Wondering what to tell parents when they ask where to find leveled books for the summer? Here’s what I say. #leveledbooks #summerreading #earlyliteracy #teachingreading #primary
Engaging kindergarten activities that work online!
Looking for engaging, cross-curricularĀ kindergarten activities that work online? Here are three learning experiences that were a hit in our class! Directed Show and Share: After organizing our online class into smaller groups, we started weekly Show and Tell time.Ā This was the traditional showing of a toy and resulting discussion. Students’ attention, however, was often Read More…
How reading and writing are linked – tips for building cross-print connections
Reading and writing are inherently linked, often referred to as being two sides of a coin. Often, we are reading while writing, and writing while we are reading. Conditioning one literacy ‘muscle’ will strengthen the other. Here is what I learned about this reciprocal relationship in my Reading Recovery training, along with some tips for Read More…
The benefits of a personal letter sound chart
Do you use letter sound anchor charts in your classroom? Here are the benefits of using a personal letter sound chart for early readers and writers. Visual documentation of growth over time A personal letter sound chart is a record of the sound / symbol associations for an individual student. Like its counterpart, the Read More…
Childrenās Books to Celebrate Spring!
Spring is a exciting season and there are countless children’s books to celebrate the seasonal weather changes, animal habits and the adventures kids associate with this ‘new life’ time of year.Ā
Familiar Reading ā Why your kids bring home books they can already read (and how to make the best of them!)
An explanation for parents about why kids bring home books they can already read and how to make the best of them! Link to free handout! #familiarreading #earlyliteracy #bts #tpt #kindergarten #primary #ThatFunReadingTeacher
Social emotional lessons in my go-to book for teaching Concepts of Print.
It was just recently that I discovered the social emotional lessons in my go to book for teaching Concepts of Print. A few years ago, I was thrilled to discover that The Monster at the End of This Book had been brought to life, still as a storybook, through animation. Here is just a taste Read More…
Managing Back to School Anxiety – Teacher tips
Back to School Anxiety is very real for our students and for us! Here are some teacher tips for managing both! This post is an update from the vault after four more years of experience and in the context of our new reality. Anxiety symptoms: Symptoms of āanxiety are a common complaint by many anticipating Read More…
Kindergarten and COVID – Why smaller kindergarten classes are a must
COVID has heightened the kindergarten class size conversation. I have always been in agreement that smaller kindergarten class sizes are important. Right now, they are a must. Defining smaller and larger classes I consider a small kindergarten class one that consists of fifteen or fewer students and a classroom teacher. I had a small class Read More…
Fun ways to use boxes in the classroom (and freebies!)
There are so many fun ways to use boxes in the classroom that I have become somewhat of a ‘high quality’ box junkie. Here’s how we’ve been using them, the ones worth asking for, a free download and links to more!