theme of the book club]" (p. 58).
Both Gallagher and Kittle start the unit by sharing their "finish line question" (AKA the question students will answer at the end of the unit as their summative assessment). For example, here is part of Gallagher's finish line question: "in an essay you will analyze the moves and techniques employed by the author that bring his characters to life. You should share (1) specific moves—with cited page numbers—that you find effective along with (2) explanations as to why you believe these moves are important" (p. 59).
They used weekly focus questions to guide students' thinking: "Week 1: What do we know about these characters? What is said? What is implied? ... Week 3: What trouble is brewing? What does this trouble tell you about big ideas that are emerging? Week 4: What craft movies are you noticing? ... What do you notice about the structure of the book? What decisions were made in the construction of the story?" (p. 61). Also, on page 64, here are more questions: "Week 1: What's worth talking about? Is there a passage that struck you as important in developing a character or a person or an idea in the book so far? Week 2: Name and discuss a big idea that's emerging. [Week 3: a question relating to the theme of the book club.]. Week 4: How has this experience of reading and listening to others changed your thinking?" For this last question, students can fill in these sentence starters: "I used to think ____, but now I think ____. I still think ____, but I'd like to add ____. Others think ____, but I think ____ (p. 73).
Additionally, the authors both "created a one-month calendar that included weekly meetings... We connected our students across classrooms via Flipgrid. We asked them to prepare for discussion by creating two-page spreads. In addition, we asked them to dedicate two pages in their notebooks to capture interesting, intriguing, and provocative language. We wanted students to consciously celebrate words and passages.... [In a short story study at the end of the unit,] we asked, "Can you find the significance of a character in a small detail?" (p. 61).
Kittle had students write alongside the texts she brought in, and then, just before book club discussions, she had them write again, asking them "to revisit their original thinking through the lens of the book they were reading. "[W]riting before talking focused and intensified book club discussions" (p. 63). Pages 73-4 have a list of specific writing prompts: "Find a gossipy moment in the book, identify the turns in the book, discuss a critical decision made in the chapter or the book, capture a shift in your thinking, discuss a minor character of major importance, pick a passage and read it [on Flipgrid.com] the way the author intended it to be read, identify and discuss the most important word in the passage, chapter, or book, annotate poetry."
"Practice 4: We increase student-generated talk" (p . 63).
I love Kittle and Gallagher's idea of having students generate two-page spreads, and for two different purposes. First, "to prepare for discussion by creating two-page spreads in their notebooks... bring[ing] evidence that they had been thinking about their reading" (p. 64). Second, "As we read, we'll be collecting sentences and passages from our books. When you come upon a sentence or a passage that you feel is important or well said, or simply beautiful, you add it to a two-page spread in your notebook" (p. 70). There are myriad student examples of both types of two-page spreads downloadable from Online Resources on Heinemann's website and from PennyKittle.net.
There was a short section on pages 68-70 explaining a mini-unit on reading graphs. Students analyze graphs for (1) what it is saying, (2) what it ISN'T saying, and (3) where it would best fit in the book (this is an act of literary analysis).
"Practice 5: We turn decisions over to students" (p. 74). Here Gallagher and Kittle simply list the decisions students make during a book club unit, from choosing the book they'd like to read to deciding what sentence or passage best demonstrates the author's writing craft.
The authors have a brilliantly simple way of grading the summative assessment of the book club unit, which is an essay analyzing how the author's craft moves are effective. The grading is done in five categories: scope, sequence, development, craft, and editing. It's worth reading pp. 75-6 for a full explanation of each of these categories.
Finally, the "Closing Thoughts" section (pp. 76-9) re-emphasizes that student desire should be the center point of every unit in an English classroom, which is the reason why Kittle and Gallagher like book club units: they stoke the fires of student desire. Also, the authors emphasize that just as, in Donald Murray's words, writing itself is the best teacher of writing, reading itself is the best teacher of reading.
Part 4: Digital Composition
At the beginning of the chapter, Kittle and Gallagher encourage teachers to stumble after them in creating a digital composition unit because it has "ignited energy in our classrooms." What's more, they believe that "the best way to become a critical thinker about digital media is to create in that genre" (p. 117).
August 1, 2022
The authors explain how and why to develop, organize, and assess four types of units: Essays, book clubs, poetry, and digital composition. Each section is supported with helpful examples. Worth reading to revamp old units and/or to create new ones.
January 5, 2023
It only took me almost a year to finish this one. I loved it; I just got distracted with everything else going on (teaching, being a mom, starting my PhD). Once again I found great advice and ideas from Kittle and Gallagher. They are both great teachers, but in my opinion, wonderful mentors! I actually met Kelly Gallagher when I bought this, and he helped me remember the joy of teaching. It’s not easy to teach, and it seems like it gets more difficult each year, but the ideas and strategies in this one are doable and not overwhelming. I’m going to combine these ideas with what I learned from The Confidence to Write by Liz Prather, and hopefully, my seniors will enjoy what they write. 🤞
January 15, 2022
This is a good resource for teachers. It talks about how to implement essays, poetry, book clubs and digital composition into classrooms. I hope to do a book study on it this summer for our local Teacher Center.
July 29, 2022
A good first Kittle/Gallagher book.
June 30, 2023
Always love returning to Kittle and Gallagher in the summer to give me fresh ideas and inspiration for the year ahead.
February 23, 2022
Using this book to drive my instruction for a high school literature class. Penny and Kelly are at the top of their game for all things essential in today’s education of our young adults.
September 16, 2023
What to do with this book...as always, I think that Kittle and Gallagher have some incredible ideas and practices about reading and writing in schools. Also as always, there is a massive blindspot in their work that fails to encourage and facilitate collaborations between ELA teachers and librarians. Teachers, what you are working so hard to grow with reading is what librarians do every day and have been preaching as best practice for decades. Better readers and writers come directly from those learners who practice meaningful, relevant reading and writing in school and every day life. If you feed a learner a steady diet of formulaic 5 paragraph essays and classics, they don't flourish and grow as readers and writers.
I love the concepts and ideas introduced in this book and the growth that Kittle and Gallagher experienced as they did the work (and documented! Very helpful) for themselves what they want their learners to do every day. However, many of the recommendations of finding a like minded ELA teacher to help you with identifying relevant, engaging, contemporary works in essays, poetry, fiction, and media is the expertise of school librarians everywhere and not suggesting collaboration with school librarians is a massive oversight.
My other critique of the book makes me question the reliability of the claims by Kittle and Gallagher that they read and discussed the titles they list with their learners. In the book clubs chapter, their editor and own knowledge fail them by listing All American Boys as written by Alan Gratz and Refugee as written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. I get there are formatting and typing errors, but they also read the audio and in their own voices don't give credit to the correct authors for the titles they are often best known for. This screams to me that they didn't really read those titles. They also have Revolutionby Deborah Wiles listed as nonfiction and it is certainly NOT that. Quality historical fiction, yes, but it is not nonfiction. You know who would have caught these errors? A collaborative librarian.
I love the concepts and ideas introduced in this book and the growth that Kittle and Gallagher experienced as they did the work (and documented! Very helpful) for themselves what they want their learners to do every day. However, many of the recommendations of finding a like minded ELA teacher to help you with identifying relevant, engaging, contemporary works in essays, poetry, fiction, and media is the expertise of school librarians everywhere and not suggesting collaboration with school librarians is a massive oversight.
My other critique of the book makes me question the reliability of the claims by Kittle and Gallagher that they read and discussed the titles they list with their learners. In the book clubs chapter, their editor and own knowledge fail them by listing All American Boys as written by Alan Gratz and Refugee as written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. I get there are formatting and typing errors, but they also read the audio and in their own voices don't give credit to the correct authors for the titles they are often best known for. This screams to me that they didn't really read those titles. They also have Revolutionby Deborah Wiles listed as nonfiction and it is certainly NOT that. Quality historical fiction, yes, but it is not nonfiction. You know who would have caught these errors? A collaborative librarian.
August 2, 2022
Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher write with such care. I know that anytime I pick up one of their books, I'm going to be thinking a lot about how the big picture fits the specifics of a classroom. Reading stuff like this reignites the passions of teaching.
And this book definitely fulfilled the standard above.
I especially was interested by the focus on poetry and digital composition. I got a lot of good ideas from those sections and those sections also spurred my own tangential ruminations.
And this book definitely fulfilled the standard above.
I especially was interested by the focus on poetry and digital composition. I got a lot of good ideas from those sections and those sections also spurred my own tangential ruminations.
June 5, 2022
Lots of good ideas here. Maybe I’ll actually be brave enough this year to teach poetry 😅
(But also— HOW DO THEY DO IT ALL? I could not fit everything they talk about here into a year. And I want to meet their students. They seem very excited about reading and writing in a way that I have never seen from a teenager 😂😂)
(But also— HOW DO THEY DO IT ALL? I could not fit everything they talk about here into a year. And I want to meet their students. They seem very excited about reading and writing in a way that I have never seen from a teenager 😂😂)
February 13, 2022
This book is AMAZING. Kittle and Gallagher have done it AGAIN! I bought the book being most excited about the first two chapters about essays and book clubs, but surprisingly, the last two chapters ended up being my favorites: poetry and digital composition. Because of this book, I am making immediate changes in my classroom, and I can't wait to rethink and redo some first semester units next school year.
August 1, 2022
Always thought-provoking. Lots of takeaways. Ideas and practical, concrete activities. Excellent ELA PD reading.
May 18, 2023
Another fabulous text by Kittle and Gallagher. Expands on some thoughts from 180 Days and offers more clarity to units and activities.
July 5, 2022
Kittle + Gallagher = Excellent Professional Development!
November 19, 2021
A fast read from two of my favorite teacher gurus---just what this tired teacher needed to inspire her to be more creative and hopefully more effective in the coming days.
October 31, 2021
I loved everything about this book-for the examples, lesson ideas, and real life classroom from two seasoned teachers who are still in the classroom. I can’t wait to integrate these practices in my classes.
July 4, 2022
I spent a couple of months reading through this slowly, annotating it for specific strategies that I'll apply to my courses as I rewrite them this summer. Honestly, this is single-handedly the most impactful and best teaching book I've read in my career thus far. It trumps everything I was assigned in graduate school. I am so inspired by Kittle and Gallagher and this, along with Book Love (which I'm still working through), made me feel at once seen and guided. They write with deep, practiced wisdom, and I love how their work is embedded in current research rather than just anecdotes and truisms about education. They outline entire units without too much constraint, including the most useful and transferrable parts, like skills lists, reading options, mini-lesson ideas, assignment ideas, and how they structure units as a whole. I love how they've taken four teaching ideas that I've tried over the years and solidified the research behind the merits of each while also offering time-honed techniques for keeping them productive while free and joyful: Essays, book clubs, poetry, and digital composition.
If only more teachers taught like them... then students would read and write less for the points and teacher and more for themselves. Then they'd be much more avid, close readers. They'd be much keener critical thinkers and writers. All with greater joy.
There are far too many important excerpts to include here, but I am going to directly apply so much of this immediately this coming fall. Particularly, I will bring back the reader's notebook, from quick writes to two-page discussion preparatory spreads and vitally, re-visiting previous entries and building on them. This helps for retainment and depth, which students struggle with more with each passing year, the more immersed they are in immediacy and digital culture. I can pontificate on this at length, but even last night, when the kids were watching an episode of the rebooted Magic School Bus series, I was struck by how flashy it is... rather than go steadily forth with the main lesson to be learned, there were distractions here and there such that at the end, the lesson was lost. Kids don't need to be entertained with flash. It's alright -- important, even -- to go nice and slow with them, to allow space for knowledge and understanding to sink in. Learning doesn't have to be flashy and "entertaining," per se. But this is besides the point of this book.
Student agency and choice are vital.
"Not only is energy drained from the writing when students practice mechanized thinking, but students also lose the valuable practice of generating and organizing ideas. When the form is predetermined, much of the writer's important decision-making has already been stripped [...] Without an understanding of options, students can't imagine how a different form might better engage an audience or how changing the structure might better communicate their ideas [...] The lack of student decision-making and agency is compounded when students are constrained by the teacher's choice of subject and the lack of an authentic audience for their writing" (4).
Seriously! Why the heck are we still assigning 5-paragraph essays in schools?? It's important to consider the actual essay assignments that students will encounter in college, which require students to already have a lot of decision-making skills in place, let alone the ability to see them through effectively. And beyond college courses, there are so many interesting forms of essays out in the real world today.
Kittle and Gallagher also remind me of the importance of writing alongside my students, to model the process and thinking that happens at each step. From essays to poetry, it's vital for me to do this... to keep me fresh and relevant, and also to demonstrate the healthy challenges and decision-making processes that go into crafting.
As for reading, it's true that fewer students tend to read for fun. Too often, they are just assigned particular class books, which are easy to coast through with online shortcuts. "But a complex book does not teach students how to read well; the work students do to make meaning of a text teaches them to read well. There is a mismatch between our ideals and the actual work many students are doing. Students often regularly see reading as one more task to complete to earn a grade for school, so they seek the easiest way to complete the work and move on. Yes, they may learn that Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream, but they do so without any intellectual lifting" (48).
Giving students choice has been found to lead students to "read more and more challenging texts on their own" (48). "Unless students are engaged in making sense from the reading for themselves, they will not use those strategies. [...] If a teacher does not provide real choices, if everything is mandatory and compulsory, there is no impetus to develop mental flexibility or cope with uncertainty" (49).
I appreciate how they value balancing core texts with student choice. I can work with that. This build stamina, empowerment, reading identity, and connections.
The poetry and digital composition sections felt more familiar, since I've applied most of their methods already. Those came easily, likely because I didn't see as many established (and thus more likely "traditional") examples in my schools before. I got to imagine these units from far fewer resources, which I realize can be much more liberating than having a bunch of resources to turn to.
I'm excited. I love how these books have revitalized my teaching strategies, and I very much look forward to apply them and turning to this book throughout the year as I work and rework it all alongside my beloved students.
If only more teachers taught like them... then students would read and write less for the points and teacher and more for themselves. Then they'd be much more avid, close readers. They'd be much keener critical thinkers and writers. All with greater joy.
There are far too many important excerpts to include here, but I am going to directly apply so much of this immediately this coming fall. Particularly, I will bring back the reader's notebook, from quick writes to two-page discussion preparatory spreads and vitally, re-visiting previous entries and building on them. This helps for retainment and depth, which students struggle with more with each passing year, the more immersed they are in immediacy and digital culture. I can pontificate on this at length, but even last night, when the kids were watching an episode of the rebooted Magic School Bus series, I was struck by how flashy it is... rather than go steadily forth with the main lesson to be learned, there were distractions here and there such that at the end, the lesson was lost. Kids don't need to be entertained with flash. It's alright -- important, even -- to go nice and slow with them, to allow space for knowledge and understanding to sink in. Learning doesn't have to be flashy and "entertaining," per se. But this is besides the point of this book.
Student agency and choice are vital.
"Not only is energy drained from the writing when students practice mechanized thinking, but students also lose the valuable practice of generating and organizing ideas. When the form is predetermined, much of the writer's important decision-making has already been stripped [...] Without an understanding of options, students can't imagine how a different form might better engage an audience or how changing the structure might better communicate their ideas [...] The lack of student decision-making and agency is compounded when students are constrained by the teacher's choice of subject and the lack of an authentic audience for their writing" (4).
Seriously! Why the heck are we still assigning 5-paragraph essays in schools?? It's important to consider the actual essay assignments that students will encounter in college, which require students to already have a lot of decision-making skills in place, let alone the ability to see them through effectively. And beyond college courses, there are so many interesting forms of essays out in the real world today.
Kittle and Gallagher also remind me of the importance of writing alongside my students, to model the process and thinking that happens at each step. From essays to poetry, it's vital for me to do this... to keep me fresh and relevant, and also to demonstrate the healthy challenges and decision-making processes that go into crafting.
As for reading, it's true that fewer students tend to read for fun. Too often, they are just assigned particular class books, which are easy to coast through with online shortcuts. "But a complex book does not teach students how to read well; the work students do to make meaning of a text teaches them to read well. There is a mismatch between our ideals and the actual work many students are doing. Students often regularly see reading as one more task to complete to earn a grade for school, so they seek the easiest way to complete the work and move on. Yes, they may learn that Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream, but they do so without any intellectual lifting" (48).
Giving students choice has been found to lead students to "read more and more challenging texts on their own" (48). "Unless students are engaged in making sense from the reading for themselves, they will not use those strategies. [...] If a teacher does not provide real choices, if everything is mandatory and compulsory, there is no impetus to develop mental flexibility or cope with uncertainty" (49).
I appreciate how they value balancing core texts with student choice. I can work with that. This build stamina, empowerment, reading identity, and connections.
The poetry and digital composition sections felt more familiar, since I've applied most of their methods already. Those came easily, likely because I didn't see as many established (and thus more likely "traditional") examples in my schools before. I got to imagine these units from far fewer resources, which I realize can be much more liberating than having a bunch of resources to turn to.
I'm excited. I love how these books have revitalized my teaching strategies, and I very much look forward to apply them and turning to this book throughout the year as I work and rework it all alongside my beloved students.
February 25, 2022
In the spring of 2020 soon after the coronavirus shut down the world, Penny and Kelly hosted an online forum for teachers everywhere to talk about what was going on and to discuss reading and writing instruction. Everyday for six weeks they talked about what they were reading and what they were writing in their notebooks, invited authors and teacher-writers to join their discussions, shared resources on Padlet, and also invited us to write with them and join the conversation on Flipgrid. It was some of the most powerful professional development I’ve ever experienced, and it cost nothing but time. I was thrilled when they repeated the process in 2021 albeit on a much smaller scale. It was called “30 for 30” as it was 30 minutes of PD offered for 30 days–again, free of charge. In the course of the learning opportunities, Penny and Kelly were working on this book. They talked about it constantly and much of what is in the book is familiar, not only due to my participation in those sessions but because I’d also read the last book on which they collaborated: 180 Days.
This new book is divided into four essential studies, just as the title indicates: essays, book clubs, poetry, digital composition. As with everything this duo creates, it’s full of references to quotes and books and articles and ideas to help teachers to hone their craft for the benefit their students. In each section they talk about where their ideas came from, how they present these elements in their classrooms, how they support students throughout the process, and how they assess the final products. Though I agree with the first three studies and use similar methodologies in my classroom, I struggle a bit with the fourth primarily because digital composition is covered in at least one of the computer classes students at my school take as an elective. I’m all about challenging status quo but wonder if it isn’t better to focus on doing just a few things well and allowing other teachers who are better equipped to take on such a technology focused area. Though I have great respect for both, Penny, despite having taught many grade levels, is currently teaching at the college level. And Kelly, until his retirement last year, was teaching high school. My students are neither in high school nor in college, so the decisions I make for them are based on establishing in them a firm foundation for what awaits them as they move higher into secondary education.
During a webinar in which Penny and Kelly went through three of the four studies (no longer gratis), they talked about the struggles of teaching virtually. The fact that each of them is humble enough to share their experiences both good and bad, the fact that they read widely and write regularly, the fact that they are still striving to be better teachers after more than 30 years in the classroom, these are the reasons I am a huge fan of theirs and look forward to their next teaching/learning opportunity. 4
This new book is divided into four essential studies, just as the title indicates: essays, book clubs, poetry, digital composition. As with everything this duo creates, it’s full of references to quotes and books and articles and ideas to help teachers to hone their craft for the benefit their students. In each section they talk about where their ideas came from, how they present these elements in their classrooms, how they support students throughout the process, and how they assess the final products. Though I agree with the first three studies and use similar methodologies in my classroom, I struggle a bit with the fourth primarily because digital composition is covered in at least one of the computer classes students at my school take as an elective. I’m all about challenging status quo but wonder if it isn’t better to focus on doing just a few things well and allowing other teachers who are better equipped to take on such a technology focused area. Though I have great respect for both, Penny, despite having taught many grade levels, is currently teaching at the college level. And Kelly, until his retirement last year, was teaching high school. My students are neither in high school nor in college, so the decisions I make for them are based on establishing in them a firm foundation for what awaits them as they move higher into secondary education.
During a webinar in which Penny and Kelly went through three of the four studies (no longer gratis), they talked about the struggles of teaching virtually. The fact that each of them is humble enough to share their experiences both good and bad, the fact that they read widely and write regularly, the fact that they are still striving to be better teachers after more than 30 years in the classroom, these are the reasons I am a huge fan of theirs and look forward to their next teaching/learning opportunity. 4
April 10, 2022
I’ll admit that I read this book out of order, but it worked for me. I started with the last section about digital compositions, since that’s what I was doing in my classroom at the time, and then went to essays, poetry, and finally book clubs. I loved them all, and more importantly gained something from them all. My beliefs are quite similar to Kelly and Penny’s—giving students opportunities to make reading and writing decisions, focusing on improving volume, and so much more—so I found myself nodding my head (and even saying a few “that’s right” aloud too). I especially loved the “last words” at the end and found myself going back to Amy Krause Rosenthal’s Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life afterward.
Penny and Kelly continue to push my thinking about the way I teach English Language Arts, and I am forever grateful for that.
Penny and Kelly continue to push my thinking about the way I teach English Language Arts, and I am forever grateful for that.
December 22, 2022
I leave this book with soaring joy and inspiration. Everything I love and appreciate and aspire to be is in these pages. I’m not quite there yet; my classroom is not quite there yet, but when I read Kittle and Gallagher I have such a strong sense of direction that I know where I want to go. It’s so obvious that Kittle and Gallagher still teach and have a strong pulse on the modern classroom— this book is immediately helpful and usable.
I actually leave this book most inspired to read and write on my own. Their books always make me remember that I teach because I want students to feel my own appreciation and love for words.
I read this for school but I ended up reading it for fun. I plan to mark the pages and enjoy it for years to come.
I actually leave this book most inspired to read and write on my own. Their books always make me remember that I teach because I want students to feel my own appreciation and love for words.
I read this for school but I ended up reading it for fun. I plan to mark the pages and enjoy it for years to come.
May 30, 2024
An inspiring read. I wish they provided some more concretel guidelines: when and how do you do notebook check? When do students write in the notebook if the notebook has been submitted for assessment? Do you still include article of the week? How much tome do you give for reading in class? Do you have outside of class reading expectations (we are a no homework district)? In short, how do you fit it into the schedule?
I appreciate that they can easily work with a classroom across the country, too many of us do not have that convenience.
Don't get me wrong, I love what they share and will work hard to transform my classroom. I just wish I had a clearer picture of how to make it all work (fit?).
I appreciate that they can easily work with a classroom across the country, too many of us do not have that convenience.
Don't get me wrong, I love what they share and will work hard to transform my classroom. I just wish I had a clearer picture of how to make it all work (fit?).
July 12, 2022
I so admire that Kittle and Gallagher constantly rethink, reimagine, and refine their approaches to ELA, and I am grateful that they are willing to share their teaching and their learning with the wider world.
This book is exactly what I needed to be reading this summer, as it validated many of my current instructional approaches as well as my core beliefs about teaching while also challenging me to ask some radical questions.
I’m still a bit unsure about where I stand with regard to the book clubs component of the text, but the other three sections of the book (essays, poetry, digital composition) have me super psyched for the year(s) ahead.
This book is exactly what I needed to be reading this summer, as it validated many of my current instructional approaches as well as my core beliefs about teaching while also challenging me to ask some radical questions.
I’m still a bit unsure about where I stand with regard to the book clubs component of the text, but the other three sections of the book (essays, poetry, digital composition) have me super psyched for the year(s) ahead.
February 12, 2022
This is my favorite of their books that I have read, and I think it’s because my classroom is filled with book clubs, poetry, and essays, so it was really enlightening on those areas. The digital composition made me want to add a unit in the spring for personal reflection that I think will be really cool. Great ELA read! I loved the instant ideas and practical advice that both authors offer as actual teachers, readers, and writers. English teachers should write and read!
February 5, 2023
This one is pure gold for any Intermediate/Secondary English teachers. All four chapters powerfully reimagine what English can look like in the classroom, where students are encouraged to be creative, independent, and collaborative with other students. There are so many tidbits in there and I was so inspired that I wanted to try them all immediately. Definitely, this one is worth the buy and a front-to-back read for a professional resource.
March 14, 2023
Thank you again, Kittle and Gallagher, for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. I find your work, including this latest PD book, inspirational and so sensible - really getting at the heart of what teaching reading and writing is all about. I modeled my current G8 book clubs off the experience outlined in this book, and I am very happy with the results. Moment of fangirling - what fun would it be to have Penny or Kelly in your department at school? How amazing would that be?
July 5, 2022
I took so many notes and bookmarked so many pages while reading this book. I think this book will especially change the way I teach poetry, and I hope that I can implement book clubs in some way even though I may not have many resources to do so. I love how the authors use so many examples of what they do in their classrooms. This book is innovative and thorough.
November 20, 2021
Kittle and Gallagher are a great team who challenge educators to grow, but give us steps to follow and tools to use so that we are not scared to throw the ball, even if it is only a short distance at first.
February 6, 2022
I've read everything these two have written separately and together. I've also been fortunate enough to see them speak multiple times at NCTE conventions. Even after my thirty-two years of teaching, Kittle and Gallagher continue to inspire me and push me to continue my own learning.
February 28, 2022
Oh the ideas swarming around in my head for use in the classroom or co-teaching or the library! SO MANY IDEAS!
What I apprecaite so mucha bout Kittle and Gallagher is they are practitioners, sharing their experiences -- both positive and negative -- and giving permission to try.
What I apprecaite so mucha bout Kittle and Gallagher is they are practitioners, sharing their experiences -- both positive and negative -- and giving permission to try.
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