Hi, I’m Kara!
I’m a seventh-grade Language Arts teacher in CT, and when I’m not teaching, you’ll likely find me curled up with coffee and a book or on a long walk with my fiancé, Mike, and pup, Riley.
Riley Reads began as a simple bulletin board in my classroom. It was nothing fancy, totally dorky (take a peek below), and it definitely made my students cringe, but right off the bat, it created conversations about reading.
My First Riley Reads Bulletin Board
The year I made that bulletin board, I created a community of readers in my classroom like never before. It was incredible, and it solidified a truth for me as an educator: My students will forget much of the content I teach them, but they will not forget becoming a reader. They will not forget the power of stories. And they will never un-learn becoming a stronger reader.
I believe we are in a time of crisis. Students at the secondary level are not reading nearly enough. And worse, they’re learning to dislike reading. I’m changing that, and I want to teach you how you can, too.
Prioritizing choice reading was the single
best thing I’ve ever done to
improve engagement, relationships, and learning in my classroom. I’ll share what I’ve learned here.
My Classroom Library, 2018