Read The World

Incorporating Photography into Literacy  I know that my students love seeing their names all over my classroom and it makes them feel a part of our classroom family. So what better way to spice up writing than to add photos of students?  One of my absolute favorite projects to do with my students is called "The Best Part of Me". Photographer, Wendy Ewald, went into a third grade classroom and asked students what they lik ed about themselves. She photographed them and then asked them to write a poem to go with their photo. I have done this multiple times with students in first through fifth grade. I first read the book and then brainstorm with students parts of their body that they like. Students sometimes go beyond just body parts and say they like their heart or brain, one student even said her bones. I always find a creative way to photograph it, since I am so proud of the students' creativity. After we brainstorm a list as a class, I show them how to create a web using...

             Community Creating with Creative Writing             Creative writing is such a therapeutic learning activity not just for students but people in general. Throughout my college experience as an English major with a writing concentration I had the luxury of learning about so many peoples’ experiences and different perspectives on life. I also learned that often times people maybe needed to tell a story but were scared or embarrassed to share it. We did so many activities that had allowed those people to have that feeling of expression in a safe and secure atmosphere which led to baby steps of comfortability in sharing. It created a strong sense of community on its own that made the class environments feel so safe, secure, exciting and freeing. Every class room should have this feeling because of the level of productivity it can create. Creati...

Developing Empathy with Your Students Through Technology by Claire Levenson What is Empathy and Why is it Important for Students? Empathy is the ability to perceive and relate to the feelings of others. Helping young children to develop a substantial sense of empathy is beneficial for several reasons: it assists them in forming strong relationships with their peers, educators, and adult figures in their lives. Developing empathy also encourages student’s acceptance of others as well as leads to healthier mental states and the ability to advocate for one’s self more actively.  What are the Three Types of Empathy? Cognitive Empathy: “Simply knowing how the other person feels and what they might be thinking. Sometimes called perspective-taking.” – Daniel Goleman, psychologist. Emotional Empathy: “When you feel physically along with the other person, as though their emotions were contagious,” –Daniel Goleman Compassionate Empathy: “With this kind of empathy we not only understand a per...

Power of Perspective One of the most important jobs as a teacher is to create a community where students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. At the beginning of the year teachers take time to talk about the classroom dynamic and students roles in the classroom. They work on building a foundation of expectations and comfort between students. This foundation is built upon all year as students and teacher grow together. One way to strength this community is to make sure students have an understanding of empathy and compassion through different perspectives. While teaching we want students to absorb the content but we also need to teach them how to be kind and caring people. This way we maintain a healthy environment where we can be successful together "every day, whether nothing out of the ordinary happens or a tense situation arises." (Muhtaris & Ziemke, 2020) What is Perspective? Perspective is defined as our individual way of looking at things, even...

SmartBoards: How Do We Use Them to Enhance Literacy? I  clearly  remember the first time a SmartBoard appeared in my school. When I was in fifth grade, back on 2009, my elementary school had one SmartBoard in the whole school, and it was in the room where music was held. Flash forward 10 years from that, SmartBoards are in almost any classroom we walk into. SmartBoards have changed the way we can enhance literacy in our classroom through programs and websites.  What is a SmartBoard? A SmartBoard is an interactive whiteboard, which has replaced the standard whiteboard and overhead projector in many classrooms. Within the SmartBoard, it typically includes the interactive whiteboard, projector and software which is unique for the device. The SmartBoard was invented by two individuals, who's names are David Martin and Nancy Knowlton.  Surprisingly, the SmartBoard was invented in 1991, which was almost 30 years ago! The goal for the SmartBoard wa...

Balanced Literacy for Reading and Writing What is Balanced Literacy? Balanced literacy is comprised of many components and instructional methods. Each component or method leads to success in becoming a skilled reader. It is a balance between everything a teacher needs to focus on to access students' learning needs. Some of the components of balanced literacy require more teacher support while others require independent student work. A number of the balanced literacy components will be discussed throughout this blog. What is Balanced Literacy? Corwin Fisher & Frey Three MAJOR components: 1: I do - the teacher models for the students 2. WE do - the teacher supports learning as they practice together 3. YOU do - the children work independently on the skill READING Read Aloud   {I DO} The teacher reads aloud many genres for enjoyment.  During a read aloud, the teacher should be focusing on developing a positive reading ex...