Independent Reading Series (Interview w/ Dr. Jenna Copper) [S5 E139]

independent-reading-secondary

Listen to the full episode below:

When we decided to do a series on independent reading, the first name that came to mind was our friend, Dr. Jenna Copper. Jenna has just as much passion and excitement for independent reading and student choice as we do. Plus, she shares Marie’s love of YA fantasy books, which is just the icing on top!

In this conversation, we talk about what independent reading has looked like in our classrooms. As Jenna describes, at its foundation, it comes down to “choice and voice”. Choice comes into play when students are able to be in control of what they want to read and how they’re going to engage with it. Student voice comes through in the way that they analyze and interpret that particular text.

We also discuss a lot about the exciting ways to position units within your curriculum and how to approach student choice strategically. You’ll love hearing how Jenna uses backward design for her independent reading units and how this idea of ‘student choice’ has evolved for her over the years.

Meet Dr. Jenna Copper:

Dr. Jenna Cooper is a mom of three and was a high school English teacher for 13 years. She made the transition from teaching high school to teaching education courses at a local college. 

She is now an education professor, PD presenter, and bestselling author. She loves writing about research-based instructional methods and solutions for English teachers. Check out Jenna’s story about this journey:

During my first meeting with the director of my doctoral program, he asked me why I wanted to pursue my Ph.D. My answer was easy: “I want to research.”

So, I walked down the aisle to marry the love of my life, and then, the next day, I walked into my first day of class.

I taught ELA full-time during that time and defended my dissertation while I was six months pregnant. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. 

Through this experience, I found my passion: sharing the educational research I conduct in my classroom to educators all over the world. Since then, I have published in journals and textbooks and presented at conferences, like NCTE, SITE, and PCTELA.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

  • Defining the practice of independent reading within your curriculum

  • What independent reading looks like in Jenna’s classroom

  • Parameters to give students for choosing their novels

  • Different ways of offering student choice (there are many!)

  • A ‘lesson learned’ moment when independent reading didn’t go as planned for Jenna

  • Advocating for homework with a purpose, and understanding that our students have a lot on their plates

  • The power in modeling independent reading during class time

  • Favorite activities to help students decide on a book

Connect with jenna:

 

More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

Tune in on your favorite podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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