I just registered for the October 23rd FireSummit. A preview of what I’ll be presenting: After teaching students for 20 years I have come to find that some students love reading but a great majority of them will only tolerate sitting in an ELA classroom as they have no choice but to be there. My problem of practice is figuring out a way to make even my most reluctant readers excited about reading and writing. Almost all of my students are excited about social media and reaching a potentially global audience. They are also excited about technology that allows them to reach that audience. My strategy for giving students a reason to read, research and write is to draw them in via the appeal of social media and technology by launching a 6th grade ELA podcast. My research question is: Does the act of preparing for a weekly/twice a week, 30 minute podcast inspire students to read, research, and write?