Literacy: Reading, Writing & More...

Literacy


I adore teaching literacy and have found, as with most part of my teaching, that small groups and centers work well to keep students engaged while allowing me to better focus on their strengths and needs.

Reading


I use a modified Daily 5 program, so much so that I don't even call it Daily 5 anymore. I have tweaked it over the past six years to fit my own teaching style and the needs of my students, as well as accounting for my district requirements, scheduling, etc. So now it's just "Reader's Workshop" in my classroom, but I use Daily 5 on my blog so you can trace its progression over the years.

For all of my Daily 5 posts over the years, click HERE. I want to share some of the highlight reel below:


  • Keeping Kids Accountable in Word Work, Read to Self, etc. ~ HERE
  • My Teacher Time Bin ~ HERE
  • Student Reader's Workshop Folder ~ HERE
  • How I Launch our Permanent Word Work Centers ~ HERE
  • Student Plan for Reader's Workshop ~ HERE
  • Fast & Free Word Work Centers ~ HERE



Writing


I have been using Writing Groups for various writing units and really enjoying it!

Find PART 1, PART 2, and PART 3 to give you an idea of how these run in my classroom. This is not something I do all year long, but I do try to incorporate it when I feel my students need more small group instruction, or if I just want to mix things up in our class routine!

Some other highlights from my writing posts include:


  • Hamburger Plan for Paragraph Writing ~ HERE
  • Setting Up Our Writer's Notebooks ~ HERE
  • Editing Anchor Charts (ARMS & COPS) ~ HERE
  • Descriptive Writing with In November ~ HERE
  • Using Writing Prompts in Class ~ HERE


... And More


We still teach cursive (yay!) and have spelling, grammar, etc. lessons as a part of our curriculum, so I want to share some of my favorite posts to give you some ideas for your own classroom:


  • Fun & Free Typing Programs ~ HERE
  • Write the Room Handwriting Freebie ~ HERE


Happy teaching!