As we move into the start of a new school year, of of my FAVORITE things to think about is what books I will be sharing as read alouds with my students. Although I have a few "must reads" that I do every year, I am always on the hunt for new ones as well. When thinking about what makes a really outstanding read aloud, I asked people on my Facebook page to chime in their THEIR ideas about ... Read the Post
3 Best Books about Teaching Reading!
Today is my day to post over on Upper Elementary Snapshots, and I hope you'll stop by to check out my post about 3 "must read" books...just click the image below to take you there! I'd love to hear what you think...and watch tomorrow for my Monday Made It post--with a brand new multiplication resource that has taken me the better part of a year to finish! WHEW! ... Read the Post
“Me as a Reader”…a reading goal project
Every year I love to help my students really reflect on themselves as readers--and I strive to help them understand that reading is more than just getting the words right...as we start the year I really try to help them understand all the different factors that impact the ability to read and make sense of texts... reading "behaviors" such as book selection and focus accuracy and fluency ... Read the Post
Classroom Library Organization 101!
It's time for another monthly "Bright Ideas" link up and I thought I'd kick off the summer series with something I spent years developing and might give some ideas to others as to how to organize your classroom library. Now this became a necessity for me once my addiction to books became too ridiculous to hide anymore. As my library grew and grew, I needed a way for students (and me!) to ... Read the Post
Summer Reading: The Annual Summer Children’s Lit reading list!
Now that my school year is finished (except for a few days of data retreat next week--don't be too jealous!), it's time to work on my LIST MAKING! I have already made lists of lists...but the one that is the most fun every summer is the... CHILDREN'S BOOKS TO READ list! The list is long...from picture books to some favorite rereads to some new ones. I am always looking to read what ... Read the Post
“Chilling Out” with a great book!
One thing I love to have my students do is recommend books to each other. We do it during book talks where I "advertise" books, we do it during status of the class where I ask students to tell a little bit about their book once in a while, and sometimes I ask them to do something a little more formal. I was beginning to think it was about time to take our world map projects down from ... Read the Post
Realistic or Not?
A week or so ago, we were really digging into our writing unit on realistic fiction when I started overhearing (ok, eavesdropping) on some students talking about what makes a book realistic fiction. I THOUGHT I had explained things in a crystal clear fashion--and I really thought this was a pretty easy concept actually--so I kind of stopped in my tracks and listened. For the next day, I ... Read the Post