Hello everyone! Today, we are discussing why teachers should be modeling themselves as readers AND writers, with one of my favorite Young Adult authors, Brendan Kiely.

Brendan Kiely is The New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter, and together, we discuss why modeling being a reader and writer can be a powerful force in our classrooms.

Penny Kittle often talks about how the teacher is the best writer in the room, so they should model their thoughts, feelings, and struggles aloud with their students. Brenden and I dive into this idea, and share how this works when we are working with students, as well as why we think you should practice this as well.

We also reference the episode I did with Jeff Anderson, as well as discuss the AMAZING On Writing, by Stephen King, a must for anyone looking for writing inspiration. I think this is a great book for teachers feeling shy or unsure about sharing their own writing with their students.

If you’ve ever read a Brendan Kiely novel, or if you care about diversifying your school/classroom library to incorporate fiction that speaks to your students, you’re in for a treat with this talk.

If you’ve never read a Brendan Kiely novel, you’re still in for a treat, but I need you to grab one of his books and see his great work for yourself. Click on the images below to check out his work!

Enjoy!

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