Building Good Readers

Autonomy in K-3 Literacy Learning

Something that I’ve learned in my time as an educator is the power of providing students with choices. Choice to explore their learning, choice to figure things out on their own, choice to learn new things in a variety of ways. Literacy skills are the foundation of learning, and something that educators should get excited …

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10 Ways to Explode Your Students’ Excitement for Reading!

How do you get kids excited about books? Over my 25 years of teaching, I’ve discovered many ways to spark excitement. Here are 10 to get you started: 1. Start an After-School Book Club Invite a guest reader from the community to kick off the meetings. After the read-aloud, the kids spread out to read …

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12 Simple Tips for Helping Your Child Become a Better Reader

Check out these 12 simple tips from Dr. Andrew Johnson to help your child become a better reader! Read to your child Expose your child to words Use pretend reading Expose to rhymes, rhyming books, nursery rhymes, poetry, music Reread the same book Read bedtime stories Have books laying around Make regular trips to the …

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Let’s Leverage The Fun To Connect Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing!

The young students frantically waved their hands high in the air. They couldn’t wait to run to the front of the gym and participate in a game I call, “5 in Ten!”. I recently spoke with hundreds of students in different settings (urban, rural, and suburban) and they all enjoyed “5 in 10’!”. The gist …

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Reading to Reach the Stars

We want our kids to reach for the stars, dream big, think for themselves and grow up with a life and career that they happily built. But how when the winding path to achieve such goals involves so many variables and, sometimes, challenges that may be out of our control? Well, there is a way, …

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Enjoying Nonfiction

Embracing Nonfiction

The typical image of a child reading includes a comfortable chair, plenty of light to read by, and a colorful book with a riveting tale. If you are looking for a great story for children, the New York Public Library has a list of 100 classic books for children. Or maybe you want to look …

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Data improves Education

How Data Improves Education

Much of our current educational system maintains the late 19th- and early 20th-century methods that build it. At that time, students learned the basics, preparing them for urban life which translated into a job in a factory. The industrial model became more efficient by standardization, which then emerged in the schools. Better students became better …

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