I wish I could say we don’t spend any of our instructional time on ELA test prep. I wish I could say that the tests were straightforward and gave me quality data to help make instructional decisions about my kids’ learning track. I wish I could say that the tests were painless and worthwhile. I wish I could say that they were fair, developmentally appropriate, and measured my kids’ knowledge fairly. I wish I could
I’m continuing to look at ways to improve my students’ reading fluency using The Fluent Reader by Tim Rasinski. In this post, I explore building reading fluency through read alouds. You can also read my post on building fluency through supported reading and an introduction to The Fluent Reader. As with nearly everything in teaching students, fluency should be taught and practiced following a gradual release model. (Note: Links in this post are affiliate links)
I’ve always believed fluency is an important, and often overlooked, area of reading. I’ve read quite a bit about fluency over the last few years, have heard Dr. Tim Rasinski speak quite a few times, and even had him give me feedback on something I created (more on that later). If you’re not familiar with Dr. Tim Rasinski, he is known as a reading researcher with a focus on reading fluency. I’ve had as a
Every few years you get a group of kids that help you become a better teacher, and this year is that group for me. They need a lot of positive reinforcement and are high energy. My engagement strategy toolbox has increased as I’ve tried out new methods to keep them interested in our lessons and our learning. They’ve already made tremendous gains and I’ve seen some critical shifts in their thought processes about school, learning,
I’m delighted to have Mercedes from Surfing to Success here today sharing a FANTASTIC post on Success Criteria. You want to read this one through! We all set clear objectives but do students know what it means to successfully meet those objectives? That is where success criteria come in. Traditionally, teachers are the keepers of success. We issue a grade that lets students know they were successful. How many times have you turned in
