On Monday, January 22nd, Penguin Random House Education partnered with edWeb, an award-winning professional learning network, to host a free one-hour webinar entitled “Transform the High School ELA Classroom with Choice Reading”.
The event featured a panel discussion between Cicely Lewis, School Librarian, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GA); Morgan Taylor, Instructional Coach, Lawndale High School, Centinela Valley Union High School District (CA); and Ronell Whitaker, ELA and LRC Curriculum Director, Community High School District 218 (IL), all co-creators of the recently launched PRH Education High School Collections.
Over 200 educators, administrators, and district personnel attended the live edWeb presentation and received a CE Certificate.
A vibrant and diverse audience of educators – national and international – engaged in conversation, touching on: ways to provide space and time for high school students to freely select texts; the use of graphic novels and other high-interest books to engage students; the importance of choice reading in high school ELA classes; and strategies for creating a more interactive and inclusive learning community.
The panel and participants actively discussed various approaches to encourage reading among students, including ‘speed dating’ with books, book tastings, and the importance of read-aloud sessions, even for high school students. The edWebinar also highlighted the role of librarians in supporting ELA teaching and the need to trust students in their reading choices.
Feedback from attendees was powerful. Some chat highlights include:
- Thank you SO much for your time and expertise! This was refreshing and much needed for me as a secondary literacy coach
- It is enlightening to hear from both admin and teacher perspectives; experiencing and modeling genuine joy about reading and how to engage students will (re)ignite our educators, as well!
- The strategies and suggestions (speed book dating and book bento box) were awesome and re-energized me. People asked great questions too. I will definitely share this information with others
- Loved it!!! Presenters were wonderful and the resources are excellent
The event recording is available to view here.
