Dear Reader,
You may or may not be a physical education teacher, but you probably have a PE teacher in your school. This teacher is likely interested in promoting health and wellness through multiple mediums — including books.
And you may or may not consider yourself an athlete, but you probably have student athletes in your classroom. They may be students who find themselves surprisingly engaged with reading when the books are about sports.
This week's newsletter is on sports books for middle and high school students and I hope you will either...
- Forward it to your PE department, or
- Create a "Sports Shelf" in your classroom library
Read on for a quick guide on engaging more students in their learning through sports books.
Literacy Outside of ELA
Why do classroom libraries belong in PE?
PE teachers: thank you for taking a moment to read this. Adding books to your classroom won't just help students perform better in ELA. It will also deepen their connection to your curriculum. Here's how:
- Sports stories show students what competitive athletics can look like in high school, college, and beyond
- Representation in sports stories shows all students that they belong in any sport they choose to play
- Engaging with their favorite sports through books will get them fired up to play in real life
- Books can teach students about sports and physical activity that you don't have time to address in your packed curriculum
In all of these books, the sport is integral to the story. It is the key vehicle for the character to grow, change, and learn.
Where should you put the books?
Depending on what your learning space looks like, here are ideas of where you could place bookshelves for 5-100 books:
- Locker rooms
- The atrium outside your gym
- The back corner of your gym, near your equipment room
- Along a wall in your weight room
- The hallway outside your office door
- Your office
Which books should you have?
Here are a handful of books for middle and high school. It might not seem like much, but 5-10 books is a great starting place. It sends a simple message: books matter.
Books for Middle School:
Books for High School:
How do students use the library?
Starting a classroom library is not about having students read in PE class instead of doing physical activity. It's about using books to help students dive a little bit deeper into your content. You can do this by...
- At the beginning of a sport-specific unit, pull out books about that sport and recommend them to students.
- When a new season begins, recommend books on that sport to students on the team.
- Read one of the books yourself and spend 30 seconds each class period sharing your thoughts on it.
- Invite students to browse your shelves in between activities or at the end of your lesson.
Have questions or want help setting up your classroom library? Reply to this email and I'll be happy to lend a hand!
One Great Book
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks is a clever young adult murder mystery that is a great independent reading option in high school ELA. It could also be a super engaging option for a whole class novel study.
Read on to see how this book can shake up literary analysis in your classroom.
Classroom Libraries in the Wild
Are you ready to show off your classroom library? Consider inviting us in to browse your shelves. Fill out this Google form with a few photos and descriptions. Your library will be featured in a future newsletter as an inspiration to us all.
Have a good one and learn everything you can,
Hannah
PS: Was this email forwarded to you? You can subscribe here!
This email may include affiliate links. Any purchases made through them come at no extra cost to you but they help keep this newsletter free and accessible.
