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Discuss what you
See?
Think?
Wonder?

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From Clare Landrigan

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natashya@erinkentconsulting.com

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High Leverage Instructional Routines for Problem Solving

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High Leverage Instructional Routines for Problem Solving

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Burkins and Yates

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High-Leverage Instructional Routines to Support Problem Solving Strategies

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Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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EKC provides literacy consultants, consulting services, and literacy professional learning for schools.

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Burkins and Yates 2021

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Text Project

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The Reading GPS gives teachers information about whether students are moving toward the goal of proficient reading.

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools

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Great group focused on literacy!

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Jennifer Serravallo

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Your Research-based Guide to Developing Skilled Readers. 300+ strategies with learning progressions support 13 reading goals, with each strategy cross-linked to skills, teacher tips, prompts, research, and reading levels—everything from fluency to literary analysis.

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Sign up for free at the bottom of the page

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A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

There are 15 titles ranging from Level A to Level J. I have built flipbooks with each title, and embedded them here on the site. The text below, one of my favorite in the collection, is an example of the set-up for each book, and will show you how the flipbooks in the collection work. Missing Socks, like all the books in the collection, includes illustrations designed to engage students and deepen the story.
​

Mindfulness:
​There are three titles in the collection that relate to mindfulness. Happy (Level C) is about a little girl who is exploring different kinds of happiness, such as the calm happiness of a breeze vs. the palpable happiness of a surprise birthday party. Hurry Up, Slow Down (Level D) is about a little girl who is walking to school with her father and is caught up in the simple beauty around her. Finally, Everyday Beautiful (Level H) is about two boys who have been asked to find something beautiful. One boy overlooks the natural beauty around him while another shows him how simple things can be beautiful.

There are five titles in the collection that use science related to light and shadows to tell a story. They range in levels from C-J. We wrote these to align with science standards. If you teach light and shadows, you may find these texts a nice way to integrate your science content into your reading instruction.

The books are all in flipbook format and are free to use and share with children, but they require a password to access them. To get the password, complete the form below. When you hit submit, a password will pop up on the screen. Use that password in step 2 (below) to access the books.

If you already have the these digital versions of some of the books should be helpful. Although you don't need the lessons to use the books, if you are interested in the lessons that go with the books, they are available from .

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Free Virtual Guided Reading Book Collection

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A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

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Jennifer Serravallo

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Introduction
A Very Brief Introduction to Principles, Research, and Theory, and How to Use This Book
The idea for a book of writing strategies exists many times over. This one is possible only because of the great books that have come before it. There are books suggesting writing strategies meant for professional writers and college students, such as those by Noah Lukeman, Roy Peter Clark, and Janet Burroway, among others. There are countless examples of excellent compilations of writing strategies in books written for teachers of writing, such as Fletcher and Portalupi's Craft Lessons Series, Barry Lane's After "The End" (1993), Carl Anderson's Strategic Writing Conferences series (2008-2009), Donald Graves' many books, Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words (1999) and other titles, Katherine Bomer's books, Georgia Heard's books, Nancie Atwell's In the Middle (2014) and other resources, Lucy Calkins' Units of Study series, and many more. My aim in this book is to offer my favorite, most useful collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. I want to offer you a little bit of everything. I streamlined the language and examples, and I present the strategies in a format that is organized so that the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment. Of course, you'll elaborate on the streamlined language and make it your own.

But wait-before you dive in, I'm so glad you're taking the time to spend a few moments with this "Getting Started" introduction. In this introduction, you'll gain a helpful overview of the thinking that undergirds this book's ideas as well as an overview of its organization. You'll learn about strategies and all the aspects that I chose to include to elaborate on them-mentor texts, prompts, lesson language, teaching tips, and more. You'll learn how to navigate the pages of the book so you can find what you're looking for quickly and easily, for this is not a read-every-single-page kind of book (unless you want it to be). You'll get a quick crash course on some important terminology and concepts that will help you use this book to its fullest- thoughts about writing as a process, and modes and genres of writing, for example. And finally, you'll learn how to adapt what's in the book to fit your students' writing time in the classroom, no matter what form that time takes.
Click here to download more of the introduction of this book.
Goal 1: Composing with Pictures

Strategy Go back to your picture(s). Point to the part or picture that teaches something important about your topic. Touch or turn to the next part. Tell what new fact about your topic this part of the picture or this page teaches.

Lesson Language If I wrote or drew to teach, then when I read my writing back I'm going to make it sound like a teaching book. I'm going to tell my reader the facts I wrote about. Let me show you. I drew a picture of a big T. rex. I know a lot about them so I added a lot of details in my picture. I'm going to touch one part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very large jaws with big sharp teeth." Now I'm going to touch a new part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very short arms. It would only run using its hind legs."

Goal 2: Engagement - Independence, Increasing Volume, and Developing a Writing Identity

Strategy First, identify the problem you're having. Then, check the spot in the room, a resource, or a friend that might help you solve the problem. Try a solution. If it doesn't work, try something else.

Teaching Tip This strategy, like "Use the Room" that appears earlier in this chapter, assumes that there are things in the room that can be helpful, and that you've taught children how to use them. For example, in a primary classroom a word wall may help a writer to spell high-frequency words. If you've introduced and used mentor texts, then having these available for children to reference on their own could help them. Sometimes the problem might be that they need to work in a new spot in the room because of the amount of distractions at their current spot. Brainstorm possible problems with your students, and come up with a list of resources and solutions. Or, this strategy can be like a culmination of past teaching from this and other chapters.

Goal 3: Generating and Collecting Ideas

Strategy Decide on a new place to visit. Go there with no more than a notebook and a set of listening ears and observing eyes. Let yourself pick up on conversation and details of the person. Jot down what you observe, and also what you imagine, about the people you see.

Teaching Tip This strategy will take you outside of the classroom, so it would work well as a whole-class lesson followed by a field trip, or as a suggestion to a student, group, or class for independent writing outside of the school day.

Goal 4: Focus/Meaning

Strategy Think about a memory and all the events that are part of that memory. Think about what's important about that memory, or the big idea the memory leaves you with. Identify the one part of the memory that feels the most important. Write some ideas about what's important about it, and why it's important. Try to write just that one smaller part of the larger moment. Tell it bit by bit.

Teaching Tip The amount a writer will be able to reflect on the overall significance of a small moment will depend on her maturity level and experience with writing. For younger children, you may want to suggest choosing a small moment that will make a good story, rather than one imbued with a deep or heavy significance, or simply encourage them to narrow down the window of time

Goal 5: Organization and Structure

Strategy Before beginning to draft, visualize the shape of what you're going to make. Create some sort of quick visual, in pictures or in words, to represent the overarching structure. As you write, check back to see where you are in your plan.

Teaching Tip This is going to be most helpful after students have learned a variety of ways to structure their pieces and have been introduced to a variety of graphic organizers that would help them to organize, or shape, the information into a structure.

Goal 6: Elaboration

Strategy Think about the subtopics for which you'll want to collect information. Write each of your subtopics as a heading on a notebook or booklet page. As you find new information for your topic, think, "What page in my notebook should this go on? Which subtopic does it provide details for?"

Lesson Language I just found this interesting fact: Ballerinas really wear out their shoes. Many go through as many as 2-3 pairs per week! I'm going to look across the pages of my booklet to see where this would best fit. Would it belong in the section called "Types of Ballet Positions?" No, that's not about the positions. Would it go in the section called "Famous Ballets?" No. "What Ballerinas Wear?" Well, I do talk about pointe shoes in this section, so it might be cool to add this fact about how many pairs of pointe shoes the average ballerina needs. I'll keep the fact here.

Goal 7: Word Choice

Strategy Find all the action verbs in your piece. Focus on any that you think aren't as clear, precise, or exact as they could be. List several options for what might replace that word (use a thesaurus if you need it!). Choose the word that best matches your meaning.

Teaching Tip For this strategy to work, children will need to understand what an action verb is, so identification of verbs is a first step in this strategy. Many teachers weave in some instruction during other balanced literacy components such as word study, read-aloud, and/or shared reading. You could also plan to teach direct minilessons to the class or small groups for those who do not understand parts of speech.

Goal 8: Conventions - Spelling and Letter Formation

Strategy When trying to spell a word, try to visualize where you've seen it written and how you've seen it written before. It may help to close your eyes. Then, in a margin or on a piece of scrap paper, write how you think it's spelled. Try it a second or maybe even third way. Look back at what you've written and ask yourself, "Which of these tries looks right to me?"

Prompts

Check off the parts that look right to you.

Write the word as you think you've seen it before.

Which parts look right? Which part looks off?

Do you think there are some letters missing?

What part of that word is tricky for you?

The part you're trying to spell is also in the word _______. Does that help?

Goal 9: Conventions - Grammar and Punctuation

Strategy Find two sentences that talk about the same topic. Think about the relationship between those sentences. Choose a connector word and try combining the sentences into one. Reread and decide if you like the combined way or original way better.

Lesson Language Here's one spot in my draft where I have two sentences that I
think go well together. I wrote: "A dog is something that can keep you company. A dog
can cheer you up." What's the relationship between those two sentences? They both have
to do with something that is positive about owning a dog, so I think they are related. I'm
adding more information on. I'll try using and to combine those sentences: "A dog can
keep you company and cheer you up." Here's another spot: "I would love to have a dog.
My mom won't let me have a dog." What's the relationship between those two sentences?
The second sentence gives more information that feels in contrast to the first. I'll combine
them with however: "I would like to have a dog, however my mom won't let me." The
new sentence I made seems clearer and more to the point.

Goal 10: Collaborating with Writing Partners and Clubs

Strategy Talk with your partner about your goals (for the writing period, for the week, and/or for writing work to take place at home, and so on). Discuss together how you might get that work done. Write the goal, and make the promise...then check in with your partner soon.

Teaching Tip Reflect on your own life and goals you've set out to accomplish. Now think about how successful you've been and whether or not you made your goals public ahead of time. I know that when I share my goals with my partner, my friends, my colleagues, my editor, I am more likely to get things done. The built-in accountability, the opportunity to celebrate together, the lifeline of support in case something does not go according to plan-these are invaluable.

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Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.

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Collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. Organized so the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment.

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Workshop Planning Across Week -Mock-up Detailed

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Workshop Planning Across Week -Mock-up Detailed

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Purpose of Text Types for Shared Reading

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Purpose of Text Types for Shared Reading

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Burkins and Yates 2021

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High Leverage Instructional Routines for Problem Solving

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High Leverage Instructional Routines for Problem Solving

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Burkins and Yates

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High-Leverage Instructional Routines to Support Problem Solving Strategies

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What is the importance of teaching handwriting?
What does research say?

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A question: when we do shared reading, should we stick to the same book a few times just like we would in guided reading or not necessarily?

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Reading with independence, stamina, and engagement

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Reading with independence, stamina, and engagement

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How to best support small group phonics AND the same students who need fluency work at a DRA 8-18.

Making small groups work when we alternate reading and writing.

Working with EALs -- fluency won't come until they pick up more vocabulary. Some of the lessons from TC are quite advanced...

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How to move on with Phonics study when so many kids lack concepts from previous grades. (e.g. I am having to teach unit 4 on phonics from G1 because my students totally tanked the G1 assessment)

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How can we best support the EAL learners during workshop, especially those who are still learning the letter names and letter sounds in English?

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How can we best support the EAL learners during workshop, especially those who are still learning the letter names and letter sounds in English?

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Kindergarten is figuring out how to use interactive writing, since the students are still learning alphabet sounds and slowly starting to blend sounds and to read short words.

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Kindergarten is figuring out how to use interactive writing, since the students are still learning alphabet sounds and slowly starting to blend sounds and to read short words.

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KG Workshop Planning Across Week -Mock-up Detailed

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Questions:

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Questions

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Conferring - Whole Class Anecdotal Notes

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Unit Facing Conferring Reading - GR1UNIT1

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Analyzing RR Notes for Strategy Groups KG-G2

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From Shifting the Balance

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One of the questions I get asked frequently, is why do my tracing boards (and other tracing toys) not include a 'pen'.

The 'pen' being referred too, is a blank wooden stick to grasp and 'write over' tracing board letters. In a similar view, I have been asked if I will make a fashionable 'copy me' writing board. Copying boards involve the use of chalk or a whiteboard pen, where preschool children can repeatedly practice handwriting.

I often feel with these questions that there is a perception of tracing toys being ok, but children are in need of getting on with 'writing properly'. So, I want to look at the notion of needing a pen or pencil (or imitation like pen toy) in order to facilitate handwriting development optimally.

Safety and Research

A child's interest in and benefit from using tracing toys, starts much younger than often assumed. Children will typically engage with letters from age two onwards, especially their own names. This is why my tracing toys are CE certified from 12 months, so name boards and simple alphabet boards (with sign language) can be safely introduced to a play environment without concern.

Any small thin wooden pen tool is a potential play hazzard. Small parts shouldn't be introduced to children under the age of 36m due to the risk of choking. So introducing a pen-like a tool, would result in a child having to wait until the age of three to safely access the toy. However, safety is not the main reason for the 'missing pen' . I believe pen-like toys are actually a red herring.

Play Based Learning

Children prefer dough, fingerpaints, building blocks and threading activities for a long time before becoming really capable or interested in pen/ tool focused handwriting practice. This broader play-based learning, seen through the accumulation of refined fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, core body strength and postural control, really is creating the foundations handwriting sits upon.

How a child holds a pen is a learning process in itself. In terms of grasp, we see children moving through phases of palmar supinate, digital pronate, static tripod and eventually to a dynamic tripod grasp (at 4-6yrs). Children move through these phases gaining overall dexterity at their own pace too.

An x ray of a developed hand (around the age of 7) compared to an EYFS age child's hand is pretty informative. Also occupational therapists issue fantastic advice on how to develop handwriting in an age appropriate way matched to children's physical development. pic.twitter.com/DambEmTKLg
- Ruth Swailes #antiracist #consultant (@SwailesRuth) July 11, 2019

Ruth Swailes, a School Improvement Advisor recently shared insightful x-rays of a child hands at approximately 7 years old in comparison to x-rays from a 5 year old child during the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is the main photograph feature of this blog post.

In a discussion on Twitter, Ruth commented: "An x-ray of a developed hand (around the age of 7) compared to an EYFS age child's hand is pretty informative". As an image, she believes it prompts us to think about handwriting and handwriting development occurring 'in an age-appropriate way, matched to children's physical development."

"It's worth noting that it's not just the size of the child's hand which changes. The younger child has cartilage which will eventually become bone through the process of endocrinal ossification. This occurs around the ages of 6-8yrs."

Ruth's comments: "The physiology of young children's hands needs to be taken into consideration". Ruth points out hand maturation takes many years longer than assumed and that overall dexterity takes time. Handwriting practice starts AFTER the foundations have been thoroughly laid.

You can find the original thread here which is enlightening read: https://twitter.com/swailesruth/status/1149344734097264640?s=21.

I highly recommend a dig through and a resource shared by Ruth called 'Children, Young People and Families Occupational Therapy Team - Handwriting Development' by South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust.

It lists the play-based learning activities children will enjoy and the foundations of handwriting to start with. Many of which you will have seen illustrated on our feeds through tweezers, tongs, eyedroppers, craft activities involving lots of tracing and copying too: https://www.swft.nhs.uk/application/files/5614/5995/2571/handwriting_development.pdf

Another resource mentioned is : The Ultimate Guide to Mark Making in the Early Years, a book by internationally renowned teacher trainer Sue Cowley.

So to summerise, nurturing the whole body and not focusing in on the tool, the pen or pencil, allows children to grow into their capabilities. Pen like toys, too early, just limit safe play in toddlers and distract us of where the real work is happening in pre-schoolers: in play!

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Where is the Pen?! Nurturing Handwriting Through Play

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One of the questions I get asked frequently, is why do my tracing boards (and other tracing toys) not include a 'pen'. The 'pen' being referred too, is a blank wooden stick to grasp and 'write over' tracing board letters. In a similar view, I have been asked if I will make a fashionable 'copy me' writing board.

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Preschool and Making Books

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In my classroom, I typically have one or more ongoing class projects that last through the year. In 2008, I chose to replace journals with bookmaking. It was an exciting experience for my class because the children felt like real authors making real books. I read the book Already Ready, by Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover when it was published, which really sparked my interest in doing bookmaking in Pre-K.

One of the reasons I chose bookmaking was that I had noticed some children dictated really, really long stories to be written in their journal that were too long for one page and for one illustration (this is also mentioned in the book, Already Ready). Some children would continue to tell a story as long as I would write. Bookmaking "magically" solved that problem. I had also noticed a few children would make a continuous "novel" out of their journal by writing about the same topic on every journal page. I recall a child whose entire journal was about ghosts, another child whose journal was all about rainy days, and another whose journal told the various adventures of her one-eyed cat. Perhaps that is because in their experience of books, each page reflects the same topic. Most children have no experience with journals.

Reasons for using bookmaking with children:

It is project-based learning.

It is child-centered; children are able to follow their own interests in making books.

Books are familiar to young children; journals are not.

Since art is a child's "language", they can focus on composing stories through illustrations and/or symbolic writing.

Children know that books are a real form of published writing; a single piece of paper is not. -Ray and Glover, Already Ready, 2008

Children no longer create long stories for one page because they must use multiple pages to make a book. They understand that they must turn a page to tell the next idea in the story. -Ray and Glover, Already Ready, 2008

Important things to remember when doing bookmaking with children:

Allow children to choose the topic and genre of their books.

Allow children time during the day when they can choose to make books.

Set up the classroom with easily accessible bookmaking supplies.

Allow children to make revisions to their books.

Allow time for children to share their books by "reading" them to the class, friends, or other teachers.

Allow plenty of experiences with books: Expose children to different genres; Explore the parts and "ingredients" of the books you read.

Children have many opportunities to make books.
Children have opportunities to share their books with the class or other teachers.

Genres

When children are exposed to a variety of genres, they will be more likely to incorporate different genres into their bookmaking.

Informational Books

How-To Books

Counting Books

ABC Books

Poetry Books

Series Books

Fiction Books

Biography Books

Book Features

When reading books to children, point out the features you find in the book.

Author

Illustrator

Setting

Beginning, Middle, End

Cover

Title Page

End Pages

Vocabulary Pages (See this list for book examples)

Illustrations

Text

Thought Bubbles (example: the "Pigeon" books by Mo Willems)

Book Awards

Book Dedication

Page Numbers

Characters: who they are, what they do, what they say (See this list for examples of books with good character development; great for discussing characters in a story).

Artistic Media (Illustrations)

Books use a variety of artistic media to illustrate the books. Sometimes the type of media chosen is important to support the type of book the author is writing. Some books combine media. For example, the book Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems combines photography with drawings. Allow children to use different types of media in their bookmaking projects.

Drawing

Colored Pencil

Crayon

Watercolor Paint

Tissue Paper (Example: books by Eric Carle)

Fabric

Photography

Basic Supplies for Bookmaking

It is very important that bookmaking supplies are well-stocked and easily accessible to children. Children lose interest in bookmaking when supplies are not easily accessible to them. Place them in the classroom where children can get them without asking for them.

Pre-made blank books

Paper, staplers, tape (for children who like to make their own books)

Crayons

Markers of different thicknesses

Fine point pens and pencils

Colored Pencils

Camera for children who want to illustrate a book with photography

Place to store unfinished work

Place to showcase the children's books in the Reading Center

Bookmaking supplies are easily accessible to the children:

This is a file crate we use to store our unfinished work. Each child has a hanging folder with their name on it. The crate is easily accessible to the children.

Bookbinding Methods

The simplest: Fold 3 sheets of 11×18 inch paper in half and staple. If your children are typically using more than 6 pages, you can adjust the amount.

Make a posterboard cover that is 8×24 inches. Fold it over, insert 8×12 inch sheets of white construction paper inside, and staple.

Recycle manilla file folders for book covers. Trim the folders with a paper cutter to fit the size of the paper you use.

Allow children to come up with their own bookbinding methods.

Do not get caught up in making the children's books "cute", with shaped pages or complicated formats. Let the child choose how the book should be made.

Occasionally bind a child's book with a nice binding to give it the look and feel of a published book. You can bind it yourself or purchase pre-made hardcover books.

Dictation: To Write or Not to Write?

While some may disagree with me on this point, I leave that decision up to the child. I have some children who ask me to write their dictated sentences on each page of their books, and when they ask, I do write their dictation. Some children prefer to leave their pages text-free, and let the illustrations tell the story. Some children write their own text on each page by writing letter-like symbols or strings of letters. Some children will ask me to spell words for them. I've also had children who wrote their own text, yet came to me and requested that I write their words in the book.

I had one little boy tell me he did not want me to write in his book because, as he said, "I don't need you to write words in my book. I already know the words I need." When a child does not ask me to write their words in their book, I tape record them reading it. I later transcribe the recording along with page numbers, and tape the transcription in the back of the book so their parents and other adults will understand what the book says.

Additional Tips

One thing I noticed when we first started bookmaking in my class, was that most of the children were initially very interested in the project and went "full steam ahead". Once, when coming back to school after a week-long break, I noticed no one had written any books for several days since we had come back. A few days after that, a child asked me, "When can we write books again?" I realized that even though we had the supplies available and the crate for "unfinished work", children may need to be reminded of the bookmaking project from time to time. They also need to be allowed time to share their books with their classmates or other teachers to keep them interested. If they feel like writers, they love to write, but they only feel like writers when they have an appreciative audience with which to share.

I teach the children to write the page numbers in their book when it is complete (after revisions).

Use index cards to make "story idea cards". The children are always telling me a story about their lives, usually a story about how they got a cut, or about buying their new shoes, or what their cat did last Saturday. Write these stories on story idea cards with their name at the top, and stick them in a pocket chart or another place where the children can see them. When children are having difficulty thinking of ideas to write about in their books, you can read their own ideas from the cards.

I do not require the children to make books; I encourage.

Examples of Books

These are a few examples of books made by my students.

Monster Trucks, by Sean

This is an example of a book with child-written text.
This is what the book says, according to Sean:
Page 1: "Gas makes it go."
Page 2: "Next day, gas in the monster truck."
Page 3: "Next day, another monster truck."
Page 4: "Very, very high monster truck. A whole lot of gas."

Any Kind of Aliens, by Asher

This is an example of a book without text. The illustrations tell the story.
This is what the book says, according to Asher:
Page 1: "The aliens were jumping in their ship."
Page 2: "They kidnapped somebody."
Page 3: "They go and crash on Pluto on the big rock."
Page 4: "So they got a new ship."

Monster Trucks, by Giacomo

In this book, the child asked me to write his words on the pages.
This is what the book says, according to Giacomo:
Page 1: "The monster truck crashed the car."
Page 2: "The monster truck found the car."
Page 3: "He went inside the store."
Page 4: "He had to go get some gas."
Page 5: "Then he came out of the store."

Don't miss the literacy resource page!

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In my classroom, I typically have one or more ongoing class projects that last through the year. In 2008, I chose to replace journals with bookmaking. It was an exciting experience for my class because the children felt like real authors making real books.

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Kinder teachers would love to know more about teaching vocabulary in English to speakers of other languages.

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Kinder teachers would love to know more about teaching vocabulary in English to speakers of other languages.

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Sign up for free at the bottom of the page

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A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

There are 15 titles ranging from Level A to Level J. I have built flipbooks with each title, and embedded them here on the site. The text below, one of my favorite in the collection, is an example of the set-up for each book, and will show you how the flipbooks in the collection work. Missing Socks, like all the books in the collection, includes illustrations designed to engage students and deepen the story.
​

Mindfulness:
​There are three titles in the collection that relate to mindfulness. Happy (Level C) is about a little girl who is exploring different kinds of happiness, such as the calm happiness of a breeze vs. the palpable happiness of a surprise birthday party. Hurry Up, Slow Down (Level D) is about a little girl who is walking to school with her father and is caught up in the simple beauty around her. Finally, Everyday Beautiful (Level H) is about two boys who have been asked to find something beautiful. One boy overlooks the natural beauty around him while another shows him how simple things can be beautiful.

There are five titles in the collection that use science related to light and shadows to tell a story. They range in levels from C-J. We wrote these to align with science standards. If you teach light and shadows, you may find these texts a nice way to integrate your science content into your reading instruction.

The books are all in flipbook format and are free to use and share with children, but they require a password to access them. To get the password, complete the form below. When you hit submit, a password will pop up on the screen. Use that password in step 2 (below) to access the books.

If you already have the these digital versions of some of the books should be helpful. Although you don't need the lessons to use the books, if you are interested in the lessons that go with the books, they are available from .

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Free Virtual Guided Reading Book Collection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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Text Project

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The Reading GPS gives teachers information about whether students are moving toward the goal of proficient reading.

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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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EKC

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TC Pre-K-G6 Narrative Writing Progression

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TC Pre-K-G6 Narrative Writing Progression

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With your Team, practice what you would COMPLIMENT and TEACH these writers...

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With your Team, practice what you would COMPLIMENT and TEACH these writers...

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Upper Writers - With your Team, practice what you would COMPLIMENT and TEACH these writers...

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Upper Writers - With your Team, practice what you would COMPLIMENT and TEACH these writers...

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Conferring - Whole Class Anecdotal Notes

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- Which type of small group should we plan for?
- Which type of book might best support this group?

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Sign up for free at the bottom of the page

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A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

There are 15 titles ranging from Level A to Level J. I have built flipbooks with each title, and embedded them here on the site. The text below, one of my favorite in the collection, is an example of the set-up for each book, and will show you how the flipbooks in the collection work. Missing Socks, like all the books in the collection, includes illustrations designed to engage students and deepen the story.
​

Mindfulness:
​There are three titles in the collection that relate to mindfulness. Happy (Level C) is about a little girl who is exploring different kinds of happiness, such as the calm happiness of a breeze vs. the palpable happiness of a surprise birthday party. Hurry Up, Slow Down (Level D) is about a little girl who is walking to school with her father and is caught up in the simple beauty around her. Finally, Everyday Beautiful (Level H) is about two boys who have been asked to find something beautiful. One boy overlooks the natural beauty around him while another shows him how simple things can be beautiful.

There are five titles in the collection that use science related to light and shadows to tell a story. They range in levels from C-J. We wrote these to align with science standards. If you teach light and shadows, you may find these texts a nice way to integrate your science content into your reading instruction.

The books are all in flipbook format and are free to use and share with children, but they require a password to access them. To get the password, complete the form below. When you hit submit, a password will pop up on the screen. Use that password in step 2 (below) to access the books.

If you already have the these digital versions of some of the books should be helpful. Although you don't need the lessons to use the books, if you are interested in the lessons that go with the books, they are available from .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Virtual Guided Reading Book Collection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A couple of years ago, and I wrote a collection of guided reading books to go with the Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2018). Carnegie Learning has graciously agreed to let me share the fiction titles from this collection with you, here on this site.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

# data[].attributes.body
Text Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Reading GPS gives teachers information about whether students are moving toward the goal of proficient reading.