Setting up a library is one of the things I miss the most about being in the classroom. I attended a training a few years into my teaching career where the presenter stressed the importance of organizing a classroom library that is (1) tailored to your students' needs and (2) fosters a love of reading. Ever since then, I've lived by the following motto: your classroom library should be the HIGHLIGHT of your room. It needs to be the center of attention, and it should make your students want to be in there all of the time. More importantly, it … [Read more...] about Classroom Library
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The Magic of Read Alouds
I've been looking forward to writing this post because I just love doing read alouds! They're so much fun for the students...and also for the teacher, right? I hope you said yes! If you're a K-5 reading teacher, let's start with the basic do's and don'ts. Read aloud to your students daily Read the book or section beforehand Use drama Write out your questions ahead of time WHAT IS A READ ALOUD? A read aloud should be a purposeful activity. It's a separate component, outside of the reading workshop, but it ties in perfectly with … [Read more...] about The Magic of Read Alouds
I’ve gathered student data, now what?
In a perfect world, every student would understand your whole group mini lesson the first time you taught it. Unfortunately for us, we do not live in a perfect world. Enter student data. It's a topic that can spiral out of control and go in a million directions. In this post, I'll try my best to stay focused on the following two items: how to organize the data based on the standards and how to map out a reteach plan. Let's pretend like you've graded all of your assignments, tests, quizzes, homework and running records, and you still don't … [Read more...] about I’ve gathered student data, now what?
THE 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO PULL A SMALL GROUP!
I'll be the first to admit that I used to care more about my whole group lessons than my small groups. Thankfully, I was blessed with a great mentor who taught me that differentiated instruction was/is the most important part of teaching. I know, I know, pulling small groups can be intimidating, but it's important to remember this: it's where real teaching and learning takes place. Before I list the five things every reading teacher needs to conduct a small group, keep in mind that this post is exclusively addressing strategy groups for … [Read more...] about THE 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO PULL A SMALL GROUP!
THE USE OF TOOLKITS DURING SMALL GROUPS
My district follows the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) and is very big on using anchors to facilitate whole and small group teaching. I got the idea to grab a binder and fill it with all the resources I needed for my small groups after attending staff developments that focused on the importance of having reading and writing toolkits. It was at these trainings that I saw so many of our teachers and instructional coaches writing/drawing their toolkits inside scrapbooks, and I remember thinking that it was such a great … [Read more...] about THE USE OF TOOLKITS DURING SMALL GROUPS
ANCHOR CHARTS ARE CREATED WITH THE STUDENTS, NOT THE NIGHT BEFORE
I love anchor charts, and I enjoy seeing them on Pinterest and Instagram on a regular basis! However, as cute as some of them are, too often I see them being used or created in a way that I, personally, do not find to be effective. I'll be honest in saying that I cringe every time I see a picture of an anchor chart that was created by the teacher the night before the lesson. Why? Well, I believe students should be involved in the process of making an anchor chart! I'll repeat. Students should be involved in the process of making an anchor … [Read more...] about ANCHOR CHARTS ARE CREATED WITH THE STUDENTS, NOT THE NIGHT BEFORE