Archive | Writing

Intervention for Struggling Readers

Children often learn to write before they learn to read because they can read their own writing. They are making the symbols on the page and attributing meaning to them, so they can read them. They slowly learn to make their symbols follow conventional rules, and we can begin to read their writing as well. […]

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The Big Talk and The Big Write

Several amazing teachers at my school have been attending a VCOP training this year.  VCOP stands for Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers, and Punctuation. I have NOT attended VCOP training, so I don’t presume to be an expert in it at all. However, through discussions and PD with our staff, I have learned a bit about some […]

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Co-Create Anchor Charts

We had some discussion in my school recently about anchor charts, and whether they should be teacher created or student created. I confess, I shy away from completely student created charts.  I think it is hard for young children to come up with one picture or symbol, and then consistently remember what it means.  If we […]

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Poetry Fun With Word Clouds

We are in the middle of one of my favorite reading units in kindergarten – poetry!  This unit was actually removed from our mandatory curriculum, but I still spend a few weeks on it with my kids because I love it so much!  (And so do they.) We have been discussing and exploring how poems […]

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Kidblog!

This year I learned about one of the most fantastic technology resources I have used in ages – Kidblog!  Kidblog.org is a secure blogging service designed specifically for teachers and students.  It allows teachers to create a classroom network of student blogs.  Students can write their own blogs, read their classmates’ blogs, and write and […]

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Highlighter Tape in Writing Workshop

Recently my colleague had a brilliant idea during writing workshop, and it grew into this.  I am so excited to share!  We are currently working on a writing unit focused on expressing opinions.  In our district, our kids are required to do this in letter format, and they are meant to be writing opinions about […]

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