Over the past few years, I have heard more and more teachers question the purpose of a book introduction during guiding reading groups. In some cases, teachers have even moved away from providing a book introduction. Teachers are concerned that by providing a book introduction they are "giving away" the book and it appears to …
Running Records are an essential component of my day-to-day planning for my students. At times, I hear running records talked about in terms of a student "passing" or "failing". When we put too much emphasis on the accuracy rate and think of running records as "pass/fail," we can not make student-centered decisions about our teaching. …
Agency I recently read the book, Wire for Agency: Four Simple Moves That Transfer Learning, by Jenn Hayhurst and Jill DeRosa. If you are interested in shifting your teaching to increase students' independence, then this is a must-read. This text walks educators through four important moves to support student agency: Watch, Intend, Reflect, and Engage. …
Many of you know that I spent the last school year teaching kindergarten instead of Reading Recovery. While I missed Reading Recovery, I tried to stay positive and use my Reading Recovery knowledge to support my students' learning in the classroom. Leaving Reading Recovery to go back to the classroom was not new to me. …
When staring into a pool of still, clear water, the reflected image is sharp, almost perfect. When the water is disturbed, the reflection is still there, but it is distorted, no longer a perfect copy. Our water has been disturbed. For some of us, in the most violent way. Our year has resembled past school …
Continue reading Lessons Learned: Reflections on a Remarkable Year
Are we keeping students in levels 1 and 2 for too long? Our Reading Recovery Teacher Leader had us mull over this question during a Reading Recovery professional development session. I am still reflecting on this question. The majority of my incoming Reading Recovery students start in levels 0-1. I know that I need to …
"This book delightfully provides ways in which to weave joyful and engaging reading experiences into every aspect of an early childhood classroom, because strengthening fundamental skills and knowledge of reading is easier if children love to do it!"
Our rewards, even in the form of our verbal praise, shape how our students think about themselves and others.
Language & Literacy Marie M. Clay (2016) explains that learning to read is making connections with visible print to the invisible knowledge one has of oral language. Many families who have a young readers learning at home this year, or who have spent significant amounts of time learning from home, are worried about sufficient reading …
At the beginning of this school year, like many literacy interventionists, I was asked to fulfill a different role. After years out of the classroom, I suddenly found myself teaching "in-person" kindergarten. Despite having been a classroom teacher for years in the past, I'll admit that I was nervous and wondering how I would handle …
Continue reading Experimenting with Action Research in the Classroom
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