My Child Can Read a Level

From the desk of Carol C… My child is reading above grade level. My child is reading at level J. My child is struggling with reading. How could all of these statements be said about the same child? Do they not contradict each other? The answers depend on the definition of the word “reading” you…

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Context Matters

From the desk of Alice… Somewhere along the way I read about research that showed people can dramatically change their actions based on context.  I think the particular study I was reading about had to do with prisons and I came across another one that looked at the influence your highschool friends have on your…

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Teaching There

From the desk of Alice…   After writing about the way my own children have fallen in love with learning, I started wondering about the teachers who are nurturing this along.  Given all the demands of the current classroom, how are they sorting through the ideas and requirements to keep the student in mind?  …

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What's it Like to Learn There?

   From the desk of Alice…  My twins are wrapping up their kindergarten year at a public magnet school in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  They are in different classrooms (by my choice) and this has afforded me the opportunity to see things from multiple perspectives despite a similar context. When I have talked to them…

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No Doodling!

From the desk of Gina… When my daughter, Madison, was beginning the 5th grade she was doing the usual grind of work sheets, testing and homework.  One day a spelling test came home for my review and she had “doodled” on it. As I reviewed the paper I see the teacher assistant had written at…

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Share Your Thinking

From the desk of Carol C… Soon teachers will begin reviewing for the end of the year tests.  Some of the review will include using multiple choice practice tests.  Assigning the work and then checking the answers leaves many students still in the dark about how to find the correct answer.  Here’s a way you…

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Promoting Independence

From the desk of Leigh Ann… “To find yourself, think for yourself.” ~  Socrates   This week I have thought a great deal about how to make our kindergartners more self-reliant learners.  As a teacher I want to facilitate learning, model appropriate behaviors, and guide students in developing strategies that help them become competent readers,…

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Burkins & Yaris: Reading Wellness Workshop

Join us in July to spend the day with Jan Burkins & Kim Yaris! Their workshop will be focused on Reading Wellness: Lessons that Teach Independence and Proficiency Thursday, July 24, 2014 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM (Registration & continental breakfast at 8:00) at The McKimmon Conference & Training Center, NCSU Campus, Raleigh, NC Click…

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Laney Sammons- Guided Math Workshop

ERG is proud to continue a tradition of excellence for the Summer of 2014! Laney Sammons, an expert in Guided Math, will be with ERG on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM (Registration & continental breakfast at 8:00) at The Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center, Winston-Salem, NC Click HERE for full details…

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Too Good for Guided Reading?

From the desk of Alice… I recently had a conversation with a teacher who said her kids don’t really need Guided Reading anymore because they are her top students and they can read well.  If you are in a school working on Guided Reading, you may have heard this, too.  In a perfect school world,…

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