“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” —Ernest Hemingway I trudged back into my classroom after dropping my class off at special area. Each dragging step made a rhythm in my mind, “I hate writing, I hate writing, I HATE writing.” My students had left me in a … Continue reading
“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” – Edmund Burke I liked Glee before it was cool. I really enjoy music and the way they integrated two songs into one and created a “mash up” of a song overjoyed me. Did you have the original Glee Soundtrack? Because I did! Two weeks ago, I … Continue reading
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen The time has come to formally take aim toward a writing skill. Our first target? Using … Continue reading
“Lack of academic language and especially academic vocabulary has been described as a lexical bar, one that blocks the progress of a large number of students” – D.J. Corson I hate to get all formal on a blog because A) I don’t enjoy writing formal papers and B) as quoted by my students, “I am … Continue reading
“There is creative reading as well as creative writing” – Ralph Waldo Emerson By the end of the 3rd grade / end of the 4th grade students should be reading to learn, not learning to read. But there are still going to be those students that need extra support in decoding words. For those students, … Continue reading
Here it comes. The last week of school. I know some schools within my area and the US are breathing a sigh of relief that their school year has come to an end (Mine hasn’t). However, should our students learning come to a halt? I think NOT! I was recently asked for a recommendation of … Continue reading
My kids and I are wrapping up the year by reading The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler together. (GASP!) I know, I do not have four different reading groups going on at once. How could I? Even worse, the students are getting to listen to the book on tape while they read along. … Continue reading
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. ~Mark Twain “Wow Drew! You have grown 5 reading levels this year in fourth grade. We want to make sure you continue to grow over the summer, so what do you plan on reading during the break?” … Continue reading
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss The importance of students being able to decode and write words is unmeasurable. The more patterns they learn to decode, the more they can read. The more they can read, the more … Continue reading
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean). I looked up and the time was 6:00. My husband would be leaving his office soon, but where was I? That’s right, in the classroom. I was scouring the … Continue reading
Purpose Driven Teaching 