Sharing our thinking about literacy learning
In our role as literacy interventionists, we often work with students who are afraid of failure. Many of our students lack a sense of agency because they have experienced repeated failures. " Student agency" can be described as a student taking an active role in his/her learning. When students do not feel a sense of …
Continue reading Reading Teachers: helping students take responsibility & embrace mistakes
If you read my last post you know that I just finished reading No More Independent Reading Without Support, written by Debbie Miller and Barbara Moss. I highly recommend this book to anybody that wants to understand more about why independent reading is important, why we can not simply have independent reading without explicit teaching, …
I recently had the pleasure of reading No More Independent Reading Without Support, from the Not this, But That series, written by Debbie Miller and Barbara Moss. One thing that really stood out to me about this book is the powerful punch it packs in just 87 pages. The focus of this post is on …
Lesson records are a vital piece of our planning during a Reading Recovery series of lessons. In her article, What Do Lesson Records Have to Do with Effective Reading Recovery Teaching?, Sharan Gibson explains that the purpose of lesson records is "to ensure that our instruction is tailored to each student's needs" (p. 24). Detailed and …
Continue reading Reading Recovery: The Importance of Notetaking
Supporting the growth of our students' writing vocabulary sets the stage for a greater chance of accelerated progress and future success after being discontinued from Reading Recovery. One reason a strong writing vocabulary is important is that it helps to boost a child's reading vocabulary. These known words also lend themselves to links for the …
While browsing through various literacy Facebook Groups I have noticed similar questions asked about running records. I started gathering questions so that I could eventually address them all in one post. The answers I have provided come from my trusted sources: Marie Clay (the creator of running records) and Fountas & Pinnell (who provide us …
Continue reading Running Records: Frequently Asked Questions
"You will need to ask the leaders in your district how you can help support their initiatives. Go to the table with information and a collaborative mindset for optimal relationships in your district."
Written by Gen & Rhonda Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild, inspired over 1,600 attendees at the 2018 Literacy For All Conference as the keynote speaker on October 29, 2018. She is an award-winning teacher, author, and staff development leader who has years of teaching experience in fourth through sixth grade language …
Here is some food for thought, “Comprehending is an active, meaning-making process, not simply an isolated outcome or product after reading” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017, p. 469). It is important that we do not fall into the trap of asking a list of questions after a child reads a book and think that is sufficient …
Continue reading Teaching for Comprehending During Guided Reading
I have a student who persistently takes his eyes off text. Right from the beginning this behavior of eyes off text and inventing can be seen on the Observation Survey. His strengths are using meaning and language structure along with the text pattern to read the text. He has a weak pointing finger and is …
