In this episode, Katherine Sokolowski's students at Monticello Middle School in Monticello, Illinois, interviewed author Cynthia Kadohata. Katherine, along with her students Slater, Sammy, Estella, and Lauren, asked Cynthia questions about her writing process, where she gets her inspiration for her plot and characters, as well as questions related to her latest novel, Checked

In this episode, our teacher panelists, Gretchen Taylor, Amy Fleming, and Katherine Sokolowski speak with children’s book author Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes to talk about her latest book, Ghost Boys. She also gave us some insight into her writing process and how middle grades students can begin to see themselves as part of the movement for racial equality. In the latest installment of Voices from the Bookshelf, seventh graders Jack, Preston, Kyle, Aidan, Liam, Ian, and Slater share with us the books they are currently reading, the books they’ve most enjoyed this year, and what books are on their To Be Read lists.

In this episode, we have the fourth installment of our Teacher on the Street segment, where our correspondent, Alex Corbitt, talks with his seventh graders at MS 331 in the Bronx, NY, to discuss the impact of student choice and culturally responsive book clubs. Alex's students talk about the importance of offering opportunities to learn about their own cultures as well as other cultures through classroom texts and how fiction provides them with unique opportunities to learn about characters from other parts of the world.

Book List

Black and White by David Macaulay

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

In this episode, we speak with author Martha Brockenbrough, whose latest YA novel Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary has been taking middle and high school classrooms by storm. Our teacher panelists Beth Shaum and Amy Fleming talk with Martha about how she used primary sources to make Hamilton's story accessible to teens, how she has been able to build a writing career that spans multiple age groups and genres, and some hints about what projects we can expect from her in the near future.

Book List

Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary-Martha Brockenbrough

Antipodes-Michele Bacon

Dread Nation-Justina Ireland

River Consciousness-Oliver Sacks

Blood Water Paint-Joy McCullough

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers-Deborah Heligman

In this episode, our panelists Gretchen Taylor, Katherine Sokolowski, Gage Jeter, and Amy Fleming talk with teacher, speaker, and author Jeff Anderson, whose article "There Is Always Time to Write Together" appears in the latest issue of Voices from the Middle http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0253_dec2017/VM0252Leading.pdf. In their conversation, they discuss Jeff's planning and writing process, how teachers should embrace the mess associated with writing, strategies both students and teachers can use to jump-start their own writing process, as well as what inspires Jeff. Be sure to check out his article "The Express-Lane Edit: Making Editing Useful for Adolescents" in the May 2008 issue of Voices from the Middle. http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0154-may08/VM0154Express.pdf

In the latest installment of Voices from the Bookshelf, Katherine Sokolowski's seventh-grade girls at Monticello Middle School in Monticello, Illinois, talk about some of the books that have had the greatest impact on them so far this year as well as the books they are excited to read next.

In this episode, teacher panelists Beth Shaum, Gage Jeter, and Amy Fleming speak with Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O'Dell, authors of the article "How to Think, Talk, and Write Your Way into Better Teaching," which appears in the December issue of Voices from the Middle. They discuss how teachers can make the shift to writing beside their students, how they encourage different modes of thinking in student journals, how to celebrate and capitalize on students' writing strengths, and so much more.

Voices from the Bookshelf returns as Katherine Sokolowski's seventh-grade boys at Monticello Middle School (Monticello, IL) talk about the books they are currently reading, favorite books they've read this year, and the books they can't wait to read next.

Book List

Titans Curse-Rick Riordan

Standoff-Andrew Smith

Miles Morales: Spider-Man-Jason Reynolds

Love That Dog-Sharon Creech

Crossover-Kwame Alexander

War Horse-Michael Morpurgo

All American Boys-Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Winger-Andrew Smith

Amulet Series-Kazu Kibuishi

Wonder-RJ Palacio

Solo-Kwame Alexander

Long Way Down-Jason Reynolds

Rebound-Kwame Alexander

Writing Supplies

Staedtler triplus fineliner pens

Leuchtturm 1917 dotted notebook

Pilot Precise V5 extra fine

Moleskine notebook

In this live episode from St. Louis, MO, our teacher panelists Gage Jeter, Beth Shaum, Alex Corbitt, Gretchen Taylor, Katherine Sokolowski, and Amy Fleming tell us about their biggest takeaways from #NCTE17.

In this episode, Sara Kajder engages our teacher panelists Katherine Sokolowski, Alex Corbitt, and Gretchen Taylor in a lit chat about some of the most important books to them and their students. They also talk about the books they are currently reading and some of the best classroom lessons they have taught or plan to teach this year. In the latest installment of Voices from the Bookshelf, Katherine speaks with her students Slater, Ben, Liam, Biniam, Tucker, and Will about what they love about Jason Reynolds's books.

In this episode, teacher panelists Gretchen Taylor, Gage Jeter, and Alex Corbitt engage Linda Rief in a conversation around ways she uses her writer's-reader's notebook, how she creates opportunities for students to write for authentic audiences, how teachers can embed reflective practices that demonstrate their core beliefs around educating adolescents, and how to build a culture of peer reviewers amongst students.

In this episode, our teacher panelists, Katherine Sokolowski, Beth Shaum, and Alex Corbitt speak to author, speaker, and overall literacy expert Donalyn Miller about what teachers can do to help create better access to books as well as the value of the teacher who is a reader and writer and the role that literacy plays in democracy. We also learn about what books Donalyn has loved and what she is excited to read next. Books discussed in this episode include

Patina-Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales: Spider-Man -Jason Reynolds

Akata Witch-Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Warrior-Nnedi Okorafor

How Dare the Sun Rise-Abigail Pesta

The Upside of Unrequited-Becky Albertalli

Wishtree-K. A. Applegate

Radium Girls-Kate Moore