[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Do you have a student who just can’t seem to follow a set of directions, no matter how simple they may seem? Or one who seems to drift from one assignment […]
reading
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
What’s A Kid to Do: Implementing Literacy Centers Using Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a strategy used in elementary classrooms around the United States for reading instruction. Teachers listen to students read and determine their individual reading level, group students according to fluency and comprehension needs, and teach reading and writing skills within these small groups. You can use canned programs with lesson plans provided, find […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
The Importance of Reading Aloud To Your Students
One of my favorite times of my day is reading aloud to my students. Whether it’s a simple theme-based book at our morning carpet time, or our afternoon chapter book, I get lost in the magic of being able to transport my kids from one magical place to another. Even my reluctant readers enjoy our […]
Posted inBook Review, Featured, Literacy, Middle School
Fluency Fix-Up Strategies Part II
In my previous post, I wrote about the importance of fluency instruction and the benefit of explicit teaching of phrases to improve fluency. According to Timothy Rasinski: Reading fluency refers to the ability of readers to read quickly, effortlessly, and efficiently with good, meaningful expression. (The Fluent Reader, Pg. 26) Good readers need to be […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
How to Write a Reader's Theater Play
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The most valuable class I have ever attended was at first a mistake. My enrollment in “Reading 101: Strategies for Middle School Students,” offered at our local intermediate unit, was a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Picture Books for High School (They’re Not in Kindergarten Any More!)
I hold up the book I will be reading aloud, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. The students start commenting: This is one of my favorite books… I love Thing #1 and Thing #2! I (loved) or I (hated) the movie! Can we read Green Eggs and Ham, too? I settle the students down and begin, “The sun did […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Reading for Fun, Not Reading for Fun(ds)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2013 test reported that there was a 2% growth in reading scores over the past 41 years for students at age 17. NAEP also reported that students who claimed to read for fun scored higher on standardized tests with the obvious conclusion that the more time a student spent […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized
NAEP's Solution to Flat Reading Scores: "Read for Fun"
The release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Progress Report for 2012 (“Nation’s Report Card”) provides an overview on the progress made by specific age groups in public and private schools in reading and in mathematics since the early 1970s. The gain in reading scores after spending billions of dollars, countless hours and effort […]