DONE!!!!

The Sisters' Top 10 List

Like many other districts, mine has become a card-carrying, life-long member of The Sisters' fan club. While many teachers are trying out their classroom set-up (some with enthusiasm, some with apprehension - i.e. where do guided reading groups fit into this model?), The Sisters' philosophies are grounded in ideals we all hold dear. I found their recent "Top 10 List" interesting and strongly agree with number one!  

1.  The number one thing we need to do to achieve proficiency? Have an excellent, highly trained teacher! (Opitz and Ford)

2.  Guess what happens when you put 2500 books in your classroom, kids read them! A swimmer needs water. (Gallagher)

3.  Effort and persistence have to be taught, we are not born with them. (Routman)

4.  Comprehension is thinking about the relevance of the text to you and the world. (Fountas and Pinell)

5.  If students are not making strong progress they need no less than 50 minutes of reading each day at school and more at home. We must also check for engagement during reading time. (Serravello)

6.  The class students are placed in influences their success more than the skills with which students arrive. (Ford)

7.  The most powerful key to acceleration is coaching children while they are working with text. (Opitz and Ford)

8.  What Works Clearinghouse is currently working on the document: Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers. The practice guide will be out in the fall (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/). Check out Dr. Steve Graham's Writing to Read Report from What Works Clearninghouse:http://www.all4ed.org/files/WritingToRead.pdf 

9.  Kids need to have 60 minutes of writing each day. It doesn't have to be all at one time but integrated into all content areas throughout the day. (What Works Clearinghouse)

10.  Simply assigning hard books will not ensure that students learn at higher levels. (Fisher and Frey)

IRA, Chicago: April 29-May 2, 2012

A tribute to Mr. Sendak

Link

This is soooo me!

This is so me right now! I've been juggling quite a bit and, as you can see, I can become a little obsessed and forget about my little blog.
Who else can relate?