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Students can take photos or images and create a voice over, which is a great way to demonstrate students learning.

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Grab your camera! Let's ChatterPix! Chatterpix Kids can make anything talk - pets, friends, doodles, and more. Simply take any photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and record your voice. Then share your Pix with friends and family as silly greetings, playful messages, creative cards, or even fancy book reports.

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Independent reading is the reading that children choose to do on their own. Students have the opportunity to choose what book they want to read, where they want to read it, and when. When students find books they love, they are more likely to read a greater volume outside of school, and will in turn be exposed to richer vocabulary, storylines, types of text. Independent reading has a significant impact on student achievement. The more students read, the better readers they become and the more they learn! This is important because reading is a skill that impacts student success across subject areas. Along with this, developing lifelong readers and learners with a passion for literacy is one of the biggest goals of teachers today.

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It is important for teachers to be aware of the science standards because this will help teachers to create multi-disciplinary projects and foster connections across content areas.

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning

Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF SCIENCE LEARNING

Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

Crosscutting Concepts help students explore connections across the four domains of science, including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design.

When these concepts, such as "cause and effect", are made explicit for students, they can help students develop a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world around them.

Science and Engineering Practices describe what scientists do to investigate the natural world and what engineers do to design and build systems. The practices better explain and extend what is meant by "inquiry" in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires. Students engage in practices to build, deepen, and apply their knowledge of core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) are the key ideas in science that have broad importance within or across multiple science or engineering disciplines. These core ideas build on each other as students progress through grade levels and are grouped into the following four domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering.

More about 3D Learning

GET TO KNOW

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K-12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K-12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students' interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

Get to Know the Standards

IMPLEMENT

The NGSS call for a three-dimensional approach to K-12 science instruction. This represents a significant transition from previous state standards. That's why effective implementation demands a great deal of collaboration and patience among states, districts, schools, teachers, and students.

Thoughtful and coordinated approaches to implementation will enable educators to inspire future generations of scientifically literate students. That is the vision of the NGSS. This website provides a range of high-quality resources that empower educators, administrators, parents, and the general public to help bring this vision to life.

Find Tools and Resources

WHY

Science-and therefore science education-is central to the lives of all Americans.

A high-quality science education means that students will develop an in-depth understanding of content and develop key skills-communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and flexibility-that will serve them throughout their educational and professional lives.

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Home Page | Next Generation Science Standards

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

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Quizlet is a study tool that enables students to make online flashcards for any subject area. It is a great tool for helping students to improve vocabulary. It is also great for ESOL students because you can add pictures to the cards or use it to help with learning words in another language.

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This app allows students to create tales on the go and is perfect for a class project or assignment. It is simple to use, captures the student's voice, and is great for storytelling. It is an engaging way for students to display what they have learned.

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Little Bird Tales: Capture the Voice of Childhood. We offer a fun,unique way to create,record and share stories online. Kids can make drawings,upload photos or artwork and record their voice online,creating a slideshow format book,then share it with family and friends as gifts or a keepsake. Environmentally friendly and great for schools,too.

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In class, we learned that puppets, puppet shows, and sock puppets can be an easy, fun, engaging way for students to practice strategies, show what they have learned, and be creative! This app is a digital version of a puppet show. Student pick/create their own sock puppet characters, voices, and backdrops/scenes to create puppet shows and display what they have learned. It is another engaging strategy that would be great as a final project. It could be adapted for many different age groups.

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Sock Puppets is a great app! I love making silly videos with my brother and sisters (and even my cousins sometimes gets to be in a few😉). But I tried to save a Sock Puppet video to where it showed up on my text messages and it completely ruined my whole app!😡So I re-downloaded the app and it still did the same thing! Help me with this app!!!

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‎Sock Puppets Complete has all of the in app purchases and features of Sock Puppets rolled up into one big happy bundle. Create your own lip-synched videos and share them on Facebook and YouTube. Add Puppets, props, scenery, and backgrounds and start creating. Hit the record button and the puppets au...

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Students can create their own version of a lego movie by building scenes and capturing them on a computer, iPad, or iPod. This is a great way for students to show what they have learned and is an excellent project option using technology. It would be very beneficial for many reading strategies and activities, such as summarizing, doing a book report, creating a favorite scene from a book they read, etc. - the possibilities are endless! It is very engaging. It is also a good way to get reluctant readers excited about sharing what they have learned from a book!

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LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, DUPLO, the DUPLO logo, BIONICLE, the BIONICLE logo, LEGENDS OF CHIMA, the LEGENDS OF CHIMA logo, DIMENSIONS, the DIMENSIONS logo, the FRIENDS logo, the MINIFIGURES logo, MINDSTORMS, the MINDSTORMS EV3 logo, MIXELS, the MIXELS logo, NINJAGO, the NINJAGO logo, NEXO KNIGHTS, and the NEXO KNIGHTS logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group.

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Children can listen and follow along as books are read aloud to them on this website. This website also contains a variety of educational games for students. It is appropriate for students in grades K-5.

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ABCya! * ABCya! * Learning Games and Apps for Kids

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Educational games for grades PreK through 6 that will keep kids engaged and having fun. Topics include math, reading, typing, just-for-fun logic games... and more!

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Teachers Pay Teachers is a great place to find lesson plans, strategies, games, activities, and resources for a variety of subject areas and age groups. It has many great resources to support literacy development. It also has many stellar unit plans that are aligned to the Common Core Standards and are engaging.

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World's most popular online marketplace for original educational resources with more than four million resources available for use today.

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According to this website, "The Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) is a multidisciplinary research center at Florida State University. FCRR explores all aspects of reading research—basic research into literacy-related skills for typically developing readers and those who struggle, studies of effective prevention and intervention, and psychometric work on formative assessment." This site contains many resources, strategies, and lesson ideas for various aspects of literacy for students of all ages. In addition, it has great examples of ready-to-go activities that teachers could use for literacy centers in their classroom.

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Parents and children visiting the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library System will find new resources awaiting them thanks to Book Nook Bundles provided by the Florida Center for Reading Research.

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Glogster is a great way for teachers and students to create multimedia visual posters about whatever concept they choose. It is great for presentations, webquests, or projects at the end of a unit. Students love using technology, being creative, and displaying their information in a different way.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons.

We are in the process of disabling all recurring payments, but we do recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company directly to halt them.

We would welcome the opportunity for investors who are interested in partnering with Glogster to contact us so that we are able to resume providing services to our customers who we have proudly served since 2008. Interested investors may contact the Glogster team here.

We apologize for the inconvenience that we know this disruption in service will cause and we hope to have Glogster back up and running better than ever in the near future. Thank you for your support over the last 14 years.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons. We are in the process of disabling all recurring payments, but we do recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company directly to halt them.

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This website allows people to find and search for ideas regarding different strategies, skills, activities, lessons, books, visuals, and games that you could use in literacy instruction with a variety of age groups.

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Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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This website has many printable worksheets and activities to help support literacy instruction and skills in the classroom.

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Super Teacher Worksheets - Thousands of Printable Activities

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Printable worksheets & activities for teachers, parents, and homeschool families. Math, reading, writing, science, social studies, phonics, & spelling.

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This website allows you to customize worksheets to practice a variety of literacy skills. It also provides teachers with lesson plans. It has great supplemental materials for many lessons.

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Educational Games, Worksheets, and More for Kids

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An Educational platform for parents and teachers of pre-k through 7th grade kids. Support your kids learning journey with games, worksheets and more that help children practice key skills. Download, print & watch your kids learn today!

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There are many connections between Social Studies and Reading and Writing. Many of the strategies that students use during reading, particularly when comprehending Non-Fiction texts, are very helpful strategies to use during Social Studies. Various reading strategies, note-taking strategies, and listening/speaking standards overlap across content areas. Teachers should try to connect reading and Social Studies whenever possible to create a more authentic learning experience. Being aware of the standards in Social Studies will help teachers to connect various topics to specific skills.

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New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework | EngageNY

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The New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework is designed to prepare students for college, careers, and civic life with courses that are rigorous and aligned to New York State Learning Standards. This Framework integrates existing New York State Learning Standards and the New York State Core Curriculum for Social Studies into a single, three-part document.

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This website has many lesson plans, worksheets, and activity ideas to support teachers of different grade levels in a variety of subject areas.

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This website provides educators and students with high quality lesson plans, strategies, and professional development and is organized by grade level.

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Rubistar is a tool to help teachers develop rubrics as a means of assessing students of various ages across content areas. It is helpful for teachers who do not want to develop rubrics from scratch. Rubrics are a very efficient, effective, clear way of assessing students in writing.

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RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics, but does not have the time to develop them from scratch.

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Seesaw is a website that allows students to create, update, and share digital portfolios of their schoolwork.

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School & District -Subscriptions | Seesaw

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Seesaw is the best interactive learning platform for PreK-5. Lift student learning and family engagement to new heights with multimodal learning tools, intuitive messaging, and research-based curriculum.

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This website has great resources and lesson plans for teachers. Lessons are divided up by time period, theme, or resource type. The website also has a lot of great articles on it. It would be great for finding good non-fiction text to use in the classroom. It would also be helpful to connect non-fiction literacy strategies to various history lessons or content.

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The Zinn Education Project is my compass in a sea of corporate textbooks, packaged common core curriculum and standardized testing. My entire curriculum is based on lessons that can be found on the Zinn Education Project.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Portland, Ore.

Your support is needed to help more students learn people's history. 100% of Zinn Education Project funding comes from individuals like you. Donate today.

By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca

From voter ID laws to voter-roll purges, gerrymandering to poll closures to the deadly in-person voting conditions during a pandemic, the right to vote is under attack and the stakes are high. It is critical that students learn about the fight for voting rights, past and present.

Nov. 25, 1986: Amy Carter Among 60 People Arraigned for...

Teaching About the Violence in Palestine and Israel...

I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give HOPE, because for hope we don't need certainty, only POSSIBILITY.

-Howard Zinn

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Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

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The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people's history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn's best-selling book A People's History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.

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Literature circles are a collaborative student-centered reading strategy. They can be used at the intermediate level, middle school, or in high school. Literature circles give students a chance to practice a variety of reading strategies, to collaborate with peers, and to have rich conversations about shared literature. In a literature circle, each student has a role, such as Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Vocabulary Enricher, or Checker. Teachers will model and practice the roles with the class. Eventually students will be broken up into groups, will meet with their group on certain days, and will rotate through the roles. Literature circles enable students to take responsibility, be independent, and work as a team.

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This lesson provides a basic introduction to literature circles, a collaborative and student-centered reading strategy. Students begin by selecting a book together then are introduced to the four jobs in the Literature Circles: Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Vocabulary Enricher, and Checker.

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Guided Reading is a great way to produce fluent, skilled, confident readers. In guided reading groups in the primary grades, teachers typically model and support students in using different reading strategies, such as using context clues, letter and sound knowledge, and syntax or word structure.Teachers support and encourage readers as they work through these challenges. They ask students how they think they could figure a certain word out when they encounter something tricky. Afterwards, teachers can assess comprehension, as well. Students can be grouped by level or grouped using flexible grouping, where teachers pull groups of students at different levels who need additional support with the same skill. The goal is that students will eventually use these strategies independently.

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If you work with kindergarten, first grade, or second grade children, you may be familiar with or just discovering "guided reading" as a strategy to help your students become good readers. Guided reading is one component of a four-block reading program, developed by Pat Cunningham and Dottie Hall, which consists of self-selected reading, shared reading, writing, and working with words.

Guided reading is one component of the shared reading block during which the teacher provides support for small, flexible groups of beginning readers. The teacher helps students learn to use reading strategies, such as context clues, letter and sound knowledge, and syntax or word structure, as they read a text or book that is unfamiliar to them. The goal of guided reading is for students to use these strategies independently on their way to becoming fluent, skilled readers.

The steps for a guided reading lesson are:

Before reading: Set the purpose for reading, introduce vocabulary, make predictions, talk about the strategies good readers use.

During reading: Guide students as they read, provide wait time, give prompts or clues as needed by individual students, such as "Try that again. Does that make sense? Look at how the word begins."

After reading: Strengthen comprehension skills and provide praise for strategies used by students during the reading.

The steps of a guided reading lesson will vary according to the needs of the students in the flexible group. As teachers become more comfortable planning and leading guided reading lessons, they will also become more skilled in structuring the lesson to best meet those students' needs.

Flexible groupings are based on student abilities and needs. There are various ways to determine a child's ability level, such as running records, print tests, and teacher observations. Since students progress at different levels, the teacher will need to have a plan for ongoing observation and assessment to track student growth, select appropriate texts, and to regroup students as their needs change. Again, teacher observations and running records can provide valuable information.

A wide variety of books at different ability levels, sometimes called "leveled texts," are necessary so that the teacher can fit the book to the group. Teachers should choose books that are easy enough for independent reading, meet the instructional goals for the group, and are interesting and motivating to students. As students become more skilled at using a range of reading strategies, the ability level of the texts used in guided reading lessons can be increased. Previously read texts should always be available so that students can reread them independently, with a partner, or at home as they become fluent, confident, and self-motivated readers.

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The 3 Steps to a Guided Reading Lesson | Scholastic

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If you work with kindergarten, first grade, or second grade children, you may be familiar with or just discovering "guided reading" as a strategy to help your students become good readers. Guided reading is one component of a four-block reading program, developed by Pat Cunningham and Dottie Hall, which consists of self-selected reading, shared reading, writing, and working with words.

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This website allows students to build literacy, spelling, phonics, and vocabulary skills in a fun way. It enables students to practice certain skills in isolation. It includes many interactive games for students that can be tailored to their personal word lists. It can be used in school or at home. It is also a helpful resource for teachers.

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This website aims to provide teachers with up-to-date information about the most effective literacy strategies from around the world.

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ILA NEWS

ILA News | November 9, 2023
Submitted students' perspectives on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice for a chance to be included in the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting.

Research Advisory | Oct 2, 2023
Additional resources, including webinars, available now.

Digital Events | Sept 19, 2023
Free ILA Webinar About Dyslexia
Registration is now open for a new, free ILA Webinar: Dyslexia: What We Know and What We Want to Know.

Free New Resources for JAAL
First set of the new JAAL Literacy Insights available for download.

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ILA is a global advocacy and membership organization of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers, and experts across 86 countries.

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This is an animated educational website that teaches students of all ages concepts, strategies, and skills across content areas.

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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This website contains many hands on strategies to practice spelling words, word study, or vocabulary words in a sensory way. They can be used at school or at home. They could also be used for literacy centers or just general daily instruction.

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My first grader has a spelling list of 10 words each week that she has to learn. As a teacher, I was always on the giving end of these lists but now as a Mama on the receiving end, I have experienced first hand how boring and tedious it can be to help your child learn these words.... in 4 days.

So of course the only thing to do was to spice up our weekly spelling homework and make it fun. Psst, you know this also makes it more memorable - right?

I compiled this list from things we have done at home, things I plan to do and things I have done over the years in my classroom as a teacher.

Writing & Fine Motor Practice - you can do the old stand-by and write your words on a piece of paper, maybe even the dreaded 5x each or you can.......

1. Play Dough Words - use play dough to form letters to spell out each word.

2. Pipe Cleaner Words - use pipe cleaners and bend and form to make letters used to write out the words.

3. Yarn Words - supply some yarn and scissors and let kids snip and create letters to spell out the words.

4. Puffy Paint Words - mix up a batch of puffy paint , write words and pop them in microwave to watch them puff up. :)

5. Stamp It! - use alphabet stamps and ink pads to stamp out words or let child use fingerprints to write words if you don't have letter stamps.

6. Paint It! - use a paintbrush and paint to spell words.

7. Finger Paint - let them get messy and have some sensory fun and finger paint to spell their words

8. Reverse Chalk Writing (aka Water Writing) - an easy and fun twist on writing words on the chalkboard. Use chalk to cover the chalkboard and have your child use a paintbrush dipped in water to write their words over it. The Lil Divas love this reverse chalk writing.

9. Type It! - if your kiddos are anything like my Lil Divas they love getting computer time, so let them type their spelling words on the computer/ipad/lap top.

10. Rainbow Words - spell words using different colored markers or crayons for each letter.

11. Salt/Sand/Flour Tray - spell words using finger or paintbrush (great sensory experience too). Put colored construction paper under the salt, sand or flour to make the letters really pop.

12. Trace - have fun and let kids trace their words on your back or palm. Have them focus on properly forming each letter so you can feel it being drawn.

13. Sidewalk Chalk (or Paint) - go outside and spell your words using sidewalk chalk. Just taking the spelling practice outside makes it more fun for kids.

14. Shaving Cream - This is another fun sensory experience. Make a thin layer of shaving cream on a tray and use a paintbrush or better yet a fingertip to spell out the words. Have some napkins on hand.

15. Trace in the Air - watch as children trace the letters in the air to spell each word.

16. Alphabet Blocks - use ABC blocks to spell words

17. Letter Beads - use alphabet letter beads and pipe cleaners to build words

18. Letter Tiles - spell words using letter tiles

19. Alphabet Stickers - build words using ABC stickers

20. Small/Medium/Large Words - How boring is it to write words 3 or 5 times each? I used to hate doing it as a kid myself so I understand the Oldest Diva not being thrilled about doing it. How about jazzing it up by having them write the word using the smallest letters they can possibly write (this one is a fave), then doing it normal sized and finally jumbo sized. It makes tedious writing practice so much more fun.

21. Build a Word with Legos - using some tape write the letters needed for each word ahead of time on some legos. Mix them up and then call out a word and have child(ren) build it using the appropriate legos and you will end up with some spelling word towers. Now that's a fun way to spell.

22. Crayon Bits - use your broken crayons to make letters and spell the target words.

23. Q-Tip Writing - Use q-tips and paint to dot letters to spell the word or write the word using the q-tip as a paint brush.

24. Magnet Letters - Take a cookie sheet or head for the fridge, add some magnetic letters and spell out the words.

25. Glue & Glitter - Write out spelling words in glue and sprinkle some glitter on top. Glitter makes everything fun, doesn't it?

26. Wikki Stix - What a fun bendable material and perfect to use in building letters to spell words.

27. Alphabet Rocks - If you have a set of painted ABC rocks these can be a fun way to build and spell words.

28. Marble Words - The Lil Divas enjoy using our flat bottom decorative marbles to form the letters needed to spell words. You could also use small rocks, decorative gems or whatever you have handy.

29. Coffee Filters & Markers - let your child write the words using markers on coffee filters. Once you are all done, hand them a spray bottle of water and let them turn their spelling practice into art!

30. Hidden Spelling Words - on a white piece of paper let your child write out the spelling words using a white crayon. Once all words have been written use watercolors and paint to make hidden words appear.

31. Paint (or Hair Gel) Bags - Pour paint into a ziplock freezer bag and seal. Use fingertips to write words on bag. To erase, simply squish bag and you are ready for the next word.

32. Alpha-Bit Spelling - Use Alpha-Bit cereal, alphabet pasta or even alphabet cookies to spell words - this can even double as a snack when done reviewing if you use the cereal or cookies.

33. Print Words - Use newspaper or magazine print to cut out fun letters. Have child make words using clipped letters.

34. Novelty Erasers - use small erasers to spell words. I always stock up on seasonal erasers to use for math, etc and they actually work great for spelling too.

35. Q-Tip or Toothpick Letters - use q-tips or toothpicks to build letters and make spelling words.

36. Flower Words - draw a flower for each word, 1 petal for each letter of the word.

37. Other Hand - if you are right handed write your words using your left hand, if you are left handed write words using your right hand.

38. Alphabet Cookie Cutters - use ABC cookie cutters to make words. For extra fun, go ahead and make some word cookies.

39. Window Writing - use Crayola Window Markers and write words on windows or sliding glass doors. They wash off easily and writing on windows or doors is so much more fun than boring old paper.

40. Clothespin Words - Write letters on clothespins and have child pin letters to make words. They can pin onto hanging string (think clothes line) or even an index card.

41. Snap Cube Words - Those colorful snap cubes aren't just for math. Use them to build letters and form spelling words.

42. Flashlight Words - set up an Alphabet chart, turn out the lights and use a flashlight to shine on each letter (one letter at a time) to spell words.

43. Craft Stick Spelling - write the necessary letters on craft sticks, mix them up and have child build words using the appropriate sticks.

44. Scrabble Spelling - use scrabble pieces to build words. For some sneaky math fun have child total the amount for each word.

45. Tub Spelling - use foam letters in the tub and stick onto the wall to make words.

46. Shower Spelling - Yes, more spelling fun in the tub. This time spread some shaving cream on your shower door or tiled wall over the tub and let your child(ren) finger write words.

47. Bathtub Paint - Still feeling adventurous about the tub? Use bathtub paint and write or paint words onto your shower door, tub or tiled wall. It washes out!

48. Cheez-it Spelling - use ABC Cheez-it crackers to spell words. Then enjoy a yummy snack.

49. Cereal Words - using circle shaped cereal like Cheerios or Froot Loops build letters to form spelling words. Then have a sweet, crunchy snack.

50. Penny or Coin Spelling - use pennies or other small coins to make letters and spell out words.

51. Lima Beans - Another fun manipulative to use are lima beans. Write letters on beans, mix them up and put them in a pile for the children. Call out spelling words and have child search for the appropriate beans to spell each word.

- sure you can just practice spelling your words out loud but wouldn't it be more fun to........

52. Sing - Use whatever song or beat you like but a simple B-I-N-G-O like song & some clapping works wonders especially on that first day of practicing words. It really helps kids begin to remember those words.

53. Rap - Yes rap! This is so much fun and a great way to - S to the P to the E to the Double L, spells SPELL! Let them have fun with it and get creative. We always end up in fits of giggles and it really doesn't feel like homework.

54. Partner Spell - take turns adding a letter to spell each word. For example, for the word FUN - child starts by saying the letter F, parents adds letter U and child then completes word by adding the letter N. This requires focus and listening and is a great exercise for elementary aged learners.

* In the classroom this gets really fun and challenging when you have lots of kids playing because they have to be paying close attention to what everyone is saying before them. If they miss their letter, they have to sit out the rest of the round. We used to add a fun word at the end of the words too depending on the season like apple, pumpkin, witch, turkey, heart, etc. The person who said that word was also automatically out and had to sit. It was a fun way to play with a large group of kids. *

55. Cheerleader Chant - Give me an S, give me a P, give me an E, give me an L, give me a L - what's that spell? SPELL!

56. Record - use a tape recorder to record child(ren) orally spelling words.

57. Make a Video - use the household video camera or even your phone to take some quick video of your child spelling the target words.

58. Microphone - Spell words into a microphone. There is just something fun about hearing yourself loud and magnified so have fun with it and practice those spelling words too.

Gross Motor Practice - we like to make spelling practice fun by getting active while practicing our words. This gets the Oldest Diva moving and playing while studying, which she really enjoys.

59. Jump Rope while orally spelling the words.

60. Hula Hoop and spell words out loud.

61 Hopscotch Spelling - Write letters outside in chalk or play indoors with large letter cards on floor. Hop from letter to letter to spell words.

62. Bounce a Ball - bounce a ball as you spell words - 1 bounce per letter.

63. Balloon Bop - keep a balloon up in the air while spelling your word. This one gets lots of giggles.

64. Swat & Spell - put letter cards on the floor and using a flyswatter, swat the letters in the order necessary to spell words.

65. Froggy Spelling - leap like a frog and spell words - 1 letter for each leap.

66. Jumpin' Jack - do jumping jacks as you spell words - 1 jump per letter

67. Hop & Spell - hop on one foot as you spell words, this is a great exercise in balance especially with longer words.

Games and Online Fun - you can use flashcards or you can take your spelling practice to a whole new level by playing games and even having some online fun.

68. Have child spell and write 2 sets of words onto flashcards and then play a Memory Game with them.

69. Which is Correct? Write words on dry erase board and include misspelled words. Have child identify the correctly spelled words.

70. Wordsearch - you can visit sites like , plug in your child's spelling list and create a word search that you can print. Then have your child search for the correctly spelled spelling words and circle them. Let them use different colored highlighters for some added visual fun.

71. Mystery Letters - write words with missing letters. Child must figure out which mystery letters are missing in order to complete words .

72. Word Puzzle Scavenger Hunt - Write words onto construction paper and cut apart letters. Put letters in plastic eggs or other such container and hide around room. Have child find words you've hidden and put words together correctly like a word puzzle.

73. - How about using old puzzle pieces to practice spelling words? I love this idea from No Time for Flashcards.

74. Spelling BINGO - Make or print a few blank BINGO cards to use with spelling practice. Kids love to play BINGO. Write spelling words in boxes and randomly call out (or use flashcards) words. Child should cover appropriate words when called. To make things extra challenging, write words spelled incorrectly in a few spaces as well so child has to discriminate between the correctly spelled words and the incorrect ones.

75. Unscramble - use magnet letters or letter tiles for each word, scramble them up and have child put letters in correct order to spell words.

I hope you are able to get some new ideas from this list

& make spelling fun rather than tedious and boring!

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75 Fun Ways to Practice and Learn Spelling Words

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My first grader has a spelling list of 10 words each week that she has to learn. As a teacher, I was always on the giving end of these lists but now as a Mama on the receiving end, I have experienced first hand how boring and tedious it can be to help your child learn these words....

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The only way for students to become better writers is to write more volume wise, which will enable them to write more fluently. This website includes a variety of writing prompts, one for every day of the school year. These prompts can be adapted for a variety of grade levels. They can be used at school or at home. Writing prompts provide students with a fun way to get their creative juices flowing when writing!

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Notes on Journal Prompts journal writing prompts

The journal writing prompts on this page are grouped into the 4 quarters of a standard academic year. You, of course, may choose to use any of these at whatever time you like.

There are eight graphics on this page to serve as general visual bookmarks. Additionally, please consider using the following text links to jump to specific points on this page:

1st Quarter Journal Writing Prompts
Note: If you'd like to make these really POP (and save yourself some effort at the same time), you may be interested in Journal Jumpstarts, Volume 1, which contains prompts 1-20 listed below.
1. Write about going back to school after summer vacation.

2. Write a thank you note to a friend who gave you onion and garlic-flavored chewing gum.

3. Draw an imaginary constellation. Write a story such as ancient people might have told about it.

4. Describe a real made-up dream or nightmare. journal writing prompts

5. Write about your favorite childhood toy. journal writing prompts

6. Write out the best or the worst day of your life.

7. Finish this thought: if I could change one thing about myself (if you can't think of anything, you might want to consider telling how you got to be perfect!)

8. If and when I raise children, I'll never...

9. I have never been more frightened than when...

10. Persuade a friend to give up drugs.

11. Five years from now, I will be... journal writing prompts

12. Write about a day you'd like to forget.

13. Invent and describe a new food. journal writing prompts

14. Describe an event that changed your life forever, or make up and describe an event that would change your life forever.

15. Describe someone who is a hero to you and explain why.

16. Write about a time in your life when you struggled with a choice and made the right one.

17. Imagine yourself in a different century and describe an average day in your life.

18. Which character from a book would you most like to meet and why? journal writing prompts

19. Three goals I have set for myself are... journal writing prompts

20. What would you do if 300 mice had just gotten out of their cages in a pet shop where you worked?
Just like the above 20 prompts, prompts 21-40 listed below have not been "dressed up" much. To see them in their finest clothing, you may want to download Journal Jumpstarts, Volume 2.
21. What would you do if you were locked inside your favorite department store overnight?

22. What would you do if you woke up one morning to find yourself invisible?

23. What would you do if you were able to communicate with animals?

24. What would you do if you could travel into the future?

25. What would you do if you could travel into the past?

26. What would you do if someone just gave you $1 million?

27. What would you do it all the electricity in the world just stopped?

28. What would you do if you could travel free anyplace in the world?

29. What would you do if the dinner served to you in a fancy restaurant came with a fly in the mashed potatoes?

30. Write a list of at least 50 things that make you feel good.

31. Describe the perfect day. Put in as many details as you can. Make it a possible day, not a "dream day."

32. Who is the person from history that you would most like to meet and talk to? Why? What would you like to ask?

33. Who is the person from literature that you would most like to meet and talk to? Why? What would you like to ask?

34. Compile a list of words that describe you as a child. Compile a second list that describes you as you are now. How are these lists the same? How are they different?

35. Compile a list of inanimate or animate objects to which you might compare yourself metaphorically. (I am a windmill. I change direction or my thoughts whenever someone talks to me...)

36. Tell about what triggers anger in you or someone else.

37. Invent a monster and describe it. Tell where it lives, what it eats, and what it does.

38. What is your favorite kind of weather? Why?

39. What is the best book you have ever read? Why did you like it? Did reading the book change you in any way? What way?

40. Write about what you didn't do this weekend.
Prompts 41-60 (listed below) are included in Journal Jumpstarts, Volume 3.
Just display the prompt of the day via your digital projector, SMART Board, or classroom TV and take a break from your whiteboard for awhile!

41. Think about an incident that happened to you and exaggerate in the telling. Make it into a tall tale.

42. If you were ruler of the world, what things would you banish absolutely for all time (rain on weekends, eggplant, and so forth)? Make a list. Use your imagination.

43. If you could go back in time anywhere and "anywhen," where/when would you go and why?

44. What law would you like to see enacted which would help people? How would it help?

45. What commercial on TV do you dislike beyond all others? What about it is particularly annoying to you?

2nd Quarter Journal Writing Prompts

46. Design some gadget, machine, building, or other creation that might enrich the future. What does it look like? What does it do? How does it function? In what ways might it benefit people?

47. What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Explain. journal writing prompts

48. Convince someone why music or art or computers are important in your life. Make them appreciate your viewpoint.

49. If you had $100,000, how would you spend it?

50. Be a building you know well. Talk about your life and memories.

51. You are to tell a person from a distant planet or from another era what pollution is. Make that person understand what causes it and why it is bad.

52. If you could do something that you never have done before, what would it be? Why would you want to do it?

53. Begin a list of questions that you'd like to have answered. They may be about the future or the past.

54. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment to date and why?

55. Write one characteristic or habit about yourself that you like and describe it. Or write about one thing you don't like about yourself.

56. What is your hobby? Why do you enjoy it?

57. If you could go somewhere where you've never gone before, where would you go and why?

58. What's, if anything, would you be willing to fight or even die for? Explain your answer.

59. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Why would you make this change?

60. Is there a machine you feel you could not live without? Explain.
The following prompts (61-80) are included in Journal Jumpstarts, Volume 4. Just like all of the volumes in the Journal Jumpstarts series, Volume 4 features 21 high-quality animations that add "punch" to the prompts. Use these animations in your own Powerpoints wherever you choose to do so.
61. Write about what you think you will be like and what you will be doing 10 years or 20 years from now.

62. Did you ever stick up for someone?

63. Describe your neighborhood bully.

64. Write about a baby-sitting experience.

65. Describe a great fort you built for a great game you played as a child.

66. Write about an enemy who eventually became your friend.

67. Write about a time you cheated and got caught.

68. Write about a privilege you earned.

69. Write about the stray animal you brought home.

70. Did you ever send away for something that turned out to be a disappointment? (Or order something over the Internet)

71. What is it like to go shopping with your mother? journal writing prompts

72. Write about a time you performed in front of an audience.

73. Write about a difficult decision you had to make.

74. Write about learning to skate, to ride a bike, to climb a tree, or to turn a cart wheel. journal writing prompts

75. Did you ever get lost in a strange town?

76. Were you ever locked in or out? What did you do?

77. What was it like to spend your first night away from home?

78. What was it like to come back home after a long vacation?

79. Write about a disappointment. journal writing prompts

80. Write about something minor that turned into a big deal.
The following prompts (81-100) are included in Journal Jumpstarts, Volume 5. All of the prompts in the Journal Jumpstarts series are titled and listed in a clickable table of contents, making it easier to determine where to resume.
81. Did you ever win or lose a contest? Tell the story about what happened.

82. Write about something you desperately wanted when you were younger.

83. Did you ever know someone who had "everything"?

84. Write about the time as a child you played in one of the following: treehouse, a cornfield, a construction site, a junkyard, an abandoned house or barn, a stream, a cemetery, a swamp, a pasture, railroad tracks.

85. Did your mom or dad ever make you wear something you hated?

86. Write about a time you were talked into something and you regretted it.

87. Were you ever in a helicopter, limousine, racecar, hot-air balloon, submarine, or horse-drawn carriage?

88. Did you ever forget something really important? What happened as a result?

89. Write about an experience in a hospital.

90. Were you ever accused of something that you didn't do?

3rd Quarter Journal Writing Prompts

91. Write about a disastrous trip or vacation.

92. Were you ever given a responsibility that you couldn't handle? journal writing prompts

93. Were you ever in a fire, flood, tornado, or hurricane?

94. Describe the best concert you ever attended.

95. Write about a window you broke or something valuable you lost.

96. Did you ever catch fireflies? Crickets? Frogs? Snakes?

97. Write about a time you tried to help and ended up making things worse.

98. Did you ever break an important promise?

99. Write about moving to another city or neighborhood.

100. Describe an outdoor game you used to play in the summer time.

101. Write about building sand castles or mud pies.

102. Did you ever meet a famous person?

103. Write about mowing the lawn, burning leaves, or weeding the garden.

104. Describe the club you organized as a kid.

105. Describe a car or bicycle accident you were in.

106. Write about being a misfit.

107. Write about a day spent in another country.

108. Write about a time you out-smarted someone.

109. Write about going shopping for new clothes.

110. Did you ever turn someone in or tell on someone and feel bad about it later?

111. Imagine that you are an animal in the zoo. What type of animal are you? How do you feel about being caged? How do you feel about people that visit and watch you?

112. Write about a time your parents embarrassed you.

113. Describe learning something from a friend.

114. Write about a time you gave someone good advice.

115. Write about the funniest thing that ever happened to you.

116. If you had to escort a visitor from outer space for a 30-minute tour of your community, where would you begin and end?

117. Be a grape that becomes a raisin: describe how it feels to shrink, to shrivel, to become dry and wrinkled.

118. Be an icicle that becomes water. Describe how it feels to be cold and firm and full of beautiful crystals but only to melt and lose your shape.

119. You go to the store with your parents and baby brother. Your parents go into a store and tell you to watch your brother. You take your eyes off your brother for just a minute and you can't find him. You...

120. I really hate it when my mother/father/sibling...

121. What if the use of robots in school becomes a workable reality?

122. What would you pack in your suitcase if you could not go home again?

123. You have just met an alien from another planet. He wishes to take a student back to his planet. Convince him you would be the perfect specimen for him to take.

124. If you could change one law, what law would it be and how would you change it?

125. How forgiving are you when a friend lets you down? Explain. Give an example.

126. What if you were named principal for the week? What would you do?

127. If you could only speak twenty words for the rest of your life, what words would head your list and why?

128. It started out as an unusual Monday morning, when I...

129. As I approached the deserted house at the end of the road, I saw...

130. Do you think girls are raised differently from boys? If so, in what ways?

131. Do you think you are treated differently because you are a boy or girl?

132. Do you think men and women are equal in today's society? Why or why not?

133. Do you think a woman will be President of the United States in the near future?

134. Two men or women have it easier in our culture? If so, why do you think so?

135. Have you ever wished you were either older or younger? What would you consider to be the benefits? The problems?

4th Quarter Journal Writing Prompts

136. Describe what you think of as the typical mother.

137. Describe what you think of as the typical father.

138. Do you think women should take men's last names when they marry? Why or why not? jo urnal writing prompts

139. Would you rather have a brother or sister? Why?

140. Describe a fight you had with your mother. Now tell it from her point of view.

141. Write a short biography of your mother.

142. Write a short biography of your father.

143. Visualize a time when your mother was laughing. Recall a time when you two shared a good laugh over something.

144. Write a physical description of your mother. Write as if you were looking at a movie rather than a photograph.

145. Concentrate on a particular habit that your mother has and write about it.

146. If you had three wishes, what would they be? (Do not ask for three more wishes) journal writing prompts

147. What is something special and/or different about you? Why do you think it is special or different?

148. Write about two things that your family has taught you.

149. Write about some of the things that you worry about.

150. Describe a happy memory of your family. journal writing prompts

151. How do you know someone loves you, even if he or she doesn't say it?

152. Name one thing you like about yourself and why you like it.

153. Imagine yourself as a teacher. What type of student would you like to teach and why?

154. Name and describe a teacher who made a difference in your life. What did that teacher do that was so special?

155. What makes you proud to be an American?

156. Describe the one thing that gives you the most comfort.

157. If you could be a character in any book, TV show, or movie, who would you be and why?

158. If you had to work in any store at your favorite mall, which store would it be and why?

159. Describe the most difficult thing about being your age.

160. Describe one possession that means the most to you.

161. Who is the most important role model in your life?

162. Describe your best personality trait.

163. If you could study one subject in school that wasn't offered, what would it be and why?

164. If you had a chance to live anywhere you could, where would it be and why?

165. Write about the pros/cons of year-round school or a four-day school week.

166. Write about your favorite sport.

167. Is the school year too long? Too short? Why?

168. What does your summer usually consist of?

169. Who should be paid more, professional athletes or teachers? Why or why not?

170. What class do you enjoy the most and why?

171. Write about the worst fight you ever had with a friend.

172. If you had only one month to live, what would you do?

173. Describe your dream house.

174. Who is your favorite person to be with? Why?

175. What would be your ideal job when you grow up? Explain.

176. If you could guest star on any TV show, what would it be and why?

177. What do you think your life will be like in 10 years? 20 years?

178. Describe how you would manage your own radio or TV station.

179. What is your definition of success?

180. The saying goes, "Money cannot buy happiness." Do you agree or disagree? Why? journal writing prompts

Return to Daily Teaching Tools from Journal Writing Prompts

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180 Journal Writing Prompts: Enough for Every Day of the School Year

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The journal writing prompts on this page are grouped into the 4 quarters of a standard academic year. You, of course, may choose to use any of these at whatever time you like. There are eight graphics on this page to serve as general visual bookmarks.

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This website enables students to create animated presentations. Powtoons are very engaging! It is a great way for students to use technology to demonstrate what they have learned. It can be used for a variety of projects, such as book reports, etc. Students can animate their presentation, add their voice, and share important information in a unique, creative way. Students could also present their Powtoon presentation to students in other grade levels as an extension (example: fifth creating book reports and presenting them to third grade classes). Students have a lot of pride in the final product!

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Powtoon | Create Awesome Videos Yourself

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Make videos in minutes with Powtoon. Use our library of styles, characters, backgrounds and video, or upload your own! Free. Easy. Awesome. Sign up today!

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Wordle is a great tool for creating word clouds with any text that you provide. It is a great website to use for expanding vocabulary, and could be used with any subject area. It is very easy, engaging, and fun to do as a student project in class for a variety of age groups.

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Readworks is a website that helps to improve reading comprehension skills. It offers reading passages that are leveled across content areas and questions sets to go with them. The question sets include multiple choice questions and short answer questions that enable students to practice explicit skills and strategies. This website also includes a variety of comprehension units, novel studies, and skill and strategy units. It also aligns lessons with the standards.

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ReadWorks | Award-Winning, EdTech Nonprofit Organization

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ReadWorks is an edtech nonprofit organization that is committed to helping to solve America's reading comprehension crisis.

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This document contains a variety of resources to support instruction using the 6 + 1 writing traits. Many of the links include helpful strategies, lesson plans, or visuals. In addition, this document also contains examples of two-voice poetry.

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611 Writing Module Google Doc  Please use the first section of this document to post links to the pages you found to support 6+1 Writing instruction. Please use the second part of this document to post your poem for two or more voices.     Name Two Links with Summaries  Katelyn Howard http...

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The Reading and Writing Project has many excellent resources for teachers. Lucy Calkins helps to run it. It also has a lot of professional development opportunities for teachers.

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Home | Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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TCRWP offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders. Learn from our staff developers in a variety of formats, virtually and in-person, addressing a range of topics. We offer single and multiple day events, as well as study groups that meet across the year…

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This website contains many children's books from around the world. Although it does not read the books to students, students have the opportunity to read books to themselves independently, so it is a great option for read to self. It is a great resource for teaching children about various regions around the world, can be used with many upper grade levels, and can be great for creating various extension activities for students.

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ICDL - International Children’s Digital Library

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This website is run by Barnes and Noble. It features many popular children's books read aloud. Although it does not have supplemental materials or ideas for teachers, It is perfect for a listening to reading literacy center in the classroom.

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Discover the best kids' books at Barnes & Noble®. Shop by age, genre, subject, and more. Get free shipping on all orders of $25+.

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This site features children's books being read by performers. In includes lesson plans, discussion questions, and activity ideas for teachers. It is free, colorful, and very engaging for students.

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This website allows students to read and contribute to a social cause. For each book that a student reads online, one book is donated to a child in need. Although this site does not read books aloud to students, it allows them to read "just right" books independently at their level, and is a great literacy center activity.

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This website is designed to support students' literacy learning at school and at home. Once you register for a free account, you have access to over 250 audiobooks that students can listen to. This site contains audio files, only.

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Discover expert advice, educational resources and free eBooks to support children's learning at primary school and at home, from Oxford University Press.

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This site is highly engaging for young readers. Students can follow along as various stories are read to them. It also has games and activities that allow students to practice literacy skills, interesting book choices, and will support students in creating their own stories.

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Starfall Education: Kids Games, Movies, Books & Music for K-5 and above

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn - specializing in reading, phonics & math - educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children K-5 and above.

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Class Dojo is a great tool for behavior management, communication, and building a positive classroom community. This application can be used as a digital portfolio for students because students can upload work to their own personal portfolio. In addition, Class Dojo also has videos to help teach a variety of important concepts, such as growth mindset, perseverance, empathy, gratitude, and creativity.

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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The Engage New York website enables teachers to make sure that they are meeting state learning standards across content areas, targeting specific skills for growth, and providing students with high quality instruction.

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New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards | EngageNY

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new P-12 Science Learning Standards were adopted.

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Two Voice Poetry is a very unique type of poetry. It is usually written for two people, each with their own set of lines. Sometimes the author will have the two people reading the poem say the same thing at the same time. Two-voice poems are wonderful for activities involving perspective, as two sides of an issue are presented and heard. Two-voice poetry also provides students with great opportunities for collaboration with peers, creativity, and finding their voice. Attached is a template that students can use to create their own two-voice poem. This activity could be extended by having students film or perform their poem to practice additional speaking and listening standards.

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Literably is great way to assess students' fluency and comprehension. This app listens to students read and answer questions at their selected level and sends teachers a full miscue analysis. Students' recorded reading, running record, and comprehension data are kept on file, so teachers can go back and listen to students/see how they improve or change over time.

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"A game-changer for doing reading assessments through the school year: easy to use at home or in classroom, scored by a trained human, fast turn-around, records the reading, can be shared with parents."

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Literably | Award-Winning Reading Assessment

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Literably is an award-winning assessment of foundational literacy skills - including phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, and rapid naming.

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Scholastic is rich with resources for teachers, including literacy strategies, lesson plans, activity ideas, book suggestions, and tools. One tool that it offers is Book Wizard, which enables teachers to level books and find "just right" books for students. The Scholastic Club portion of the website also has affordable deals to help new teachers build up their classroom libraries with a variety of rich fiction and non-fiction text.

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Teacher Resources, Children's Books, Student Activities for Teachers | Scholastic.com | Scholastic

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Teaching resources, children's and teacher books, lesson plans, book lists, classroom resources, educational products from Scholastic for PreK to 12 teachers.

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This site includes actresses and actors reading some of their favorite children's books. It also includes resources and activities for students to use with each book. The actors reading these stories are great for demonstrating fluency, expressions, and storytelling to students.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Growth mindset is the belief that students can get smarter. When students believe that they can become more intelligent, they work harder and put in more time and effort. Therefore, their motivation increases and they achieve more. When students have a fixed mindset, they do not believe that they can get smarter, do not handle failure well, and give up much more easily. Growth mindset shapes the way the students learn. Research has shown that the connectivity in neurons in the brain can change with experience. Teachers can have a big impact on students' mindset.

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Kahoot is a free, game-based learning platform that enables students of a variety of ages to answer questions on any subject. Students can use their own devices to answer questions. It makes learning interactive, exciting, and fun! It is also a great way for teachers to formatively assess their students in real time because teachers receive instant feedback on their students. Teachers can include pictures, videos, and differentiated time limits throughout each game, as well.

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Kahoot! | Learning games | Make learning awesome!

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Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home.

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Plickers is a powerful, simple assessment toll that allows teachers to collect formative assessment data in real time without the need for student devices. It helps to make lessons more interactive. It is also good for quick checks, warm up activities, and exit tickets in the classroom.

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The National Geographic Young Explorers magazine is designed specifically for students in kindergarten and first grade. Students can listen and follow along as magazines are read to them. The magazines have beautiful pictures, many text features, and are very informative for students. To access all of the features, you need a subscription. However, the site allows users to access a few magazines for free without a subscription.

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Subscriber Sign In - National Geographic Society

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This website has a variety of original stories, fairy tales, and classic stories for children. It allows children to listen to the audio version of a story or to read the online digital version. Teachers can download these stories and translate them into other languages, so these are great for ESOL students and can help all students access reading.

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This documents contains a variety of researched-based strategies for teaching multi-syllabic words compiled by Literacy Graduate students at SUNY Geneseo.

Strategies include:

Scooping Strategy
Overt Strategy
Flexing Syllables
Crunch & Munch
Helping Students to Identify Prefixes, Suffixes, and Base Words
Chunk It Up!
Double - Drop - Nothing
Words That Grow From Root Words
Using Mirrors

These strategies work well with the Words Their Way curriculum.

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Words Their Way Strategies for Teaching 611 Fall 2016

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Words Their Way Strategies for Teaching   Students will work together to research and document one method for teaching multisyllabic words. Based on the work of Pat Cunningham. Words Their Way and the Nifty Thrifty Fifty, students will complete a two page write up on their strategy, to compile a ...

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This website contains many strategies, lesson plans, and activities to help young children learn how to read.

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Improving Accuracy - Word Study and Spelling Instruction

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Improving Accuracy - Word Study and Spelling Instruction

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According to this website, Word Study is "A teaching approach for spelling that moves past the traditional instruction of memorization and focuses on learning word patterns. It makes use of the discoveries of researchers in the area of English orthography including alphabetic, pattern, and meaning layers.

Phonics + Spelling = Word Study.

Spelling is the forming of words from sequencing letters according to accepted patterns, rules, and standards of a language. It can be written, spoken, or typed."

This website contains many strategies to effectively support word study, spelling, and overall literacy learning in your classroom. It gives a nice overview of spelling and word study. It also contains  great lesson plans,  books, literature resources, professional research, assessments, and for teachers.

Some examples of strategies include:
-Sound Map
-Mnemonics
-Magie "e"
-Create a word
-Clip cards

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What is Word Study? Word Stud-y noun A teaching approach for spelling that moves past the traditional instruction of memorization and focuses on learning word patterns. It makes use of the...

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Fluency is the ability to read a given text smoothly, accurately, at an appropriate rate, with expression, and with comprehension. It is typically the bridge between decoding and comprehension. This website contains many strategies that address various areas of fluency. It also includes many great books to read aloud to model fluency, assessments, and professional research. In addition, it also provides users with great information to help guide fluency instruction in the classroom.

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Click one of the book covers below to learn more!

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According to this website,  expanding vocabulary is "The process of using explicit and implicit instruction through repeated exposure to words to develop student's vocabulary. It requires support from content-rich and literature-rich environments with opportunities for authentic exploration of word meaning, application, and use repetitiously and in different contexts.  Expanding vocabulary goes beyond the definitional level to a deeper comprehension of the content."

This website gives readers a nice overview of the three tiers of vocabulary:
-Tier 1: Basic words that are used commonly in spoken language (examlpes: run, see, book, school.)
-Tier 2: High Frequency words that are used by language users across content areas (examples: cite, formulate, evaluate).
-Tier 3: Words that are specific to content/academic areas and are not used frequently (examples: respiration, amendment, circumference).

This website contains many valuable strategies, resources, and assessments to assist to teachers in vocabulary instruction. It also includes great literature to use with students to enrich their vocabulary. Some of these strategies include:
-Organizing words by concept
-Using mnemonics with vocabulary
-Contextual definition (i.e. context clues)
-The Frayer Model
-Using idioms

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Comprehension is the action or capability of understanding something through the use of different strategies. Comprehension supports literacy learning by incorporating background knowledge while making connections to real world experiences. The heart of comprehension is helping students to make meaning of what they are reading and of the world around them through the books that they are reading. This website contains a variety of mini-lessons, strategies, videos, resources, books, professional journal articles, and helpful links that will assist teachers in helping their students to strengthen their comprehension abilities. The website also talks  about the six comprehension strategies that work and should be utilized whenever anyone reads and modeled for students. Those strategies are:

monitoring comprehension

activating background knowledge and making connections

questioning

making inferences and visualizing

determining  importance

summarizing and synthesizing information.

In addition, the website mentions many other helpful comprehension strategies, such as thought bubbles, concentric circles, reading salads, schema rollers, and using wordless picture books. These strategies really help students to utilize background knowledge to make meaning of the books they read and world around them.

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This website outlines the Do's and Don'ts of Literacy Coaching to help give prospective teachers who are interested in becoming a Literacy Coach a better understanding of the role of a Literacy Coach in a school community.

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This book, by Peter Johnson, is a phenomenal book that teaches educators about the power of their words and how language can be a pivotal tool to shape classroom learning communities, intelligent, competent students, and emotional connections between teachers and students.

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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.
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In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool:

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Words Their Way is a developmental spelling and word study program that focuses on the five stages of spelling and orthographic development and differentiates instruction to teach students at the stage they they are at.

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Based on years of research into invented and developmental spelling, the classroom-proven framework of this successful series is keyed to the five stages of spelling and orthographic development. Teachers everywhere have grown to love its no nonsense method for studying words.

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The 6 + 1 Writing Traits is an approach to teaching writing that focuses on explicit instruction in the components that are vital to master in order to become a successful writer. According to Education Northwest, "The 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment comprises 6+1 key qualities that define quality writing. These are:

Ideas—the main message

Organization—the internal structure of the piece

Voice—the personal tone and flavor of the author's message

Word Choice—the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning

Sentence Fluency—the rhythm and flow of the language

Conventions—the mechanical correctness

Presentation—how the writing actually looks on the page

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The 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment comprises 6+1 key qualities that define quality writing. These are:

Ideas

The Ideas are the main message, the content of the piece, the main theme, together with all the supporting details that enrich and develop that theme. The Ideas are strong when the message is clear, not garbled. The writer chooses details that are interesting, important, and informative-often the kinds of details the reader would not normally anticipate or predict. Successful writers do not "tell" readers things they already know; e.g., "It was a sunny day, and the sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy white ..." Successful writers "show" readers that which is normally overlooked; writers seek out the extraordinary, the unusual, the unique, the bits and pieces of life that might otherwise be overlooked.

Organization

Organization is the internal structure of a piece of writing, the thread of central meaning, the pattern and sequence, so long as it fits the central idea. Organizational structure can be based on comparison-contrast, deductive logic, point-by-point analysis, development of a central theme, chronological history of an event, or any of a dozen other identifiable patterns. When Organization is strong, the piece begins meaningfully and creates in the writer a sense of anticipation that is, ultimately, systematically fulfilled. Events proceed logically; information is given to the reader in the right doses at the right times so that the reader never loses interest. Connections are strong, which is another way of saying that bridges from one idea to the next hold up. The piece closes with a sense of resolution, tying up loose ends, bringing things to a satisfying closure, answering important questions while still leaving the reader something to think about.

Voice

Voice is the writer coming through the words, the sense that a real person is speaking to us and cares about the message. It is the heart and soul of the writing, the magic, the wit, the feeling, the life and breath. When the writer is engaged personally with the topic, he/she imparts a personal tone and flavor to the piece that is unmistakably his/hers alone. And it is that individual something-different from the mark of all other writers-that we call Voice.

Word Choice

Word Choice is the use of rich, colorful, precise language that communicates not just in a functional way, but in a way that moves and enlightens the reader. In descriptive writing, strong Word Choice resulting in imagery, especially sensory, show-me writing, clarifies and expands Ideas. In persuasive writing, purposeful Word Choice moves the reader to a new vision of ideas. In all modes of writing figurative language such as metaphors, similes and analogies articulate, enhance, and enrich the content. Strong Word Choice is characterized not so much by an exceptional vocabulary chosen to impress the reader, but more by the skill to use everyday words well.

Sentence Fluency

Sentence Fluency is the rhythm and flow of the language, the sound of word patterns, the way in which the writing plays to the ear, not just to the eye. How does it sound when read aloud? That's the test. Fluent writing has cadence, power, rhythm, and movement. It is free of awkward word patterns that slow the reader's progress. Sentences vary in length, beginnings, structure, and style, and are so well crafted that the reader moves through the piece with ease.

Conventions

The Conventions trait is the mechanical correctness of the piece and includes five elements: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar/usage, and paragraphing. Writing that is strong in Conventions has been proofread and edited with care. Since this trait has so many pieces to it, it's almost an analytical trait within an analytic system. As you assess a piece for convention, ask yourself: "How much work would a copy editor need to do to prepare the piece for publication?" This will keep all of the elements in conventions equally in play. Conventions is the only trait where we make specific grade level accommodations, and expectations should be based on grade level to include only those skills that have been taught. (Handwriting and neatness are not part of this trait. They belong with Presentation.)

Presentation

Presentation combines both visual and textual elements. It is the way we exhibit or present our message on paper. Even if our ideas, words, and sentences are vivid, precise, and well constructed, the writing will not be inviting to read unless it follows the guidelines of Presentation. These include: Balance of white space with visuals and text, graphics, neatness, handwriting, font selection, borders, and overall appearance. Think about examples of text and visual presentation in your environment. Which signs and billboards attract your attention? Why do you reach for one CD over another? All great writers are aware of the necessity of Presentation, particularly technical writers who must include graphs, maps, and visual instructions along with their text. Presentation is key to a polished piece ready for publication.

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The 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment comprises 6+1 key qualities that define quality writing. These are: The Ideas are the main message, the content of the piece, the main theme, together with all the supporting details that enrich and develop that theme.

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The Daily CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanded Vocabulary) is a Professional Development website and resource created by the 2 Sisters. It is designed for teachers and literacy coaches who are currently using/interested in implementing CAFE, The Daily 5, Classroom Design, and the Math Daily 3. It offers helpful implementation tips, research on their practices, and resources for educators to use in the classroom.

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The CAFE Literacy System gives a structure for ongoing assessment to monitor each student's progress and a plan to help shift instruction so that each student is successful. It provides a common language to talk about reading development and proficiency. Students feel ownership and accountability over their learning.