One year a parent walked into my second grade classroom upset that her daughter had not yet been chosen to go to the principal’s office with a positive note for a reward. I was confused and felt really badly about it. Her daughter was a super sweet girl and I was sure that I had chosen her for this reward…. View Post
Using science of reading manipulatives can bring a big boost to your teaching and to students and their learning. It can help take the abstract and help make it more concrete and physical, especially for developing readers! And a nice bonus- they make activities more engaging! This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon for your convenience. As an Amazon… View Post
Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Or so the saying goes! But teamwork is really key for reading teachers and classroom teachers. Students will benefit so much more if there is teamwork and it just makes our jobs more enjoyable! But how do we make this teamwork happen? We have 5 tips to make it easier and flow just a… View Post
So you are thinking you may want to leave the classroom and become a reading teacher. But maybe you aren’t completely sure yet. The classroom IS different than a reading specialist’s room is several ways. When I moved from the classroom to become our school’s reading teacher, I was excited. I loved the classroom, but I also really loved teaching… View Post
We all know the saying…there’s no tired like teacher tired. But after several difficult and trying years, it is time for teachers to be serious about taking time to relax, refresh and recharge this summer! You need it and you deserve it. We have 5 actionable, but easy tips to help you get back to you this summer! Take a… View Post
To strengthen phonics skills, we need to build a foundation in phonological awareness. One key way to do this is to target the sounds you are focusing on with your students. For example, if a group of students are working on vowel teams, then we are going to go phonemic awareness activities helping them to target those particular sounds. Just… View Post
Building reading stamina is to be able to sustain being engaged in reading texts for increasing amounts of time without becoming distracted and without becoming a distraction to others. In a shorter way of defining it, can your students enjoy reading for increasing amounts of time? We all have the goal of building reading stamina in our students, but what… View Post
