On September 30, I shared a strategy from Read Naturally for explicit instruction on regular high frequency words. Today I want to share strategies from research and my colleagues for systematic, explicit instruction around irregular high frequency words.
Continue reading “Strategies for Irregular High Frequency Words”
My 8th article with Edutopia was published today:
As I continue to deepen my knowledge of foundational skills to support reading and disciplinary literacy, I am grateful for resources such as the Teaching foundational reading skills Part 2 webinar I recently watched. It included many useful strategies, two of which are new to me and stand out as useful for others. In this post, I want to summarize these: Sound Out Words and Fluency Practice.
As the school year begins, many of us are talking about how to build strong student to student partnerships in our classrooms. When students collaborate in effective partnerships, learning increases and a sense of belonging is nurtured. In this post, I want to share some partnership ideas.
Continue reading “Developing Strong Student to Student Partnerships”
My sixth article was published today!
Recently I have been learning about GLEAM™ and the GLEAM™ Hypothesis, developed by the experts at UnboundEd. In this post, I will summarize my understanding of what GLEAM™ means and share the hypothesis. My hope is that we can use GLEAM™ as we intentionally plan for rigorous learning, in the fall and in years to come… as a way to provide culturally relevant teaching, as a way to provide the best instruction for our historically marginalized students.
Continue reading “GLEAM: Grade-level, Engaging, Affirming and Meaningful”
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s book Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy offers many excellent ideas designed to learn about the identities of our students and plan for joyful learning experiences. In this post, I want to highlight some ideas, especially those experiences that are powerful to explore at the beginning of a new school year in order to create classrooms where students feel seen, heard, valued, and loved. When students feel belonging, they thrive and can engage in deep learning. In addition to Dr. Muhammad’s ideas, I will explore ideas I have used with students and that colleagues have shared with me.
“Knowing self prepares young people to live joyfully in the world…. Young people need to know themselves as well as others who may be different from them…. This knowledge teaches young people how to love and live with differences as they grow older.” ~Cultivating Genius
Continue reading “Understanding Students’ Identity: Starting the Year With a Student-Centered Focus”
Today my fifth article was published on Edutopia!