Over the next few weeks I’ll be celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with family. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and if you’re looking for something to read, consider this: Develop Social-Emotional Skills in the Classroom Frame Your Reading Curriculum Around Genre Set Virtuous New Year’s Resolutions Do Some Reading About Reading
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How to Celebrate Thanksgiving Without Losing Instructional Momentum (Reading Workshop)
If you’re looking to do something festive around Thanksgiving, but don’t want to derail your reading workshop with a giant interruption, you have some options. Here’s a look at my Thanksgiving mini-unit which aims to squeeeeeeze in some skills-based activities right before Thanksgiving break. 5 Thanksgiving Read Alouds for Elementary Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, I LOVE this book. It’s beautifully crafted and it tells the origin story of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I highly recommend this book. If you miss it in November, incorporate it into one of your nonfiction units later in the year. Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler, This one is a Thanksgiving Day comedy–so much…
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How to Celebrate Fall Without Losing Instructional Momentum (Reading Workshop)
The weather changes, the leaves turn and you are faced with this dilemma: should I be the festive teacher, or the dutiful teacher? The one who closes the windows and trudges through the curriculum, or the one who cancels class to carve pumpkins? In college I imagined I would be the festive teacher. Once I was actually in the classroom I was dedicated to being the dutiful teacher. But inevitably the season would make itself felt and I just couldn’t resist a short break from my lesson plans for a holiday themed activity. More recently, I’ve tried to get the best of both worlds by creating holiday “mini units.” These…
