It has been a few weeks, and I have to admit that my copy of Reality Checks arrived almost 2 weeks ago (shame on me, I know). Things have been quite busy at school. My little first graders are busy preparing for their play, A Year with Frog and Toad. We perform on May 4th and we need lots of practice! They are actually doing pretty great considering the number of times they have been able to practice together. There is something so magical and adorable about watching 6 and 7 year olds sing and act. We have also been busy preparing for Mother's Day.
Additionally, I have been reading the book Comprehension Connections by Tanny McGregor. If you have not picked up this book yet, you should. What a great read it has been! The book is fitting for grades K-6. In this book Tanny provides ideas for introducing comprehension strategies in concrete ways. She offers lessons for the 6 key areas of comprehension, schema, inferring, visualizing, determining importance, questioning, and synthesizing. Beyond the concrete introductory lesson, Tanny goes on to offer sensory experiences for students through art and music to help them further grasp these concepts.
I've been lucky enough to also take her webinar for this book. It has been great. There is something fantastic about being able to hear an author speak from the comfort of my pajama pants and my couch. Beyond the comfort, the conversations have been great. A chat room is provided to communicate with other participants and the author as well. She even provides time to "turn and talk" with one another about the strategies, our thoughts, and questions. My favorite component so far has been how Tanny expands what she has written in the book. She has provided us with new methods she has learned since writing the book, provided insight into what has worked best, and given examples of forms she has used. I would highly recommend this webinar to anyone who is wanting to read the text or has read it previously. It really has something for everyone.
Between the craziness at school and reading and preparing for the weekly webinars I have not had the opportunity to dive deep into Reality Checks. I just completed reading Comprehension Connections this week and plan on using the weekend to begin reading Tony Steads book. Just glancing through the table of contents and scanning the sections I am getting excited for what this book has to offer. With Common Core bringing forth the importance of using nonfiction on a regular basis in the classroom, I feel this book will be a great guide. These is a specific section on using nonfiction in guided reading. This chapter, in particualr, appeals to me. Currently, in my guided reading groups I am attempting to read a minimum of one nonfiction book a week. It's been going well, but I feel like my conversations could be deeper and more focused.
I'm off to get started, Happy Reading!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Book Number One
A few weeks ago I traveled down to NYC for the Teacher's College 82nd Saturday Reunion. I had the opportunity to take a session on Nonfiction Writing Minilessons with a staff developer named Sarah. It was a fantastic session and really had me thinking about how to better craft my minilessons to be sure they are focused and beneficial to my students.
Sarah shared with us a blog that she has, Read Write Play. It was reading her blog post on "Making Text Sets, Reading Across Genres, and Compare and Contrast Skills in Reading Workshop " where I learned of the book Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Nonfiction K-5 by Tony Stead.
I was drawn to this book by the example that Sarah shared from her teaching. A colleague and I had just given a whole group lesson using the RAN chart(she had learned of it at the conference as well). It had me wanting to read more. Unfortunately, Barnes and Nobel doesn't have the book in stores and I need to order online. I've ordered the book and plan to have it within the next two weeks. I'll update once it is in hand and make a plan to read and discuss! I hope that you are able to get a copy of the book during this time and join me as I read and discuss!
Sarah shared with us a blog that she has, Read Write Play. It was reading her blog post on "Making Text Sets, Reading Across Genres, and Compare and Contrast Skills in Reading Workshop " where I learned of the book Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Nonfiction K-5 by Tony Stead.
I was drawn to this book by the example that Sarah shared from her teaching. A colleague and I had just given a whole group lesson using the RAN chart(she had learned of it at the conference as well). It had me wanting to read more. Unfortunately, Barnes and Nobel doesn't have the book in stores and I need to order online. I've ordered the book and plan to have it within the next two weeks. I'll update once it is in hand and make a plan to read and discuss! I hope that you are able to get a copy of the book during this time and join me as I read and discuss!
How it Works
In the past few months I have been feeling that I really want an outlet where I can meet with fellow teachers and discuss the world of literacy and teaching. I enjoy reading new books in the field. I have had the opportunity in the past few months to work with colleagues through offering some professional development opportunities as well as patricipating in my own professional development. Through each of these opportunities I found myself wanting or enjoying the opportunity to share and discuss with colleagues.
Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar with author Tanny McGregor. She is the author of Comprehension Connections. Today was day 1 of the webinar and at the end of this first session I, again, found myself reflecting on how great it was to have time to share with fellow teachers.
I've spent the past few weeks wondering how to scratch this itch I have to share and talk more with others. Today I decided that this blog might be the solution. My hope is that through this blog teachers can come together to share their thoughts and experiences within the field and discuss new and old books that are pivitol during this exciting time in education.
When I think to books I'd like to read I find myself always going back to books that revolve around literacy or that can be used with children during read-alouds or explicit instruction. However, I want this site to be one where we all have a voice and can read what interests us. If you have a book selection please leave it in a comment or email and I will place it on the "Future Reads" list. We'll take it one book at a time!
Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar with author Tanny McGregor. She is the author of Comprehension Connections. Today was day 1 of the webinar and at the end of this first session I, again, found myself reflecting on how great it was to have time to share with fellow teachers.
I've spent the past few weeks wondering how to scratch this itch I have to share and talk more with others. Today I decided that this blog might be the solution. My hope is that through this blog teachers can come together to share their thoughts and experiences within the field and discuss new and old books that are pivitol during this exciting time in education.
When I think to books I'd like to read I find myself always going back to books that revolve around literacy or that can be used with children during read-alouds or explicit instruction. However, I want this site to be one where we all have a voice and can read what interests us. If you have a book selection please leave it in a comment or email and I will place it on the "Future Reads" list. We'll take it one book at a time!
Welcome!
Welcome!! If you have read the "About Me" section of this blog then you will know much of this information. However, in order to start things off I wanted to give a bit of background as to how I came to blogging. I am a teacher in upstate New York. I've lived in this area for almost 8 years. During this time I have graduated with my masters in Childhood Education and Literacy Education Birth to Grade 6.
Upon graduation I accepted a job as a teaching assistant in a local school district. I worked with a team of three fantastic and experienced teachers. My main job was to assist with the instruction due to large class sizes. This was a fantastic opportunity to get my foot in the door.
The following school year I accepted a position in a neighboring district as a reading specialist I spent 4 years in this position. I worked primarily with K and 1 students and teachers, but also spent a year working with 5th grade. It was my first year in this district that I realized my passion and love for literacy education. Throughout the next three years my passion and joy for teaching reading continued.
Through my teaching experience, I found that my true dream is to work as a literacy coach. In order to prepare myself for this new role, I decided to leave the reading teacher role (crazy right?) to become a classroom teacher. I strongly believe that in order to coach other teachers on their reading instruction, I need to have the classroom experience to support my work. So, last year I resigned from my position in reading and moved to the classroom next door to teach first grade.
It has been a wonderful year of growth for me and I look forward to the years to come. It has been quite an experience being in the classroom this year. It was a trying few months as I acclimated to this new position. It was not the easy, carefree, transition I expected! However, as the year went by I became more and more comfortable in the classroom. I am looking forward to year two when I can take all I have learned as a first year teacher and apply it to a new year.
This is one of the things I love about teaching. The idea that you can constantly learn something new and grow each day through reading and self reflections. This new learning can be applied the next day, next month or next year. Please join me on a journey to continue this growth with reading and conversation!
Grab a cup of tea, the current book, and share!
Upon graduation I accepted a job as a teaching assistant in a local school district. I worked with a team of three fantastic and experienced teachers. My main job was to assist with the instruction due to large class sizes. This was a fantastic opportunity to get my foot in the door.
The following school year I accepted a position in a neighboring district as a reading specialist I spent 4 years in this position. I worked primarily with K and 1 students and teachers, but also spent a year working with 5th grade. It was my first year in this district that I realized my passion and love for literacy education. Throughout the next three years my passion and joy for teaching reading continued.
Through my teaching experience, I found that my true dream is to work as a literacy coach. In order to prepare myself for this new role, I decided to leave the reading teacher role (crazy right?) to become a classroom teacher. I strongly believe that in order to coach other teachers on their reading instruction, I need to have the classroom experience to support my work. So, last year I resigned from my position in reading and moved to the classroom next door to teach first grade.
It has been a wonderful year of growth for me and I look forward to the years to come. It has been quite an experience being in the classroom this year. It was a trying few months as I acclimated to this new position. It was not the easy, carefree, transition I expected! However, as the year went by I became more and more comfortable in the classroom. I am looking forward to year two when I can take all I have learned as a first year teacher and apply it to a new year.
This is one of the things I love about teaching. The idea that you can constantly learn something new and grow each day through reading and self reflections. This new learning can be applied the next day, next month or next year. Please join me on a journey to continue this growth with reading and conversation!
Grab a cup of tea, the current book, and share!
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