I admit becoming a parent made me more aware of what I loved and feared in education.  I went through an intense stage of self awareness when my daughter entered kindergarten. Her excitement to learn was attributed to her teacher with 30+ years experience who was engaging, entertaining and organized.  Transformation in my own teaching […]
literacy
Posted inFeatured, Uncategorized
What are the 3 Shifts in Common Core in ELA/Literacy ?
There are few words in the field of education that can evoke the range of emotions that the words common core can. When those words are mentioned there are people who literally balk at the thought of changing, revising, and  revamping standards while others nervously peer over the educational reform landscape, scared to say anything […]
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 […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Gathering Data in a Standards-Based Literacy Classroom
When was the United States founded? What elements are combined to make Nitrous Oxide? What is the slope of 6x + 7? Which word is spelled correctly in this sentence? These questions may seem awfully familiar as these are the type of base level questions we experienced in our formative years in education. Some may […]