Though guided reading is a short time with students that seems to fly by, it is filled with many essential elements. It’s truly a time to coach students in their reading. One of the essential elements includes identifying a teaching point as a student reads. It’s easy to let this go and focus on a the many other […]
One of the most important and basic early literacy skills for our little readers is mastering concepts about print. This is the “knowledge of print awareness and book handling skills.” For many students, this comes natural, but for the other half, it does not. I see this in my own child who we adopted. While […]
In all of my years of teaching, my year as a dual language teacher was the year that required the most daily reflection. Not only was it a new method of teaching for me, but it also was very challenging as I was striving to not only meet my student’s academic needs, but also foster […]
Word work, or word study, is an important part of the balanced literacy approach to teaching reading. This is the time for the teacher to provide explicit, direct, and systematic teaching instruction on the foundation of the English language. This is not a big chunk of our day, but it’s a part of our day […]
This year I had to JOY of helping my friend set up her 1st grade classroom at my old school. All of the fun that comes with organizing things, thinking about routines in the classroom, thinking about what will be most exciting for students, and what will make for the best set up for everyone […]
Beginning literacy stations can seem like an overwhelming task. I’ll never forget when someone gave me my first professional development book about them. I was a new teacher, eager to try new things and do whatever I needed to make it work. After all, how in the world would I pull guided reading groups if I […]
Balanced literacy is truly a passion of mine. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing teachers who took me under their wings my first few years of teaching and really taught me how balanced literacy in kindergarten and first grade should look. I have had several questions about when to do guided reading and […]
Teaching and structuring a guided reading lesson can seem overwhelming at first. I know that when I sat with my kids for the first time, though I had seen a great model, I was so worried about fitting it all in. I wasn’t sure if I was even teaching what I should. I felt like […]
At the beginning of the year I always spent the first 6 weeks focusing on classroom procedures and expectations. Without this, I just felt like I was herding cats all year long. In a classroom full of little learners, teaching them when it’s okay to interrupt classroom instruction was at the top of my to-do […]
92 words. 100 words. It doesn’t matter which list you use – Dolch, Fry’s, or your own. Mastering sight words is a key factor in reading success with little learners. That makes progress monitoring for sight words important. But the task of tracking it all can seem so daunting. How do you keep students motivated? […]
If there was one sure way to engage my little learners, it was to do science experiments! Their eyes just lit up when I told them we are going to implement a science experiment. It’s definitely a moment that made my teacher heart so happy–and forget all the craziness of our day! There were 4 […]
It’s no secret that I love anchor charts. We used them all the time in our classroom and for everything! From teaching procedures and setting expectations at the beginning of the year to mini-lessons throughout the year to reviewing our learning, we used them constantly! Sometimes I think it’s easy for us, especially as elementary teachers, […]
Technology is simply a way of life in the classroom these days. When I first started teaching, I felt so lucky to have an interactive whiteboard in my classroom, especially a mounted one. Now, only a short 8 years later, apps for elementary teachers are a must-have. Along with interactive whiteboards are tablets these days. With tablets […]
Loving to read is not something that comes naturally to all children. Sometimes they love to get lost in a book, make connections, predict what will happen next and other times children just want to look at the pictures and be done. I can even see that in both of my own children. My son […]
Shared reading is a valuable part of the balanced literacy approach. You may be wondering what it is or how it’s different than a read aloud. Because it takes up such a small amount of time, it often is left out. But I am here to tell you that the 15 minutes spent on shared […]
Just the thought of getting started with guided reading small groups can be overwhelming. I know that was the case for me when I started teaching. You have to create a space for it You have to gather reading tools. Then, you have to create groups and write effective lessons. It’s a lot! One area […]
The end of the school year is so close, yet there are days that it just seems so far away! I know I always was looking for the last day of school on the horizon, but I wanted to keep my students engaged in learning all the way until the end. To help make planning […]
There are two times of the year that I would find myself sitting and reflecting on my classroom atmosphere more than any other time–the beginning of the year and the end of the year. Year after year a goal of mine was to do more celebrating of character in my classroom. At the end of […]
