Read The World

I started my teaching career 20 years ago. At that time, a quiet classroom was considered a very well run, successful room with a competent teacher. My we have come a long way! Oral language is now a crucial aspect of literacy instruction. What Is Oral Language? Oral language sometimes called spoken language includes speaking and listening -the ways that humans use language to communicate with each other. Speaking and listening skills have now become common core state standards.  I have attached just the K standards for you to see that this oral language expectation begins in the first year of schooling. However, research explains that it is important for oral language to continue throughout all grade levels. Standards for K: Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about  kindergarten topics and texts  with peers and adults in small and larger groups. CCSS.ELA-LITER...

“Google is to students today what notebook paper was to children of generations past” (Education World) Google has completely revolutionized classrooms as we know it. In just five years, Google has risen to the forefront of America’s school classrooms and is now considered an “educational giant.” Today, approximately 50% of all schools, both public elementary and secondary, use Google Chromebooks and Google Docs to compose their homework assignments. In addition, more than 30 million school children use Chromebooks and Google’s Education apps. With all this data, how have schools been using Google? More specifically, how can schools use Google Classroom for literacy circles?  More Statistics: https://www.educationworld.com/a_news/how-google-has-changed-classroom-just-five-years-1365475664  

        Do you want to build fluency in students' speaking skills? Do you want to access student understanding in one-directional conference? ( Muhtaris & Ziemke, 2020).  If so, allow students to become involved with recording students' thinking using video tools. This is a fun and engaging way for students to respond to a plethora of ideas. Some examples of student response videos are learning project videos, response videos, reflection videos, and tutorial videos (Sears 2018). They can be very structured to open-ended. There are so many resources of technology now available to make this happen. Especially during the current state we are in with COVID-19, students are becoming much more equipped with technology. Remote learning has become the new norm for the time being, so why don't we allow students to show a snapshot of their thinking and learning in progress through video!    This video demonstrates how students use flipgrid (one of...

When I think of read-alouds, I picture a classroom of students cozied up on the carpet, surrounding the teacher who is enthusiastically reading a picture book. Reading, in this fashion, is primarily for entertainment of younger students. But, have you ever considered the importance of read-alouds and the other academic purposes they serve for our students? I never considered the significance of read-alouds and their deserving of being in every classroom until now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic changes to the education system, read-alouds have become even more crucial to online classrooms. Here are three main benefits of read-alouds and why teachers should consider incorporating them into their online lessons. 1. LITERACY MODEL Read-Alouds provide a literacy model for students, displaying the key components of reading. We know what our students need to learn. We can use this knowledge to make our read-alouds purposeful. Reading with prosody and acknowledg...

My First Thoughts on Shared Reading When I started my career in education seven years ago our literacy block was Reader's Workshop with Guided Reading. It was not until I started my sixth-year degree that I fully understood what the purpose of shared reading was and how effective it can be in your classroom. Being a Kindergarten teacher, I thought shared reading was only beneficial to the primary grades. I saw many teachers using big books and picture books, but boy was I wrong! I have learned that using poems, songs, commercials, and music videos can all be used effectively as a shared reading lesson.  What your students may think Shared Reading is? Telling about your favorite book Doing a book report/ project Sharing a book with a friend Discussing their favorite part in a book What is Shared Reading Actually Is? Shared reading is an instructional and interactive approach where the teacher models and teaches explicit skills that do not always have to be fluency. Shared reading is...

Technology has quickly changed the way people live and is changing the way people learn. Being such a large part of the world today, the internet and internet based devices grow everyday as a part of our lives so to remove this from the classroom would be counterproductive. With that being said there should still never be a free for all of technology use in the classroom. In the text "Read the World", authors Ziemke & Mutharis the speak about the the drive for innovation and the use of new tools as well as the anchor practices proven to work by teachers in traditional classrooms. The blend between the two is where the new style of learning will come from. Many classrooms and schools today have technology in every classroom in the forms of smart boards, desktop/laptop computers and smart phones. To go along with these physical pieces of technology are the software and programs that make them run and so students can use them as educational tools. As well as simply having th...

Student Engagement: How do we get students to WANT to participate? At the beginning of every new year, countless teachers spend time getting their classroom libraries organized just right, putting up new bulletin board paper, and gathering supplies that the students will need. While all of those things are important pieces to establishing an effective classroom, equally as important is spending time planning for how you will create a sense of community and therefore bolster student engagement and help students to  want to participate.           Creating a Classroom Community Creating a culture of community begins with establishing trust and providing children with opportunities to build relationships by discovering common interests. At the beginning of the year, I like to use a fishbowl technique. You seat the students in two circles, an inside circle and an outside circle where the inside circle is sitting facing a partner...