Thursday, October 23, 2014

Looking for ELA Resources?

Angie, can we add a screen shot???

Check this out:

There are tons of ELA resources for grades K-6 from the Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program.   Scroll down to find your grade level, pick an ELA heading, and choose standard/s that you are getting ready to teach, reteach, or review.  See what helpful resources you can find. Resource pages for each standard include:
  • Questions to Focus Learning
  • Student Friendly Objectives
  • Performance Targets
  • Suggested Vocabulary
  • Teacher Tips
  • Vertical Progressions
Thanks for sharing this wonderful resource, Jennifer Williams.  

What's Wrong with Round Robin Reading?


Thanks for sharing this informative, research-based blog post, Anita Young.  It's a quick read that makes one think about the way we were taught round robin reading and the way we teach reading now...because we know better.  Click on the link below to read wonderteacher's post What's Wrong with Round Robin Reading?




Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Story Sparks

Free writing is great.  But what if your students can't think of anything to write about?  Sometimes looking at pictures can spark the author in you!

Just think about the stories that can come from these pictures!

 





There are also sites that have daily pictures you can use!

NASA Picture of the Day


National Geographic Picture of the Day


History Picture of the Day


Reading Moves: What Not to Do

The October 2014 Educational Leadership issue is all about "Instruction That Sticks".  One article titled Reading Moves:  What Not to Do discusses two moves the author, Richard Allington, feels need to be made in reading instruction.

The first move that Allington addresses is the overuse and misuse of oral reading.  The author maintains that the ultimate goal of literacy instruction is independent reading with good comprehension.

Another instructional move that should be changed is asking low-level questions.  Allington calls for literate conversations with peers and higher-order questioning from teachers both verbally and in written form.  

You can read the entire article HERE.