You finally get everyone settled into reading stations. You pull your small group. You’re two minutes into actual teaching (the real kind, the kind you planned for) and then you look up. Two kids are whispering about something that has nothing to do with reading. One student has been on
Every one of us knows the magical feeling of getting lost in a good book. The thrills of an unfolding story, the anticipation of what’s to come – all woven together in a well-crafted plot. I can’t stress enough how important it is for our kids to grasp the concept
Reader’s theaters are a great way to improve fluency and comprehension skills in the classroom. They provide a fun and engaging way for students to practice their reading skills and improve oral reading fluency. In this blog post, I will discuss what they are, how to use them in the
Whether you’re preparing for the big test or just want some extra practice, there are ways of creating your own reading comprehension tests. I’m going to show how in six easy steps! Step 1: Choose a grade-appropriate reading passage. It is always tough to find reading passages. There are some
As an elementary teacher, it is important to create reading lesson plans that engage your students. Not only will this help them learn and retain the material, but it will also keep them interested in the subject. In this blog post, we will discuss five steps to make reading lesson
Do you want to make your reading stations more fun for your students? Do you want to help them learn new vocabulary words in a way that is engaging and exciting? If so, then you need to check out this guide on how to make vocabulary activities fun! In this
Do you need help with knowing what to do with your fluent readers in small groups? I know I struggled for many years with what to do with these kids. They are good readers and do well with decoding strategies, but they still need help with comprehension skills. I’m going
Do you struggle with teaching vocabulary to your kids? We are always looking into new strategies for teaching vocabulary skills to our students. Kids struggling with vocabulary seems to be an ongoing problem. Vocabulary isn’t a lesson you teach only once, but it is something you spiral throughout the year.
Ok, trying to make reading review fun is no joke. The kids don’t like it and neither do the teachers. Help! How can we make fun reading review activities for our class? Fun Reading Review Activities I’m going to share with you 5 activities you can do to make reading
Guided reading has been around for over 15 years. One of my graduate classes was on Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading. It worked great in the younger grades for teaching small group. I used it with my 1st graders for a couple of years and started using it in 2nd grade. It was
Welcome to another week of the “Digging Into Next Year” Linky Party hosted by Laura at Where the Magic Happens. Organization of Literacy Block- Workstations I am going to focus on the workstation part of the Literacy block. I really had to change the way I organized my workstations this year. I had taught 2nd grade
What motivates elementary students to read? That is the million dollar question. What can we do as educators to encourage the love of reading to our students? Show them how much we love to read and how much fun it can be! This is a picture of an amazing principal