Literacy

We are moving into our last unit in writing: Social Issues. I am really excited about this unit as students love to share their opinions. They become extremely passionate about topics and participate in debates with other students on important matters. This unit is geared towards my students’ interests and strengths. I began by telling…

Testing has taken over my classroom! Not only do I feel like my legs will fall off any moment due to the amount of laps I have walked around the classroom during testing, but my kiddos are ready to explode with energy! As I was mentally to-do listing for four hours I realized the level…

The past two weeks my students have been preparing themselves for the End-Of-Grade (EOG) Test. My grade level decided to write out all the standards covered on the test for both Reading and Math. We then divided the standards amongst ourselves. We planned to teach a two hour block for reading and then for math…

Original Post: Feb 19th, 2013 Updated Post: June 3, 2013 My school decided to have a reading celebration day last week. Our administration put a sign-up sheet outside their office door for staff members to sign up for them to come read to the class. My former student teacher stopped by to read to the…

As a teacher, I try to maximize a learning experience by tying together multiple pieces in efforts to create a more comprehensive picture. One of the ways I recently did this was by signing up to attend a play based on a book, called “Freedom Train.” The book level is above my third graders’ reading…

Have you ever read the book Junebug by Alice Mead? Oh my goodness. I might have been more excited to start reading it than my own students! Tell me this wouldn’t have you hook, line, and sinker?: “Reeve McClain, Jr.—Junebug—has decided to skip his birthday. Since ten is the age when boys in the projects…

Help me welcome a dear family friend and talented educator as my very first guest author on Always A Lesson! STARRING Jenny Stone Schardt Hey there! My name is Jenny and I’m from Glen Allen, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond.  I’m currently a stay at home mom to Jack {6}, Charlie {4} and Lizzy {2} but prior…

I love the smell of new books! I also enjoy the sights and smells of being in a bookstore- so relaxing and full of possibility. A love of books has been a part of my life since I was a child. I fell in love with 2 series of books as a kid: Mr. Men …

As End-of-Grade testing scores were released, I was very pleased with my class’ performance in Math. However, I was a bit bummed in Reading. I decided to reflect on what I could have done better to prepare my students-and no, not test prep wise. Our school still utilizes a reading textbook organized by theme. Our district…

As the summer begins, I am brainstorming my next year’s AMAZING classroom components! haha One thing I know without a shadow of a doubt are the read-alouds I will be using with my class. I read many books to my class, but these two are my favorite novels I weave into each school year. They…