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Category: reading workshop
Reading & Writing Connections: Getting to Know a Character on the Outside and the Inside
"Writers," Ali said as she leaned in close to teach her second graders, "I've got an important tip for you about your realistic fiction characters. You've done such a great job describing what they are like on the outside. You've shown us what they look like, how they move, how they talk...even in some cases, how they smell,… Continue reading Reading & Writing Connections: Getting to Know a Character on the Outside and the Inside
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Writing about reading: offering students choice in reading responses
When I first began teaching, Nancie Atwell’s In The Middle was my go to PD book for all things to do with reading and writing workshop. I modeled so many of my teaching practices on what I learned through that book and through a few workshops with Nancie. More than anything else, I wanted to… Continue reading Writing about reading: offering students choice in reading responses
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Investing in Reading Lives {Nerdy Book Club Guest Post}
I'm so excited to be guest posting at The Nerdy Book Club today. Here's the start and then head over there to read the rest. "Mom, I've decided to start a reading club,” Sam, age 7, soon to be a second grader, declared. It’s 6:23 am and he’s standing beside me in Ninjago jammies, sticking… Continue reading Investing in Reading Lives {Nerdy Book Club Guest Post}
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Digital Text Bins
I learned about digital text bins when I took Maggie Beattie Roberts’s session “Tap the Power of Technology and Media to Teach Higher Level Comprehension” at this past summer’s Reading Institute. Now that the leaves are changing color, it means that it’s time to start thinking about nonfiction reading in many classrooms. (Yes, I know… Continue reading Digital Text Bins
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Fall Into Books with Your Students This Fall
Up until last week, if you had asked me what book I'd recommend you read to your students to get them excited about Reading Workshop (Yes, Reading Workshop. I know, I know, this is a blog about Writing Workshop, but sometimes we have to write about reading!), I'd suggest Wolf by Becky Bloom. Sure there… Continue reading Fall Into Books with Your Students This Fall
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New York Times Article about Reading Workshop
Mindy Hoffar, leader of the All-Write Consortium, sent this article to coaches. The article opens a discussion of teaching according to the reading workshop philosophy versus the "canon" of assigned texts. Although, perhaps the most interesting part is reading through a few of the comments at the end. Take a few minutes to read "A New… Continue reading New York Times Article about Reading Workshop
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My Life as a Reader.
The first unit of study is coming to a close. The summative assessment is two part. First, students are to create a multimedia presentation (text + image + audio) of their past, present, and future reading lives. (Part two is an on-demand writing, where they summarize their learning about reading + a reflection of this… Continue reading My Life as a Reader.
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NCTE: Reading Assessment.
While at NCTE, I listened to Patrick Allen, Franki Sibberson, and colleagues discuss reading assessment. Here are some highlights: One assessment isn't better than another and none can stand alone. We need a variety. Look at the routines of reading workshop and figure out how to assess those routines. I should ask myself: What does… Continue reading NCTE: Reading Assessment.
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Sundays are for chart-making.
Prompts for Writing About Reading Originally uploaded by teachergal I've been cranking-out charts for the past hour or so: News & Announcements Charts, as well as strategy charts. Just thought I'd post a few of the strategy charts, for reading and writing, in this forum. Make sure you click through to the Flickr Pages (just… Continue reading Sundays are for chart-making.
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I Can…
As promised, I'm going to be blogging about a variety of sessions I attended at NCTE this past weekend. Some sessions dealt with the teaching of writing, while others dealt with 21st Century Literacy, Reading Workshop, and parent engagement. Yesterday morning I woke up early to attend "Assessment in the Reading Workshop," which was hosted… Continue reading I Can…
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Article About Characters Who Write
I just received the September 2008 Issue of The Reading Teacher. It's already accumulating sticky notes, tabs, and dog-ears since it's packed with a wealth of information. There's an article I highly suggest you read entitled "'To Be a Writer' Representations of Writers in Recent Children's Novels." Here's the abstract, which I took from the… Continue reading Article About Characters Who Write
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 