Vocabulary knowledge is one of the biggest indicators to reading success. How do we as educators support vocabulary growth? One of the best ways to build vocabulary is through literature that provides exemplars AND carefully constructed writing that includes context clues. Crown: Ode to the ...
Read More about Teaching Context Clues with Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
Latest from the Blog
Teaching with Reindeer Themed Literacy Activities
December is here, and this is the perfect time to explore reindeer. Believe it or not, there are TONS of learning options that can make a reindeer theme deep and meaningful. This round up post offers great free resources and teaching ideas for the elementary classroom.
Reindeer Fun Pinterest ...
Read More about Teaching with Reindeer Themed Literacy Activities
Teaching Kids to Make Inferences with Silver Packages
One of the toughest skills for young readers to learn is to infer what isn't stated by the author. For students who lack experiences or who don't pick up on story clues authors share, explicit instruction is needed to help make sense of the unknown. Through think aloud and targeted instruction, we ...
Read More about Teaching Kids to Make Inferences with Silver Packages
Teaching Deep Thinking with Compared Texts
Can you imagine peanut butter without jelly or peas without carrots? Well, there are book titles that seem to come together in pairs too. These paired texts are perfect for making comparisons, and in this post, I thought I'd share a collection of titles I'd pair for making comparisons to help make ...
Read More about Teaching Deep Thinking with Compared Texts
Discover the Magic of Jan Brett
Who loves Jan Brett? Me! I bet you can tell too! Jan Brett's books are a favorite this time of year. Whether you discovered her books while sharing them with your children, have given them as gifts, or used them with teaching reading and writing lessons, you are sure to love them all. Today, I ...
Read More about Discover the Magic of Jan Brett
How to Make Predictions with the DRTA Method
One of the most important skills we can teach our children is to make and confirm predictions. Why? Well, it "keeps their head in the game" I think. Kids who make and confirm predictions are thinking about their reading. This is the beauty of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA).In this ...
Read More about How to Make Predictions with the DRTA Method
