I, like many educators, cannot believe how quickly summer passes! Nevertheless, back-to-school time is here, and many teachers are putting the final touches on their classrooms for this year. I thought it might be helpful to answer a question we received on Facebook a few weeks back about classroom library and book organization. Corey asked, […]
Sound boxes can be powerful tools for helping students learn how to hear and record sounds in words. Using them can lead to greater independence in writing and improve students’ ability to use phonics and decoding strategies when reading. In this Teaching Tip Video, I discuss using sound boxes during guided writing. You can also download […]
I hope you’ll check out my latest Teaching Tip Video below! This time, I’m sharing methods for using sound boxes to help students learn how words work. You’ll see me using useful tools like the ABC Chart/Sound Box Cards, Plastic Write-On Sleeves, and vowel strip bookmarks. All of these helpful tools and more can be found on the Pioneer Valley Books website!
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed my last video tip about when to encourage students to use their reading finger and when to have them stop. In this next Video Teaching Tip, I’m sharing my thoughts about students who have difficulty tracking and the best ways to support them. Eagle-eyed viewers may wish to follow along with my […]
This month, I’m sharing tips via video! How can you get students to use one-to-one matching? Check out the video below for concrete advice about helping readers at levels A, B, C, and beyond. I also discuss when students should use their reading finger and when they should put it away. Interested in getting a closer […]
Do you have students in your classroom who are not easily discouraged and pick themselves up and try again even when something is hard? It’s great working with these students. But what about the other kind of students, the ones that can’t seem to stick with anything and are easily discouraged? I recently finished reading […]
Students love seeing their own names in print, and that’s one reason that I love creating stories for BookBuilder Online. It’s simple to add names, print out the book, and assemble the story for classroom or home use. To celebrate the beginning of spring (even if it’s still winter where you are), here are two great FREE seasonal […]
Learning to compare and contrast different ideas deepens students’ understanding of what they read. How should you begin? Have students think of a question that compares and contrasts concepts, characters, or story elements. This can work for both fiction and nonfiction books. You can introduce this during a whole-class read aloud. You might ask students […]
One of the most important things for an emergent reader to learn is to check that what they read makes sense, looks right, and sounds right. This is called self-monitoring. Often the teacher does the monitoring for the student, but it is critical that students learn to check themselves. One of the first ways that […]
In my last post, I shared a video of educator, Amy Ferris, sharing about the data-driven teaching methods she is implementing at her kindergarten-only school in Richmond, Kentucky. My next data story comes from Julie Allsworth. Julie is a former literacy coach in Pinellas County, Florida, and also a Pioneer Valley Books consultant. She is currently working on […]