Teachers! Join us as we bring the Great American Read to your classroom. 

This four-part virtual professional learning series is designed for English Language Arts teachers, created FOR educators BY educators. With an emphasis on fun, engaging, accessible, and free tools for classrooms, this series will highlight techniques for engaging learners through essential communication skills, and present ideas for enhancing teaching practice through activities, projects, passion, and a connection to literature. PBS will provide a certificate of attendance for each one hour virtual professional learning event.

For the Love of Lit: Inspiring Young Authors, with NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty

October 17 @ 7-8pm ET

Designed by educators, this virtual professional learning experience will introduce a number of teaching models and strategies to enhance your practice. How can you inspire your students to be passionate writers and engaged readers? We’ll explore how mentor texts from The Great American Read, combined with the NaNoWriMo challenge, can empower students of all ages to read and write with enthusiasm and depth. You’ll get direct insight from students, and be able to chat live with NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty.

Led by PBS All Star Teachers Laura Bradley, and Heather Gauck, this session highlights exciting resources and models that can immediately be implemented in the classroom.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

For the Love of Lit: Including All Readers, with student activist Marley Dias 

October 25 @ 7-8pm ET

Join us for a live discussion with author and teen activist Marley Dias, best known for launching her own #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign.

Marley noted that most of “classics” featured stories about white boys and their dogs. After reading Jacqueline Woodson’s “Brown Girl Dreaming,” she was inspired to launch a social media campaign called, #1000BlackGirlBooks, to collect and distribute a thousand books with Black girl protagonists to libraries across the country.

Learn more about her campaign, her continued work, and the steps you can take as as a teacher to make all the young readers you work with feel represented and inspired by the books they’re reading. This professional learning episode was created specifically with the PreK-2 classroom in mind. Come prepared with your questions for Marley in this live and interactive session.

For the Love of Lit: Encouraging Bright Thinkers

November 7 @ 7-8pm ET

Join your peers from across the country as we explore unique strategies for engaging young readers, making literature relevant and encouraging students to speak and listen to solve real world problems.

Led by PBS All Star Teachers Michael Lang from Las Vegas Nevada, and North Dakota’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Kayla Delzer, this session will encourage educators from across the country to pair up and work together to try new strategies and models that can immediately be implemented in the classroom

For the Love of Lit: Cultivating Young Book Lovers

November 14 @ 7-8pm ET

Join your peers from across the country as we explore unique strategies for engaging young readers. How do you engage students with your own passion for literature? This session is set to reignite your excitement for books and help kindle a love of literature in your students.

This series is presented by PBS, PBS Digital Innovator All-Stars, ITVS and PBS member stations across the country.