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Q&A with Wendy Werthaiser
Wendy is a 6th Grade ELA teacher at Ashland Middle School
Out of all the grades in middle school, what do you love about teaching 6th graders?
6th grade students are funny, intuitive, risk-taking, and whole-hearted. Did I mention that they make me laugh…ALL DAY? I love how they are trusting and willing to try new things and they do it with gusto.
Is there a memory from this school year that is really special to you?
We spent a day writing down our favorite words from posters around the room. Then students created a “found poem” from the words they collected. Here is one of my favorites: “Millions of us this day let hate drive us. And we hide it like broccoli in milk. But if we let a deep love drive us, humanity can change the world for the better.” It’s such a gift to see the thoughts and hopes and beliefs of my students.
What inspired you to choose this career path?
Honestly, I entered teaching without any real inspiration; I wasn’t sure what to study in college and teaching seemed like a good idea at the time. However, once I started working with students, I was hooked…and inspired to be a part of the road learners take as they tackle new challenges.
Any advice for other educators or those looking to enter the field?
Please be sure to make your classroom safe and welcoming for EVERY student. Sometimes you may be the only adult in a student’s life that offers them the safe harbor they need and each interaction you have with that student will have a lasting effect. What lasting imprint do you want to make?
How do you motivate reluctant readers to engage more with literacy?
Free choice is so important for any reader, so I try to offer opportunities for students to have free reading time in class. For novels and short stories, I choose, we read aloud together and use audiobooks for students to follow along. Additionally, I try to choose stories where students can see themselves in the characters, events, and themes. Allowing them to have open discussion around the themes can create a way for them to connect parts of a story to their own lives. I tend to have more success getting reluctant readers reading if they feel they can connect to what is happening in that story.
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The Last Cuentista by Donna Barbra Higuera
Había una vez…There lived a girl named Petra, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller. But Petra’s world is ending. Having been chosen to journey to a new planet, Petra wakes and discovers that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective took over during the journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future.
Grade Level(s): 5th-12th | Genre: Science Fiction | Lexile: 730L