Reading Buddies. Just typing it brings a smile to my face. When I was teaching kindergarten and first grade, my students always had Reading Buddies (older students from a partner class). The older buddies usually came weekly to read with my students and do a fun activity. Having a Reading Buddy program in my classroom is one of the things I missed when I was teaching Reading Recovery. When I became a special education teacher (providing … [Read more...]
End of Year Writing Lesson: Writing for a purpose – Summer Lists!
Have you noticed that in the last few weeks of the school year, it gets more challenging to motivate kids to write? Many seem to only have the energy and patience for tasks that have real purpose. And let's face it, kids are far more motivated to do what we (the teachers, parents, role models in their lives) do. What the big people do is important and with intent. I love to see little ones swell with pride when they have helped out. I'm … [Read more...]
Motivating young students to edit their writing!
When I first started teaching, one of the greatest hurdles to overcome in language instruction was getting my first grade students to edit their writing. That piece of the writing process made no sense to them, regardless of how many fancy checklists I could find, stickers I gave out, ways we split up the time or time of day we did it. They simply wanted nothing to do it. It took me the longest time to realize that they simply did not see the … [Read more...]
Motivating students to monitor reading – with humor!
Do your students self-monitor when reading, for all three sources of information (meaning, language structure and visual information)? Once reading for meaning is established, and the easiest, one (repeating) line per page are replaced with less predictable text, early readers need to feel comfortable with taking risks and making mistakes. That is where the humor comes in. My students know that I tend to make the odd 'mistake' when we're … [Read more...]
Happy Family Day, great site for boys books and a word about bedtime stories from J.K. Rowling
Happy Family Day everyone! I wish the best to all of you for a fantastic day celebrating your families! My now teen kids and I are huge fans of Harry Potter, and we have spent many years of bedtimes curled up together sharing J.K. Rowling's stories about Harry and his friends, among hundreds of other stories. Could it be thousands by now? My wish for you for tonight is a cozy bedtime with a great book! Motivating Boys to Read For those … [Read more...]
The importance of Reading for Joy
Do you read every day? In this digital age, I bet you do. (I caught you reading this!) Homework has been a big issue in education for the past couple of years. If you've been following for a while, you know my issue with Reading Logs. A survey taken of Ontario students writing standardized tests administered by Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) found that only 50% of grade three and grade six students in 2010/2011 … [Read more...]
Rethinking Reading Logs for beginning readers
I have been rethinking Reading Logs over the past twenty years, particularly for beginning readers. As a first grade teacher, I had mixed feelings about sending them home. It's fairly easy to figure out early on what will become of one's students' reading logs throughout the year. As parents, we all have the best intentions. Teachers know that. Many of us fill both roles. Life gets busy, especially that in-between school and bed time when … [Read more...]
Reading and writing through play!
Do you have a child who loves animals, may wish to be a veterinarian or doctor, and could use a little practice or writing his or her name? (Not that you would ever mention it...) How about one who does not see the point in learning to read or write, but has a fantastic imagination? A sociable child with boundless energy, an interest in the law, perhaps, and exploring … [Read more...]
How to make reading homework FUN!
“Why does my son keep bringing home books that are too easy for him? How will he learn anything if he isn't challenged?” Make reading homework fun for k-3 students, so they'll become lifelong readers! Reading homework in kindergarten and the primary grades is usually familiar reading. Books that kids have read more than once are considered 'familiar' text, and are an important piece of the early literacy journey. Reading books that are easy … [Read more...]
What reading levels mean and why kids should not have to worry about them
The term 'reading levels' in a broad sense means a degree of reading accuracy, fluency, comprehension on a text with specific guidelines within a given reading system. Organizations, such as school boards, use a combination of systems to measure reading levels. Click here to for the various reading systems explained! Why schools use leveled readers: Leveled readers are used so that teachers can match children with books that … [Read more...]
