Category: Teaching Tip
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Teaching with Novels
+ Bridge to Terabithia freebies We know students need to be reading real books, but with time constraints and the urgency to cover everything, sometimes novels get pushed to the back burner. I’ve worked with schools who have taken novels away because it seemed like a waste of time for…
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Reset
My Favorite Classroom Management Strategy Welcome back to school! The start of this year has made me reflect on my first year of teaching. Like many brand-new teachers, classroom management was my biggest hurdle. I remember a day my principal came to observe and the students were really out of…
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Because, But, So
This strategy works in any grade and any content area to deepen comprehension and improve writing skills… and it doesn’t take much time. I am not affiliated with any sources, links, or people mentioned in this post. In preparation for some professional development I am going to present this summer…
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If By the Science of Reading
A stance and a writing activity My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how…
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Poetry Madness
This is my first spring to experience in my new home in middle Tennessee and this weekend tulips bloomed in my front yard, a delightful surprise to herald in April which is National Poetry Month and state testing. Poetry is the perfect activity for those state testing days when students’…
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Oral Reading Fluency
Lessons learned from Bath and Body Works and Jan Hasbrouck Like every basic white girl, I enjoy a good sale at Bath and Body Works. So when I stumbled across one in early December I loaded up on happies for myself, friends, and my daughter’s teachers. I bought this new…
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Better than Silent Sustained Reading
I am not affiliated with any of the links, sources, or authors mentioned in this post. Silent sustained reading (SSR) has long been a time-honored tradition in schools. We know we want students to read a lot, and the more they are able to read the better they’ll get at…
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Which reading strategies are most effective?
There are links on this post but I am not affiliated with them. All views are my own. Is it just me or is there lot of confusion out there about reading instruction? Balanced literacy? Science of reading? Structured literacy? Who’s on each side and what do they have to…
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The Science of Reading Explained in Memes
All of us are going to spend the rest of our professional lives learning about how to better align our teaching with the practices that research shows are most effective. Let me offer you a starting point. A snowflake on the tip of the iceberg. I consider the Reading Wars…
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5 Ways to Improve Any Reading Curriculum
You’ve seen those hacks about how to improve a boxed cake mix so it tastes like it’s homemade. You know, add milk instead of water, swap the oil for butter. Boxed cake mixes are fine, but they aren’t great. Boxed reading programs are fine, but they aren’t great. You are…