early literacy

Literacy Links – Volume 99

early literacy, literacy links, professional resources, vocabulary
Pot of Gold #5: Vocabulary

Passive PD isn’t my fave or at all effective really, but I have really enjoyed curating my Pot of Gold bulletin boards. The latest one is all about vocabulary, and I’ve been collecting ideas for the past several months (Golden nugget tip: Keep a file open as a place to deposit moments of genius when they strike!). Now that everyone in my home younger than fourteen is tucked in and read to for the night, I’m heading upstairs to create the last element: a podcast. Wish me luck.

Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links if you’re looking for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment:

Literacy Links – Volume 96

early literacy, literacy links, poetry, professional resources, racial justice, reading, writing

This summer, I’m participating in some summer work focused on Cultivating Genius by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad. Our second Zoom discussion is next week, so I’m putting together my thoughts based on the assigned reading. I love this reflection question so much: How does this lesson help students see themselves or others? I used Canva to make a visual reminder for myself (And others! Choose your OWN colors!) to guide my lesson planning. Adding this prompt to my teaching brain will bring Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s idea of mirrors and windows to my classrooms.

Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links if you’re looking for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment:

Literacy Links – Volume 89

early literacy, literacy links, professional resources
Students playing math game, “Minus One” from K-5 Teaching Resources.

This past week I finally feel like I hit my stride in kindergarten. Stations were running, books at independent reading levels were being read, we celebrated the end of a unit that we completed *together in person*. The only bummer? It’s *March*. In the Before, I’d be feeling this way in October. I know I’m supposed to “give myself grace” and “let go of previous expectations”, but as excited as I was for our accomplishment, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I also felt like a failure. What a bizarre year.

Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links if you’re looking for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment:

Literacy Links -Volume 86

book list, coaching, early literacy, literacy links, math workshop, reading
One of my daily slides for our week of remote learning.

For the week after Thanksgiving, our district was remote. Remote is not the end of the world, but it is very different from in-person pandemic teaching (and light years away from teaching in The Before). The structure and routines that I teach students in class don’t necessarily translate to remote teaching. One of the biggest missing elements is turn and talk, an essential element of my classroom since I believe learning floats on a sea of talk. Remote teaching ends up being uncomfortably teacher-centered. But other routines could easily work in a remote environment, like using my name sticks to call on students to avoid Zoom chaos. I feel so foolish for needing a whole week to realize this, but that’s my brain’s processing speed in The Now. Here’s to a better online learning session next time.

Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links if you’re looking for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment: