I’m sure many of you feel the same way as me, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE finding new books to read with my class!! I thought I would share with you my top 10 books my class and I LOVE! How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer This is a… Read More My Top 10 Mentor Texts

At my school, as I have mentioned in previous posts, teachers typically use guided reading groups as their form of small groups in their classroom. As we move into more professional development on implementing a reader’s workshop in our classrooms, we also have been introduced to a variety of small group types. These may still… Read More Types of Small Groups

Websites for staff development: Scholastic – Teachers Scholastic is great website because there are SO many resources on it! There are free lesson plans, unit plans, teaching guides, extension activities, and more. Their book wizard is a great tool to level books according to guided reading level. I decided to specifically include their teacher section… Read More Top 10 Literacy Websites

The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo This book has 300 reading strategies for a variety of goals such as comprehension, fluency, and literary analysis. The strategies are laid out in a colorful lesson plan format, organized by level, and is easy to navigate and access to meet the reader’s needs. Many teachers want examples… Read More Top 10 Literacy Books

As I explore transitioning into a reader’s workshop model next year, I am interested in adding conferring with my first grade students 1-on-1 during their independent reading time. In our building, many teachers, including myself, use guided reading groups to meet with students. I group kids together if they are approximately at the same guided… Read More Conferring with Students 1-on-1

High quality professional development is important for teachers to improve their practice, ultimately helping students learn. I have attended many professional development sessions and the ones that were most effective is when the plans see teachers and other adults as learners. Lyons and Pinnell (2001) state, “Adults, like children, bring their knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, and… Read More Professional Development

There are many aspects that make up a high quality school-wide or district-wide literacy program. At the heart of any literacy program needs to be student motivation, engagement, and achievement. Irvin, Meltzer, and Dukes (2017) state, “An effective plan requires the skillful use of data about student performance, literacy needs and expectations in the school… Read More Comprehensive Literacy Programs

In my last post, I addressed the Minnesota state legislation and its commitment to having students reading proficiently no later than grade three. When I was reflecting on this, something that interested me was that parent notification and involvement was part of the state’s plan. As part of this, it states, “Schools, at least annually,… Read More Supporting Reading at Home

Reading instruction in our schools is guided by federal and state legislation. Knowing the guidelines, interpreting them, and applying them is important as literacy leaders! Below I have outlined the legislation that has implications to the teaching and learning of literacy. Federal: U.S. Department of Education – Every Student Succeeds Act The Every Student Succeeds… Read More Federal and State Legislation

As a teacher, data is so important and is the reasoning behind the decisions we make. This data is gained from assessment. Often, the word assessment is associated with testing. The bigger benchmark or standardized testing that we prepare our students for each year. But when I use data to inform my instruction in my… Read More Using Data to Inform Teaching and Learning