Read Part I “Assessments: Upgrading the Age Old Practice of Letter Writing” here. Â In this time when school securities are threatened by unmitigated attacks, technology in education serves to open campuses between distant communities. A recent pen pal project entered a second phase of practice with letter writing and Skype. It has served to distract […]
Literacy
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Guided Reading With Early Readers
Guided reading is an instructional method used in many elementary classrooms. It is an approach I use daily and without it would not be able to create successful readers. Guided reading is when the teacher works with a small group of students. During this time, the students apply and practice effective reading strategies while reading […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized
Assessment: How to Create Learning Tasks that Lend to Better Understanding
One of the hardest parts of teaching is learning how and when to assess your students. In colleges across the country there are entire classes that teach aspiring teachers how and when to assess. However what happens after you create the assessment? How do make sure students are able to accurately complete their assessment? These […]
Posted inLiteracy
Assessments: Upgrading the Age Old Practice of Letter Writing
Letter Writing: I was excited when my Hungarian pen pal’s letter arrived. The Cold War had ended, and I was curious to know more than textbooks could share about life under communist rule. I savored each letter as if it were a dessert and took great care in sending back a response. Â My pen pal’s […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, New Teacher Bootcamp
Grammar and Writing- Bring Back the Basics!
By Adrienne Lanier They’re, their, there…Two, to, too! Â These are common homophones I see misused on social media by even the brightest of professionals. Â As a professional, do I pause when I notice these errors? Yes! Â Does this inability to write effectively make me stop to think about their experience with writing at a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Shall We Debate? An Approach to Writing!
Four weeks ago, my students took the practice for the new Tennessee State Writing Assessment. Â We had no way of preparing for this test because we were told that it would change in a major way. A week before the practice test, I received an email with a link to a sample test. Instead of […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
Reading Strategies – By Kids, For Kids
One of my favorite things to do is read. Before bed each night, I crawl under my big cozy covers, grab whatever current novel I’m reading and disappear for at least thirty minutes into a different world. Usually I lose track of my thirty minutes and I’m shaken back into the real world by my […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Creating Lovers of Reading: Tips for Using a Self-Selected Reading System in Your Classroom
Students come to us with reading levels all over the spectrum. As a new teacher, one of the biggest challenges in my heterogeneous classes was assigning and monitoring their reading. While challenging students with complex texts is not only important but required, it is still essential that our students read and read and read even […]