During Independent Reading, students continue to practice what they’ve learned during Modeled/Shared/Guided Reading. Independent Reading offers students additional opportunities to read. In order to become proficient readers, students must be provided with opportunities to read, read, and read some more!…
Students have the option to select Listening to Reading as one of their Daily 5 choices. We have MP3 players for this purpose. Every month I change out the audiobooks. Students can listen to the books independently, or with a partner,…
Independent Writing Independent Writing offers students additional opportunities to write. In order to become proficient writers, students must be provided with many opportunities to write! During Independent Writing, students continue to practice what they’ve learned during Modeled/Shared/Guided Writing. We have…
I use a balanced literacy approach. I created the above visual to explain the components. Each component plays an integral role in developing strong, skilled readers and writers. Throughout my website you can find resources that align with a balanced…
We have over 3,000 books in our classroom. On top of those, we always have additional books from the school library and Door County Public libraries. We love books! We store the books in labeled tubs (of course!). September Bins…
Adding STEAM to your elementary specials rotation is doable. You’ll just need to evaluate what you wish to accomplish through your program offerings what block of time you have available what classes do you currently offer which of these offered…
You may have already read about how personalized learning works during our writing workshop routine. I continue to refine personalized learning routines in my classroom. Up until recently, my students have been working as a class using a class developed writing checklist….
I’ve previously written about our Words Their Way routines and shared several resources. This year we made a few changes that I wanted to share. Changes 1-6: Organization and Routine Don’t Cut Inside Envelop Add a Crayon Color Label Add…
Interruptions during guided writing, math, or reading are inevitable — no matter how many times you’ve practiced and practiced working independently! We’ve done the “IF, THEN” problem solving chart. While these types of lists help, they are not inclusive of…
You realize the benefits of STEM, but wonder when to add it in? Your day is already packed, and you can’t see where STEM fits? What about your Daily 5 time? Why not add another option to the choices that are…
