In year long genre study, all your reading curriculum is delivered through a series of in-depth genre units. During each unit students are immersed in the genre. They read examples of the genre during read alouds, guided reading, independent reading, and literature study. The teacher delivers lessons on a broad range of reading topics and applies the lessons to the featured genre. A typical genre unit might look something like this (we’ll use historical fiction as our example): Genre Immersion During Reading Workshop The teachers gathers 10-20 historical fiction picture books. Each day she reads one aloud to the class and facilitates a discussion. Then, she delivers a mini-lesson. Students…
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Brainy or Breezy? Four Books to Enjoy this Summer
Summer is the best time to get in some reading, but the question remains–should I focus my reading around professional development, or let my mind wander off campus? Here are four books to satisfy either inclination: Fiction Gilead by Marilynne Robinson will make you feel bright and whole. It’s narrated by the elderly Reverend Ames. Initially, Ames decides to write down his “begats” for his young son, but he is increasingly distracted by current events. His godson Jack has returned to the town of Gilead and his unsettling presence leads the Reverend to reflect on the town’s history and its very personal consequences. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is a…
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Using Keynote to Make Classroom Materials & TpT Products
Much has been said about the benefits of PowerPoint over Word when it comes to making Teachers Pay Teachers products, and I wholeheartedly agree. If you’re frustrated with rogue images, it’s time to switch to PowerPoint, or Keynote. Here’s a little primer on using Keynote to make multi-page documents, quizzes, and task cards for your classroom or Teachers Pay Teachers store. Changing Keynote Dimensions for Multi-Page Documents, TpT Covers, TpT Previews, Pins for Pinterest, and TpT Banners. Here’s how to change Keynote slide dimensions so that each page is the equivalent of a 8.5″X11″ page: Open Keynote and create a new presentation. Select Document at the top, right of your…
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Using Genre to Frame Your Reading Workshop Curriculum (Genre Study Intro)
A few years ago I attended a Fountas and Pinnell conference on year-long genre study, and it transformed my reading workshop. Genre was this little gem that I’d been undervaluing. Once I dug it out from its hiding spot in my cluttered curriculum, I had a tool that put all my literature analysis lessons into perspective. Because I think it really enhances reading workshop, I’ll be doing a series of posts on genre study. The easiest way to begin is to compare year-long genre study with a short, one-time genre unit or lesson (you know, the kind where you put a “Genre Bulletin Board” together with ready-made examples and definitions).…
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How to Keep Your Toddler Occupied While Staying At Home
Have you ever felt such longing for a public playground? Something about seeing the above play structure wrapped up in CAUTION tape makes me feel nostalgic for those halcyon days when we could simply…walk to the park! Fortunately there are plenty of things to do while practicing social distancing, here are some of our favorites: Sink or Float? Rice Play Sink or Float? This one is simple: Fill a container full of water, gather up water-resistant toys, let your toddler throw the toys in the water and determine whether they sink or float. This quickly turns into water play (the sink/float aspect is less interesting than splashing), but that’s okay.…
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Visualize Your Ideal Reading Block Using the Time Management Matrix
A Time Management Matrix helps you prioritize tasks that are most aligned with your long-term goals. This leads to progress toward those goals and a sense of satisfaction. The matrix is a great way to organize your own time, but what about your reading block? The Time Management Matrix (Eisenhower Decision Matrix) can help you answer these questions about your reading block: How do I want students to spend their time? What do I want them to do daily? What should they do weekly? Monthly? What prevents them from meaningful reading, writing, etc? How can I support students through routines, expectations, and preparedness? Here’s how the Time Management Matrix might…
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A Time Management Matrix That Helps You Prioritize Your Long-Term Goals
You know the feeling you get when you’ve been working all week, and then you come up for air and realize you aren’t any closer to achieving your goals? The feeling you get when you’ve spent all weekend grading, then Sunday evening rolls around and you STILL don’t have lesson plans ready for Monday? A feeling of exhaustion without fulfillment or satisfaction? If the answer is yes, then your daily tasks and long-term goals may be misaligned. Sometimes our busyness prevents us from accomplishing our teaching (and life) goals. What’s a busy, burned-out teacher to do? Reflect on her time using the Eisenhower Decision Matrix–or as we’ll call it here,…
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Helping Kids Keep a Journal During COVID-19
Now is a great time to encourage kids to practice habits that are truly useful in their daily lives. And nothing is more daily than a daily journal. Keeping a journal helps students process a confusing time, record history from their perspective, and remember a significant time in their own lives. A journal also helps kids reflect on how their personal lives are impacted by global events, and share their feelings with adults who care about them. Want your students to keep a journal? Here are some tips to help them get started! Make it Manageable: A basic structure helps kids get started, but too much structure makes writing burdensome.…
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15 Whimsical Places for Kids to Read While Learning at Home
Practice may make perfect, but repeated practice gets old quickly. How do we keep our kids and students reading day after day? Teachers have lots of strategies for keeping reading fresh. One way is to encourage kids to have some fun when choosing a PLACE to read. At school, we fill our classrooms with props for comfortable reading–pillows, bean bags, camping chairs. Students can choose silly places to read (underneath the teacher’s desk is a favorite). All of this helps break up the monotony that comes with any daily task. Here are some ideas, kids can read… Under a tree. Next to an open window. In the kitchen, while something…
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Use This Hand Drawn Chart to Make Distance Learning Easier
In elementary school, the first six weeks of school are all about building routines. In reading class, this means teaching students to read a book each day, for a sustained period of time. Over the last couple months, all of our routines have been upended. Students have lost the reliable reading routines their teachers worked hard to build, and parents have seen their own routines turned upside down. How can parents manage their child’s schooling while juggling everything else? Here’s a teacher trick… The “I Can” chart. An “I Can” chart lists things students CAN DO during a given part of the day. Kids respond well to positive commands (“read…
