For Teachers

The World Book

By on August 21, 2025   /   Articles, Book Lists, books, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

“What’s your favorite book?“

That’s one question that often gets asked to authors during author visits or events.

That is a tough question for me.

To some, though, it’s an easy question, and many of the authors list their favorite book titles without hesitation. I’ve always been envious of the people who express such resolution and love for a book or books, especially when it comes to naming the books from one’s childhood.

I had a tough time learning to read. It was a struggle. I’d look at the page of text and see an overwhelming mishmash of words and letters. I’m sure that now I would have been diagnosed early and prescribed a program for my reading disorder, but those things were rare in early 1970s education. Especially in a lower-middle-class Catholic school, and even more so for an early elementary school kid who seemed to keep his head above water in class.

I was lucky, though. I had parents and a few teachers who noticed my problem and put me on the road to reading. My most vivid, non-recess, non-field trip, non-playday memories of first and second grade are when my teacher or a volunteer aide would pull me aside to another room and work with me on the Controlled Reader projector.

 

In a dark, quiet, and empty classroom, I learned to focus on the left word of a sentence and move slowly to the right. I practiced and practiced from one filmstrip to the next on moving my eyes from left to right. I worked on image strips to practice moving my eyes right to left. I practiced all this without moving my head. And guess what?

Things got better!

Reading was possible.

(There’s a really cool 2018 Wired story by writer Lisa Wood Shapiro on how she works to overcome her dyslexia and how technology is helping people become readers.) 

We didn’t have a boatload of books around the house when I was growing up. I learned to be a better reader through the assistance of my teachers and parents, but still struggled through the middle grades to be a bonafide reader. I loved The Jungle Book. The Disney movie captivated me from a very early age. We had a series of illustrated classics with about twenty pages of text per illustration. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Treasure Island, a few other titles I can’t remember, and The Jungle Book.

I loved that book.

But I never read that book.

I picked the book off the shelf a thousand times. I looked at the pictures a thousand times. Each time I tried to read that book but I reverted to seeing each page as an intimidating blob of letters and words. Frustration would set in, and I’d snap the book shut and return it to the shelf.

I know I should have said something to my parents or teachers. I should have sought help. But I was a big, shy kid and didn’t want to trouble anyone with this embarrassing problem.

Then something wonderful happened. A salesman came around the house and convinced my parents to buy a set of the World Book encyclopedia. My parents made a difficult decision to spend money we didn’t have on this set of books. They even splurged on the annual yearbook!

I found my reading life in those encyclopedias. Schoolwork forced me to open them, but the magic of information given in short bursts of text and pictures contained within was pure magic. Something clicked in my reader-brain. I figured it out.

I slowly became a better reader and a smarter kid. The set of World Book encyclopedias led to the Guinness Book of World Records, which led to comics, which led to the Hardy Boys, which led to eventually reading The Jungle Book. And you know what? It was as fantastic as the story I held in my head all those years.  

So next time I’m asked at an author event what my favorite book was, I have an answer.

The World Book.

Hands down.

After my Dad died and my Mom was preparing to move out of their house, she called and asked me what I wanted of their stuff. I know her idea of “stuff” meant furniture, dishes, etc., but without hesitation, I said I would like to have the World Book encyclopedias and yearbooks they’d used for the previous twenty years as a decoration on top of their kitchen cabinets.

My Mom laughed and thought I was joking, and she thought that until her eventual death. She’ll never know how important those books were to me and how huge a role they played in making me who I am today. I probably never really knew how much of a sacrifice it was for my parents to invest in buying this set of encyclopedias and the annual yearbook every year. These books are history. Part of our history.

I’m a firm believer in letting kids read what works for them. I’ve cut my reading teeth on baseball box scores, cereal boxes, baseball cards, etc. 

Reading is reading is reading is reading.

Reading is indeed a superpower.

 

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Notes of Hope when the world is too much

By on June 28, 2025   /   For Teachers, For Writers, Teacher Tips, Writing  

When it seems like the world is just too much for our kids, when we witness hurt, fear, loneliness, a middle schooler’s loss of family or friends, it’s time to spread some hope. This is exactly how Libby, who comes from a long line of bullies, fights her reputation after finding a stone painted with the words Create the world of your dreams, in Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden. In searching for ways to create that world, Libby, a lonely and art driven middle schooler, sets off a chain reaction of notes of hope when she writes You are awesome on an index card and leaves it outside for someone else who might need a bolster to find.

My own decision to create Notes of Hope with my students came as a project at Mount Mary University to coincide a visit from Diana Chao, originator of Letters to Strangers, to speak about “the largest global youth-run nonprofit seeking to destigmatize mental illness and increase access to affordable, quality treatment, particularly for youth.”

Letters to Strangers, recognizing that it often takes one voice to raise us up, collaborates with student clubs on campuses to write anonymous, heartfelt letters to share vulnerabilities and offer support for others who fight through difficult times.

My class, a group of future teachers, social workers, art therapists, and communication majors, was studying Young Adult Literature. We focused that semester on the literature of mental health and hope. We created origami envelopes using craft cover stock and wrote and decorated notes with ribbons, drawings, and our messages. We wanted to spread the word that creating the world of your dreams, can happen one note of hope at a time. Our Notes of Hope were included as part of the centerpieces at the speakers’ lunch. But my students found the exercise so uplifting that they created over 100 notes and saved some for friends and family, and dropped many more throughout campus knowing the found notes would bolster someone’s day.

Notes of Hope created by students at Mount Mary University and St. Joan Antida High School in Milwaukee

I repeated this activity with a high school group at St. Joan Antida High School in Milwaukee, and again, the group experienced an amazing day of peaceful sharing as they designed their notes and wrote hopeful phrases. While I strongly encourage students to write their own words, they were allowed to share those of artists and authors. Although many students began with published words of wisdom, as they personalized their notes, they wrote their own words offering praise for strength and calm and supporting those who struggle with self- esteem and mental health issues. This is an activity that would surely be successful with all ages.

 

In preparing students for this activity, we read Braden’s novel and studied the work of Letters to Strangers. I also created a sample note with Emily Dickenson’s poem:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

Notes of Hope isn’t the only effort to stamp out loneliness and bullying and hate. Author Braden developed the Local Love Brigade where Vermont residents send out postcards to support Vermonters experiencing hate. In an interview for the vt digger, Braden explained her motivation. “Love can be seen as a soft and gentle emotion, but it can also be fierce and strong and powerful. That’s really what we’re channeling here.”

I’d love to see what you and your students create to spread hope and create the world of your dreams. Drop me a line and I’ll post your photos. (aangel@aol.com).

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From the Classroom: Building Reflective Readers

By on June 23, 2025   /   For Teachers, From the Classroom  

Some Awesome Books I've Read in Fifth Grade

Yes, it may be summer for most, if not all, of you, but here at From the Mixed-Up Files, we know teachers are always thinking ahead to next year. In this edition of From the Classroom, let’s look at some ways to build reflective readers during the course of a school year.

Student Survey

In 5th grade, we start the first day of school with homework. Does it get good-natured groans? Yes. Does it serve several important purposes? Also yes. My first assignment of the year is a Student Survey. It’s an important tool for establishing relationships right away. It lets students know upfront that I care about who they are as people, about their families and their interests, and about their preferred name and pronouns. 

5th grade reading survey. Directions: Please answer the following questions. This is not for you to impress me, but rather for you to be honest so I can get to know you better and help you have a great year! Topic: You as a Reader Reading is ... I read because ... Reading in school would be even better if ...

In addition, I have sections for students to reflect on “You as a Reader” and “You as a Writer.” Each section is a series of open-ended questions that ask students about their reading interests, habits, and recent books they’ve read. I get some great insights from questions like, “Reading in school would be even better if …” and “How do you decide what you will read next?” This survey sets the expectations that we are a community who consider ourselves readers, who think about ourselves as readers, and who make choices based on what we know about ourselves as readers.

Quarterly Reading Reflections

After the first few weeks of school, students choose their own personal reading goal for the rest of the quarter. We revisit these each quarter, evaluate our old goals, and pick new ones. We do a lot of work ahead of time talking about the importance of goals and goal setting. There are always some students who get right to the key idea: that goals give us something to aim for as well as something to measure up against. I also stress that these goals are individual and private. This is not a competition between students but a challenge you set for yourself.

Reading Goal Planning slideshow slide Answer the following questions. - What books have you read in the first week or so of school? (Please include number (how many) and titles.) - How many books do you think you will read this quarter (seven more weeks)? - Why is this the right number of books to push you in your reading this quarter? - What changes will you have to make in your personal reading to achieve this goal? [If you don’t have to make any changes, then this isn’t a goal for you. A goal should push you forward in some way and require effort.]

I model a lot of different varieties of goals. In addition to choosing a number of books to read, students need to pick one additional add-on. Some may choose to try another genre. Some may want to read longer books. Some know they jump around and rarely finish books. Some want recommendations or strategies for finding books. 

My favorite part about having students develop their own goals is how well they know themselves as readers. That’s how you get goals like, “to pay attention to parts I don’t want to read” or “to read more during free time and to be more efficient so I have more free time” or “to get sleep by not reading too late at night.” (I think we all can relate to that last one.)

Book Discussion Reflections

Many of the books we read in fifth grade are in small-group book club discussions. We have four genre-based book clubs during the school year. We read contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery / adventure books for the genres. I booktalk five to seven titles and students rank their choices. Then I make groups of four to six students and over the course of three weeks they read and discuss the book within their groups.  

Series of books for mystery book clubs including The Parker Inheritance, Masterminds, Three Times Lucky, The Harlem Charade, Me, Frida, and the Peacock Ring, and Holes

Early in the year, there are set questions and roles for each student on their weekly note-sheet, but later in the year groups set up their own systems for questions and building discussions. While students often complain about having to stop on cliffhangers (because they cannot read ahead until after discussion), the payoff during the final book club discussion is worth it. Especially for the mystery books (see above), it’s so gratifying to watch each group slowly discover what is really happening in each story. 

Book Club Self-Assessment Please rate yourself: (4 is excellent, 3 is good, 2 is fair, and 1 needs improvement) I stayed on topic: ____ I shared ideas related to the topics: ____ I asked good questions: ____ I listened well to the conversation: ____ I supported my ideas with evidence from the book: ____ How did your book club group do today during discussion? What did you do to help the discussion run smoothly? What did you do that did not help the group run smoothly?

As a closing activity with book clubs, I have a student self-assessment, where they rate themselves based on their participation in discussions. There is also a second section where they rate the book and offer feedback about future book club ideas. I appreciate how honest my students are when filling out this survey. They often own up to their unhelpful behaviors, and there is a follow-up question about how they can do better next time. And often times, they do!

End of Year Best Book Lists

My all-time favorite tool for building reflective readers is wrapping up the year together by creating our own Best Books lists. Kids get incredibly passionate about their favorite middle grade reads, and it’s fun to send them into summer with a huge list of peer-recommended books to consider. 

The Best Books I've Read This Year by Theo We Dream of Space, Winterhouse, Northwind, The Hobbit, and Restart

I provide students with a Canva template that they can either drag-and-drop new book covers into or that they can more fully customize. The guidelines are simple: come up with your Top 5 best books, either from this year or design your own category. Theo’s list shows off the basic template that I used this year, whereas Nathalie and Elsa (opening image) did more of their own design work.

The Best Books Ever! by Nathalie Those Kids from Fawn Creek, Dress Coded, City Spies, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and Trials of Apollo

This is a great way to wrap up the year. Students are reflecting on their reading lives from the past year, but they are also sharing those lives with each other. We make a class slideshow with everyone’s graphics and a brief write-up of each book. I share these with families in my end-of-year email so that they can access the book recommendations all summer long. If you want to read more fifth grade book lists, there is a whole collection of student Best Book lists that you can browse here. 

Why Build Reflective Readers?

Reflective readers take ownership over their reading lives and reading choices. They invest in books of their choosing, and they learn to push themselves to grow as readers too. If we want to raise lifelong readers, let’s start by encouraging all our middle grade readers!

What are your favorite tools and tricks for growing and encouraging middle grade readers?

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