Developing a love of reading seems to come naturally for some students, but for some--it takes a loving teacher to make the magic happen! Check out these ten tips for getting started building a culture for reading in YOUR class! 1. Share YOUR love of reading. Whether you are in a "grown up" book club of your own or can simply model your love with HOW you read, how MUCH you read, or your ... Read the Post
Monday Made It: Status of the Class and more!
Holy Smokes...it's "Monday Made It" and I have a lonnnnnnnnnng post for you today--see if you can stick with it to the end! Thanks to Fourth Grade Frolics for the link up! So...to get things started, I feel that I need to give the disclaimer that the number one thing I made this week was... A MESS! That's right...I was cleaning in my classroom and cleaning in my office. ... Read the Post
Monday Made It! Travel Folders and more!
It's Monday Made It time already--and I've linked up with 4th Grade Frolics yet again! Make sure to check out all the great stuff! The reality of my dwindling days of summer has hit, so I have vowed to chip away at some of those tedious tasks that have to be done before that first day of school. This weekend I started work on my "Travel Folders". I know lots of people ... Read the Post
Launching Reader’s Workshop and Independent Reading
One thing I know to be true about fourth graders and intermediate students is that there is no ONE thing true about fourth graders and intermediate students. It seems like the longer I teach, the more compelled I am to find ways to group and individualize for students, but I have to admit--it is NOT easy for me. It isn't that I don't KNOW who the students are or what to do. It's that whole ... Read the Post
Why Mentor Texts?
There are a billion resources out there that are stressing the importance of using "mentor texts" to help students develop as readers and writers. I couldn't agree more! Studying what other writers do can not only help our students become better writers--but better readers as well! In fact, I think it's so important to dig into these texts that we keep an ongoing list in my class ... Read the Post
Monday Made It Link Up!
I'm joining up with "Monday Made It" over at 4th Grade Frolics! Today I wanted to share with you my new anecdotal reading binder that I have gotten ready for next year! I know it seems early, but I had wanted to make some changes in it and I thought I'd share! First of all, I want to share parts of an earlier blog post explaining my thoughts about my system--so here goes! ... Read the Post
Readers Workshop, Record Keeping, and System Failures!
True confessions . . . I am a terrible organizer. TERRIBLE! I have spent 40-something years being pretty on the ball and pretty good at keeping things in my head--schedules, appointments, meetings . . . all in my mind. Something has happened! Either I am getting old (GASP) or my life has gotten more complicated! Today as I was taking status of the class I realized how ... Read the Post