and living life one day- and book- at a time
A few days ago I made the comment that I had managed to read 3 books in one day. That was a record for me because usually I could read one book in a day, but three had to be a record. A former student of mine, who is about to graduate from college with …
When it comes to creating a learning output in the ELA classroom, we can utilize either project based or problem based learning. While these two inquiry products can coincide with other subjects, finding a way to make them solely ELA can be just as rewarding in the classroom. Nine years ago, the word rigorous was …
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, reading has been on a decline since 2019. This isn’t too hard to understand considering the fact that 2019 and 2020 were pivotal years in education with the onset of Covid. Education was highly disrupted, and even though things have gone back to normal in the education …
In my classroom, the switch to discontinue lecture and teaching specific texts for teaching reading skills. Prior to this year, I had taught through lecture, and while I was secondary certified, I was comfortable with teaching certain pieces of literature. I thought that was what ELA was all about. I could use specific pieces of …
I realized recently that there is a huge discrepancy between when I first taught this unit and now. The discrepancy is that my students then could read, and if they couldn’t, they sure had me fooled. As I stood at the front of the classroom with my copy of the article in my hand and …
This week I started teaching my anti-bullying unit. It’s one that I developed after going to a professional development, and because it is mine- and a topic that is close to my heart- I love teaching this unit. I wanted to find a way to incorporate our informational text in with a novel study, and …
Students tend to learn best from one another. Having a student reciprocate a lesson to another student can be more effective than having a teacher go over a lesson. Moving them out of nice neat rows and placing them in a circle with the intention of discussion can breathe life into your classroom. Because of …
Twice this past week I have seen (and sent to myself to reread) articles regarding the use of balanced literacy or the science of reading in teaching students to read. As an ELA teacher with students who struggle to read and a grandmother of a Kindergartener who is struggling to read, I can sympathize with …
The literacy specialist who visits our school and district shared with us an article title, “Every Child, Every Day,” that talks about the six things that every student should experience in the ELA classroom every day. She stated that we should strive to have students do those things in our classroom each day. I sat …
It happens. You have the fabulous lesson, and you start to teach, and then something happens and a disruption breaks out. It’s bound to happen when you have 23 students in a room, and 15 of them have learning disabilities or behavior issues. You’re going to expect that to happen. You redirect, move closer to …