So in 2020, your students can’t sit elbow-elbow-knee-knee anymore. Time to get creative because now more than ever, our kiddos need social interaction. So it’s vital to still have the theory of partner work or small groups, even if we’re not able to gather at the kidney table or the rug. What Platforms Should I … Read more
If you haven’t caught on, I love my literacy stations. My favorite center is my poetry station. I am a sucker for good children’s poems and I love to incorporate poetry into any literacy lesson that I can. But my usual poetry station has a shared binder with poems in them that each student touches. … Read more
Hi friends! I’m going to admit something to you. Something that I don’t know. It’s hard to admit in such a public forum like this that I don’t know something, but here goes. I’ve never been really good at having a writing center in my classroom. But just because I don’t feel skilled with a writing … Read more
Can we just take a moment to thank my blue and red ABC magnets for their many years of use at my independent phonics station? The hands that have touched them over the years… I’m going to keep them in the cabinet and hope that I can bring them out in the future. In the … Read more
Well, friends, here we are. Some of you might be teaching virtually, and some might be in your classroom with strict social distancing guidelines. We have so many problems and hurdles to overcome, but I’m here to help you find a solution for one of them: Your reading comprehension stations. Can I Still Have A … Read more
Oh boy. The amount of questions I have running through my head right now. I think we’re all mourning the prospect of our upcoming school year being so vastly different. I’m a first grade teacher, and my favorite part of the day is guided reading and literacy stations. How on earth is this going to happen? … Read more
Teaching an interactive writing lesson is a versatile way to differentiate and review past literacy skills. This method differs from modeled or shared writing in that the students write on the paper with the teacher. Since the students do the writing, they will take ownership of the text and as a result, they will both … Read more
Close reading is exactly as it sounds. It’s reading closely. Students will spend several days on one text, looking at the words the author uses and discussing the text’s meaning. This method of digging deeper into the text will prepare your students for independent analysis of a passage. A close reading definition by the website “We … Read more