From the Desk of Hope…
This strategy and that strategy. What makes this one better than the next? Strategy. Skill. I need clarification.
As I am out in schools coaching teachers with literacy instruction, I am often approached about confusions with the difference between teaching reading skills and reading strategies.
P. David Pearson writes about this topic in his work and has helped me conceptualize the difference. A strategy is an intentional plan for doing …
From the desk of Carol C…
Read an education journal or a book about teaching reading comprehension (no matter the grade level), you will find a myriad of strategies to use with your students. You’ll, also, find a difference of opinion on whether to teach these strategies using the same novel for your entire class otherwise known as “the whole class novel”.
Why, according to some experts (classroom teachers duly included), should we abandon teaching …
From the desk of Carol C…
Let me start off by saying that I love picture books…not all of them mind you but a vast majority of them. I’ve always loved them, so a few years ago I became concerned after an article in the New York Times reported that the sale of picture books was declining. Bookstores were giving these books less shelf space. They weren’t on display as often. What a loss! However, …
From the desk of Hope…
I write this blog as a question hoping to get some interaction and feedback from you.
Recently I’ve had three parents approach me about “issues” their children are having with reading comprehension. Before I go into the “issues” I would like to describe these children to you as I know all three of them well – one boy and two girls, all in third grade.
These children are avid readers. …
From the desk of Carol C…
Recently I worked with a bright middle school child who needed some support with reading and writing. We were working on what I thought was a difficult poem, but it was a suggested exemplar from the Common Core for the grade below this child’s. At first I thought my student’s difficulty lay only in the poem’s complexity. But when I asked him to read one of the verses aloud …
From the desk of Alice…
I recently had a conversation with someone about instruction in the elementary school. In that particular school system, a program is in place that requires reading workbooks for Kindergarten students.
If this happens to be the case in your school or system, I am so sorry. Having our youngest learners (or any learners) sit and work in workbooks is far from an authentic reading and writing experience. In this era …
From the desk of Alice…
I am fortunate to be able to work in middle and high school classrooms as part of my weekly work. The classes are always full of energy and there is rarely a dull moment. When I am in these classes, my role is to support the literacy development of the students via the teacher. Sometimes I am in an English classroom but other times I am in history, science, and …
From the desk of Alice…
In this first year of Common Core, I am seeing and hearing many stressed educators trying to make sense of what they need to be doing. Rest assured, one thing we need to continue to do is encourage a love of learning as we dip into this new territory in education. A critical element of learning is the act of reading. There is absolutely no substitute for time spent with …
From the desk of Carol C….
First let me start with a story that may tell you where I’m coming from on the subject of guided reading. Quite a few years ago I observed a K/1 classroom where the children were learning how to subtract. One child raised her hand to give the answer and said, “Four dash three is one.” The teacher pointed to the subtraction sign and reminded her that she should say …
From the desk of Kris…
My boys were less than thrilled to go back to school a few weeks ago. In fact, one of my sons came home recently and likened school to jail. His words: “School is like a place where they lock you in a room, force you to sit in a seat and listen to the teacher for hours.” Who wouldn’t feel imprisoned in an institution that values teacher directed instruction and …