Archive for February 2013
Strategy v. Skills
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…
Read MoreThese Kids
From the desk of Alice… It’s the spring semester and even though the weather says it is still winter, many schools I work in have their eye on the end of the year. Specifically, the end of year assessments that are high stakes. This year, the assessments are a little fuzzy… we have the Common…
Read MoreWhole Class Novels
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…
Read MoreJourney To Becoming a Better Math Teacher
From the desk of Carol C… I have always enjoyed teaching math. There are clear systems to use, right and wrong answers, and constants. Algorithms are wonderful. Math: teach by using the textbook exclusively, hand out worksheets that are correlated to the pages studied, and teach what a few key words found in story problems…
Read MoreAcademic Difficulty at School
From the Desk of Carol C… In the last few days I’ve read a blog article entitled “Comprehension Issue or Assignment Issue?“. It captured my attention and created questions in my mind. (Good reader!) Is this an example of parents overreacting? Are the children refusing to do homework or rushing through something they view as…
Read MoreWhy Picture Books Matter
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…
Read MoreYou Practice and You Get Better
From the desk of Hope… You Practice and You Get Better (Dedicated to all my mentors along the way in my teaching career. You know who you are.) Simple words. But words that are saturated with a life time of wisdom. You practice and you get better. When you were frustrated and and didn’t know…
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