Why I Read and Write

Why I Read and Write

I have a bad day. I read. I have a great day. I read. And everywhere in between… I read. If I can have a opportunity to encourage reading I will take it! Stories have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I loved how stories could take me to a...
Work at Play

Work at Play

Here is a great website: http://ht.ly/9A5ww Currently you will find a study on this website that now gives us evidence for something most of us already knew anyway. Playing with your young children will pay off in future years. This study focused on toddlers and the...
Early Readers

Early Readers

Recently I read that the National Association for the Education of Young Children presented a report that two thirds of kindergarten teachers say that students are coming to school without the basics of knowing letters among other concepts....
Do You Hear Voices?

Do You Hear Voices?

Well, hopefully you hear just one and it is while you are reading.  While we read as adults, we hear ourselves reading aloud, inside of our heads.  This is something I never really thought about or talked about before it came up in a graduate class last year.  It is...
The Reading Race

The Reading Race

Recently I have come across an interesting by product of reading instruction in our schools and it has given me some new perspectives.  This year I have given a reading assessment to about 50 middle school students over the past couple months.  This involves...
A Case for Repeated Readings

A Case for Repeated Readings

Many young children who are being read to, prefer to read the same book over and over again.  If you are not living this out right now, you most likely remember how you were on your umpteenth reading of George and Martha, (or something of the like) and you would give...
Go Check Them Out!

Go Check Them Out!

I thought I would sing the praises of my local libraries again. Libraries provide our children with so many different choices that build motivation to read. I would dare any child to walk into a library and NOT want to walk out with a book. IMPOSSIBLE, I tell you!...
Books that Educate

Books that Educate

Sometimes there is nothing better than reading for fun. Good ol’ fluffy reading. For my girls that would be Junie B. Jones or Ramona books. They can easily identify with and connect to the character and we have some good laughs together with these books. There are...
Easy Does It!

Easy Does It!

Here is a question for you. What level of text is best for students to read for getting better at reading? Here are your choices: text that is challenging, text that is comfortable and easy, or text that is somewhere in between. The answer is comfortable, easy text....
Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day everyone! After a year of taking classes full-time, I am back to work this year as a reading specialist. I have gotten to know many different suburban school demographics this past year due to working with other teachers in my classes and then, more...