Thursday, December 31, 2015

My Favorite 2015 Posts

Yesterday I shared the reader favorites of 2015.  Today I thought I'd highlight my favorite posts of 2015.  Here are a ten posts you might have missed:

Growing Independent Learning Time with Our Youngest Readers:  How do we grow the amount of time our youngest readers are able to sustain independent reading?   This post discusses some ways we can work to grow this time for primary readers.

Close Reading with Primary Children:  I always catch my breath a bit when someone says "close reading with primary children."  I'm continually wrestling with whether this is an appropriate practice for our youngest of readers who still need to feel the words singing in their ears.  I'm continually wrestling with how much we slow reading down for those who are still trying to make figure out print.  We have to be careful with our youngest readers who are still finding their way into the world of literacy.  What do these readers need to know about reading closely?  What does it look like for our youngest readers?

Shared Reading in the First Days and ALWAYS:  Sometimes in our busy teaching worlds, we can overlook the power of shared experience.  Shared reading still has much possibility and provides new opportunities for supporting readers.

Reader's Workshop:  Listening for the Gems:  Ever start a lesson and you weren't really sure where you were going exactly?  Ever think, I want students to know this --- but what is the language we need?  When this happens, I like to throw things out to the students who seem to continually come through with the gems that help us to continue to move forward.

Intervention and Classroom Instruction:  Side by Side:  Supporting readers in their classrooms has opened new doors for students, but it also comes with many new questions.  What does working side by side in classrooms with students who need intervention look like?  What works?  What do we need to remember?

Keep It Moving:  Moving around our classroom during learning times is essential.  This post talks about the benefits of teachers moving to students instead of having students come to them.

Before They Arrive:  This post might be worth a reread as we come back from a break.  What are the things we need to think about --- and maybe rethink about --- to set up strong learning environments?

Digital Tools:  New Possibilities for Assessment:  How has assessment changed because of digital tools?

Have a Core of Apps:  Getting started with technology?  Choose a "core" of apps to help take those first steps.

Keeping Small Group Notes in Evernote:  I'm still working through the challenge of keeping small group notes in Evernote.  Here's one way I've discovered to keep track of small group instruction.

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