Archive for October 2012
Pitfalls and Successes
From the desk of Carol C… When teachers yearn for the days of old when children could just write, write, write creative stories, I cringe. I remember the never ending stories children wrote. The tones were so overwhelming that I couldn’t face the task of helping the kids revise their work. Plus the few times…
Read MoreHere We Go Again
From the desk of Hope… I sent my son off to school recently to take yet another standardized test. This just strikes a nerve with me. Have you heard about this latest standardized test school systems are giving 8th graders? It is called the EXPLORE. From what I can gather, it is the pre ACT…
Read MoreTips for Teaching Vocabulary
From the desk of Carol C… Have you looked up the word “rigor” in a dictionary recently? Webster’s says: harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment. It seems that dictionaries, online at least, have not caught up with the definition of rigor in education. What might this be? Rigor is the goal of helping students…
Read MoreERG Partners with National Comprehension Expert!
ERG Partners with Cris Tovani to combine Cris’ comprehension content with ERG’s innnovative staff development process. This is the perfect service for Grades 6-12 who need a comprehension boost! Call today to get more information!
Read MoreGuided Reading by Any Other Name…
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…
Read MoreCollaborative Learning
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…
Read MoreCrawling Comes First!
From the desk of Kris… The Common Core Standards have set the bar pretty high for Kindergarten. We know that at the beginning of the year, many Kindergartners cannot read. While that may be true, it does not mean that they can’t understand text or are unable to answer questions about text. As teachers, we…
Read MoreReading Wide
From the desk of Carol C… Most of us have our favorite reading genre and stick pretty much to it. Some prefer realistic fiction or graphic novels or informational text or biography…the list goes on. It’s fine to have a favorite type of book; however, children who have read or have been read to from…
Read MoreUsing Conferencing as an Instructional Strategy
From the desk of Hope… When I was teaching, I felt like I never knew enough about my students. I took every opportunity to learn more about them as individuals and as learners. It seemed pretty simple to me — the more we knew about each other, the easier it was going to be to…
Read MoreCommon Core is Here
From the desk of Carol C… “The Common Core is here. Now what do we do?” When I first read that quote I thought , “You got that right sister. What are we gonna do?” In no time, well meaning supervisors started giving me suggestions. “Look on Cleveland County’s website. Try the NYC website. Have…
Read More