Posts Tagged ‘reading’
Guided Piano
From the Desk of Melissa… What if we taught piano lessons like we do reading? “Alright, we are ready for our lesson today. To begin I am going to show you the notes in our song and play them. You are going to tell me what they are.” “Now you are going to see these…
Read MoreAsking Our Questions for the First Time
From the desk of Karen…. This true story demonstrates why I am so grateful to Debbie Miller, Stephanie Harvey, and Cris Tovani. I share this short transcript of the first time this group of struggling readers brought their own questions to a reading group like these ladies taught me. Jerome began our discussion by asking,…
Read MoreQuestioning Questioning Part 2
From the desk of Amanda… Last week we talked about taking the first step in having students ask questions. The goal with step one is just to practice asking questions so students can strengthen their inner voices—the simple act of being conscious and intentional about asking questions helps achieve that. But we can’t stop there. …
Read MoreA Question about Questioning
From the desk of Amanda… I’m a rule follower. This is a good thing if you’re riding in a car with me, but sometimes following the rules can be a bad thing. Let me explain what I mean. When I was still teaching, I followed the rules. Whatever my principal said to do, I did—even…
Read MoreTest Prep
From the Desk of Hope… Anxious. Frustrated. Unmotivated. Worried. These are all adjectives that describe the behaviors I see in some lessons centered around test preparation. Teachers feel tremendous pressure to prepare students for high stakes tests. In response they spend considerable time (sometimes months) before the test on test-like items and teaching test-taking strategies.…
Read MoreWhen Reading is a Waste of Time
From the Desk of Amanda…. As you read the title of this blog you are probably thinking, “What?!? An education company is writing about reading being a waste of time. This is outrageous!” But stay with me and I think you’ll see what I mean… Let’s say it’s 8:30 on a Thursday night. You worked…
Read MoreA Reading Journey
From the desk of April F… I have a confession. Though my professional career is now devoted to Literacy, I was (into adulthood) an apathetic, reluctant reader. I could read, though I didn’t know about any strategies. If I looked at the words long enough I could figure them out or fake it. That was…
Read MorePopcorn Reading
Popcorn reading. Volunteer reading. Sparkle Reading. Lightening Bug Reading. Round Robin Reading. Just say, “No!” As professionals, we manage to direct students all day long in every facet of their day, but we have the hardest time putting an end to the outdated method of round robin reading. Sharpen your pencil? No. Go to the…
Read MorePop Quiz- What is the Purpose?
From the desk of Hope… I have been doing some wondering lately……what is the purpose of a pop quiz? In my own teaching career, I’ve given my share of pop quizzes, but they were mostly early in my career when I didn’t teach with very much intention. I remember thinking, “I will see if they…
Read MoreStepping Stones: Having the Courage to Make Dreams Come True- Step Seven
From the desk of Hope… I work with teachers in some way almost everyday and a very common question I get is, “how did you become a literacy consultant?” followed by a comment along the lines of, “I want to become one too.” In fact, I have had this conversation twice this week already with…
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