Intervention teacher for striving readers, literacy coach, author Cohort 2 Goyen Foundation Literacy Fellow. Bird nerd and word nerd.
Spokane, WA
Joined May 2019
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Week 7 of #FishtankELA and I taught my first model lesson with the curriculum. We read an article about Afghanistan in preparation for reading "The Breadwinner." The class had several Muslim students, 2 from Afghan families. (1/5)
Week 6 of #FishtankELA. I observed our third graders starting their unit, "Rediscovering Thanksgiving." The unit explores the holiday from multiple perspectives, using grade-appropriate texts. Students started out learning basic facts about the English colonies. (1/4)
I couldn't help thinking, however, how these engaged students, excited to share about their cultures, are living in an America where the closing argument of one party in the midterm elections is Islamophobia. (4/5)
Week 6 of #FishtankELA. I observed our third graders starting their unit, "Rediscovering Thanksgiving." The unit explores the holiday from multiple perspectives, using grade-appropriate texts. Students started out learning basic facts about the English colonies. (1/4)
Week 5 of #FishtankELA and many grades are coming to the end of their first units. The fourth graders finished reading "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" and cheered. For many it was the first novel they'd ever read. (1/6)
Next week, our 2nd graders will visit a wildlife refuge, to experience forest habitats first hand. Their unit on habitats starts with learning about forests. They will learn about how energy flows through a habitat - something our students used to learn about in 5th grade. (3/4)
Today I chatted with a student wearing an ESPRIT sweatshirt that had the same multi-colored tote I had in the 80s.
My book, Reading Beyond the Basics, is on sale with an Amazon coupon until Oct. 19! Check it out if you want simple, research-backed ways to enhance your reading lessons for grades 2-6 - whether you have a reading program or not. (Link below).
One of the best prices I’ve seen:
Reading Beyond the Basics: Key Routines for Engaging, Research-Informed Instruction in Grades 2–6 (Practical methods for effective reading instruction) a.co/d/037wUmeE
Week 5 of #FishtankELA and many grades are coming to the end of their first units. The fourth graders finished reading "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" and cheered. For many it was the first novel they'd ever read. (1/6)
Week 4 of #FishtankELA is behind us, and one thing I've noticed as I support different grades is the consistency with which tools are used and the way skills are stranded intentionally across the units and across grade levels. (1/4)
Fifth grade is finishing "A Single Shard" and I received a text from a teacher with a quote from one of her students. After the character of Crane-Man dies (spoiler for 15-year old novel) leaving his friend Tree-Ear, the student said:
(2/6)
ALT text reading: “I don’t believe in love anymore. Crane-man and Tree-ear were the dynamic duo.”
Week 4 of #FishtankELA is behind us, and one thing I've noticed as I support different grades is the consistency with which tools are used and the way skills are stranded intentionally across the units and across grade levels. (1/4)
We are three full school weeks into #FishtankELA, and I plan to start weekly updates (with some random dailies) next week. A few reflections:
The most powerful driver behind our curriculum adoption and implementation was a desire for equity - (1/6)
Looking across Fishtank, I can see how a strand like research skills is deliberately built year after year - from researching together using shared texts to doing so independently from a variety of new texts. When every teacher or even grade level plans, that is missing. (3/4)