Writing is hard...

Writing is hard! Teaching writing is even harder. The more we admit that to ourselves and our students, the more we can celebrate the accomplishment of doing it well. Check out what Colleen Cruz, one of my favorite authors, has to say about it:

http://www.heinemann.com/blog/cruz-writingishard-webinar/

Over the summer, I had the chance to read The Unstoppable Writing Teacher by Colleen Cruz. This book is a great resource and is written in a very usable, problem/solution style. It lends itself well to being a reference book, not a book you have to read cover to cover. It includes suggestions for what to do when you encounter writers whose writing is so amazing you're not sure how to help them, when you encounter writing that bores you to tears (we've all been there!), and many other scenarios writing teachers encounter every day. If you're interested in checking out Colleen's book, I have it in the professional library in my room, feel free to come down and borrow it.

Photo Tour

Welcome to the 2017-18 school year! After reading the results of the reading intervention survey from the end of last year I made some "upgrades" (as Caleb would say) to the reading intervention room. I know this is a crazy time of year so I thought I'd give you a quick picture tour. Enjoy!

Book Swap

This area is where intervention kiddos can choose a book to take home to keep and read for fun. If they finish the book they are welcome to bring it back and choose a different book. The purpose of this area is to get more books into the hands of our struggling readers. This area is filled with high interest, easy readers. If you have a kiddo who might not have access to books at home (intervention kiddo or not), let me know and they are always welcome to come and pick a book or two out. 

Literacy News

This area is home to professional resources such as books, articles, and journals. Clipped to the board are copies of recent research or articles about best practice in teaching reading and writing. On the shelves are professional books grouped by topic. Some of the topics include: reading, writing, phonemic awareness & phonics, book to support 5D and struggling students. Also in this area are the latest copies of The Reading Teacher journal from the International Literacy Association. Again, these resources are here for you to use. Please feel free to come peruse and borrow!

Read Aloud Bookcase

As I mentioned in an earlier email, this is a space for the newest and greatest read alouds. I have been hard at work unearthing some of the newest books that are great read alouds for K-3. I will try to highlight one each week, but if you're ever wanting a read aloud come down and check it out! There are lots of great titles here!

Mentor Texts and Other Great Books

Last but not least, Elephant, Gerald, Pigeon and Duckling hang out with the writing mentor texts (narrative, informational, how to, and opinion) and other great books.Along the top of the white bookcase are the writing mentor texts. These are additional texts to the ones listed in the units, but are great examples of each genre of writing. Feel free to borrow a few when you are starting a unit, need a mentor to help you with a teaching point, or just for fun. This area also houses the overflow from the read aloud bookcase and includes great picture book and chapter book read alouds, books that support STEAM and making, books about the joy of reading, and books that support reading comprehension strategies. 

I hope you enjoyed the tour. These resources are here for you to use. Please feel free to stop by any time! Also, if you're looking for a specific book, feel free to email me and see if I have it, I can always put it in your box.