How to teach vocabulary with Kevin Henkes books! They are also perfect for author studies and reading comprehension activities. Why do students love listening to and reading picture books like Sheila Rae, the Brave? Because the characters are endearing and relatable. They are direct reflections of Kevin’s own childhood experiences and also tap into the … Read more
This is a Patricia Polacco author study for grades 2-4. You will love teaching with picture books and studying the memoir genre. Many teachers use novel studies in their classrooms. They provide a week or two of continuity, allow us to go in-depth with our students and exposes children to literary works they might otherwise not ever … Read more
Author studies activities for Eric Carle, Patricia Polacco and Kevin Henkes books. Perfect for grades 2-4 and correlate to the Common Core. One of the goals in this type of study is for students to make connections between the book, the author’s life, and their own experiences. A really great unit will provide students with … Read more
DIBELS testing explained! How reading fluency passages evaluate and drive instruction and indicate a need for academic interventions. DIBELS was developed by Dr. Roland Good from the Dynamic Measurement Group. It is a standardized, individually administered measure of early literacy development that is given 3 times (Benchmark Periods) throughout the academic year. Progress monitoring is used … Read more
Using color to improve reading comprehension is not a new strategy, but why does it actually work? And are there best practices in teaching reading that teachers can apply by using colors? Every year there is at least one student, often more, that just seem to have more difficulties than the other children with tracking, … Read more
These are my four favorite reading intervention strategies when a child is struggling with fluency. In reality, they are excellent best practices that are perfect for Tier 1: great classroom instruction. Reading comprehension and fluency strategies can be used both in small group and whole class on a regular, systematic basis. These are considered … Read more
Powerful reading interventions that are both research and results based will grow your students (if you choose the right medicine for the illness). Interventions happen when data is analyzed from either a universal screener or progress monitoring. If the data shows a consistent lack of growth in an academic content area, under state and … Read more
Cinderella stories are exciting for students of all ages. This teaching unit is well-designed, uses cultural variants of the Cinderella story, and is kid tested for fun (and teacher approved!). These stories provide an opportunity to go in-depth with cultural literacy, which is a standard for my grade level (second). But what does that mean? … Read more
What are the characteristics of fairy tales and how can teachers use them in the classroom? Here is a detailed explanation plus a terrific unit on teaching tales from around the world. Fairy tales have been around for thousands of years, beginning with oral traditions. These fictional stories come from all cultures and many have … Read more
You will be amazed at how much your students will love Reading Karate! This is a great solution for motivating readers at all levels while improving fluency and comprehension. There are very good reasons why Reading Karate has sold over 3000 copies: teachers know it works. I promise you that it is so easy, you … Read more
Get ready for reading comprehension exercises with Reading Karate! Your students will chop through books at their level to become a Black Belt reader. Motivation to read is a key issue for struggling readers: these kids need a reason to read, one that THEY feel is worthy. Sometimes the simplest of rewards can be the … Read more
Are you looking for some new ways to teach main idea? These activities make it easier and engaging for your kids. Here’s an super easy one for you: try using pictures to describe the main idea! It’s not always obvious to students what the point of a text is. So many of them get … Read more
Teaching main idea? Here’s a sure-fire lesson and video your students will love! There’s also a framework and worksheets for teaching this essential skill from the ground up. Getting the main idea of a story or text is often a terribly difficult skill for students. So be ready to spend some time (a long time … Read more
Instantly start using these reading comprehension worksheets in your classroom – main idea worksheets, compare and contrast, summary charts…and more. Our lessons should be designed to increase reading comprehension. The type of literacy questioning has drastically changed with what we know about teaching reading in the 21st century. Even so, teachers know that we simply … Read more
Short stories to read online – child safe sites you can allow your students to surf through on their tablets and computers. Research shows that listening to stories is a critical component to improving fluency and comprehension. Many children come to our classrooms without early learning experiences that come with “lap time” – parents who … Read more
Teaching reading strategies through intensive questioning not only develops meta-cognition, it grows students faster than traditional worksheets and low-level question/answer types of discussions. Teachers at all grade levels know that they should be using comprehensive, evidence-based Tier 1 reading lessons with their students. Even if you work with 5 year olds, we ought to be … Read more
High level questions and guided reading strategies that develop meta-cognition – teach students to think deeply about the text. Do you remember being in the Red Birds or Blue Birds reading groups? I sure do (I know, I am showing my age). I was one of those kids who was lucky enough to be in … Read more
Guided reading lessons are one of the most effective classroom strategies for teaching reading. All areas of fluency and comprehension can be developed in these small groups. Why should we care so much about how we teach reading? Statistics show that states can predict how many prison beds they will need in the future by … Read more
Four free reading comprehension activities that work – you won’t believe how much fun these lessons are. Who knew that making a salad would be a way to teach reading strategies! Getting children to become fluent readers includes being able to use metacognition to make sense of the text. These awesome strategies are fun, engage … Read more
4 reading comprehension activities that must be part of daily lesson plans. These double up as interventions as well as boosting ESL literacy skills. Well-developed instructional activities scaffold support for readers before, during and after the lesson. Teachers start with a framework to help students understand the purpose for reading a text. During the lesson … Read more
Actively teaching reading comprehension strategies is a not an easy task. These five activities take students deeper into Bloom’s Taxonomy as part of a balanced literacy program. These activities also support teaching fluency in reading. Fluency isn’t just about being able to sound out the words: it is about prosody and comprehension too. The lessons … Read more
What is reading comprehension and what makes it so hard? These literacy strategies and tips are guaranteed to reach all types of learners. Developing a deep understanding of the text (thoughtful literacy) is the ultimate goal of reading. It can seem overwhelming at times though because there are so many steps along the path to … Read more
Reading fluency activities must be done on a daily basis. Becoming a fluent reader means you can decode quickly, use prosody and have strategies for improving comprehension. Within a literacy framework, there are best teaching practices that are implemented which are good for all kids, or Tier 1 RTI. These strategies include fluency work as … Read more
Research shows that using elementary poetry as part of a balanced literacy approach can produce significant gains in reading. Here are tips and lesson plans that work! Ready to get kids reading? Reading poetry aloud has been shown to make significant gains in students’ oral reading fluency. Also, discussing the meaning of a text (poems) … Read more
These sound differentiation games are really fun. Both my students and my youngest child enjoy playing them, and they don’t even realize they are learning because it feels like playtime! A phoneme is a unit of sound, and is a foundation for phonics instruction. Phonemic awareness is auditory – it is the ability to hear … Read more