What learning ideas have you packed away for summer reflection? With her 4th graders almost out the door, Mary Tarashuk is organizing her literacy notes and resources for a soon to be purchased hope chest, with plans to further evolve her writing workshop skills this fall.
In his latest book, Super Spellers Starter Sets, Mark Weakland provides a classroom resource to support the principles he presented in 2017’s Super Spellers – that spelling should not simply be a list of words to know for a test but a learned skill essential to literacy.
Mike Schmoker dispels many myths that guide American education, says teacher leader Jennifer Peters, proposing instead a manageable, research-backed solution for educators to revolutionize their teaching and infuse literacy. She’s bought a copy for all her colleagues.
Teacher educator Sean Ruday hopes students will take ownership of ELA concepts like “inference” or “sensory language” if they can make meaningful connections between “school talk” and aspects of their out-of-school lives. He shares examples from his own research.
Responsive Literacy’s 400 pages are well worth the read, writes Linda Biondi. Each of the contributing teacher educators present a theoretical framework and practical tools to apply in the classroom and guidance on how to help young students develop a love of literacy. Five stars.
Responding to the current dust-up on leveling books, literacy consultant Patty McGee explores a few common questions about cultivating a responsive class library and shares some great ways to immerse your students in a “bookstore” experience, as both customers and staff!
Grading student writing in the traditional manner takes too much time and yields too little learning. Literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo offers three better ways to give students effective feedback – with all the tips and how-to teachers need to make the switch. Act now. Save your weekends.
With commitment and hard work, school librarians can become indispensable to school success, writes Judi Moreillon. Through their support for community building, PD, inquiry learning, digital resources and more, librarians can be a vital part of leadership teams.
The practical format of Regie Routman’s Literacy Essentials makes reading this robust, idea-packed book a pleasure. Its many examples, pictures, anchor charts, lesson plans, and lists make the advice easy to access and implement, writes improvement specialist Deana Jones.
The Literacy Quick Guide by popular experts Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell is a good planning resource for the busy teacher who does not have much time to read lengthy explanations and theory. Teacher Stacy Thorpe provides a detailed overview of the PreK-8 resource.
