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Books that also teach children social skills are great to keep in the classroom library. If the teachers notices a prominent social problem (for example, bullying) she may choose to read the children a book about the subject of bullying. When children can see the characters in the book and relate to them, it teaches a social lesson in addition to a literacy lesson!

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2013/11/88-books-that-teach-important-lessons.html

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For students to connect to the literature, it is important that it be diverse and relevant to all students. Books should feature characters of different ethnic and familial backgrounds. They should feature students with disabilities. All students should feel represented and accounted for while they look through the classroom library.

http://www.theeducatorsspinonit.com/2015/01/books-for-raising-global-kids-i-see-sun.html

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Multicultural Children's Book Day Features 

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Literature can offer children an escape from reality, and reading literature will improve their reading and comprehension skills as well. Students can make connections to the literature and develop higher order thinking skills while reading. There are many different styles of literature that students can read - so there is something for everyone!

http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/professional-development/childlit/ChildrenLit/

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Since students may not all know the same amount of information regarding technology, it is a good idea to have common technological symbols for students to read about displayed clearly in the classroom. Using a visual key, students can read and learn about different things that may come up during their use of technology. It is good reading practice, and it is helpful in cutting down on questions and confusion.

http://www.erintegration.com/2014/12/11/thinglink-thursday-universal-icons-to-teach-your-students/

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Having a class Instagram account is a fun way to keep students engaged in classroom happenings. For literacy purposes, it can be used for daily literacy challenges, homework updates, writing inspiration, and more.

http://blog.leeandlow.com/2015/03/09/10-ways-to-use-instagram-in-the-classroom/

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As technology changes quickly, it is important that students understand and master technological tools in the classroom. This means more than just having computers. There are many ways that teachers can infuse technology throughout their lessons. Technology should be used regularly and routinely in elementary school classrooms.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/literacy-instruction-digital-and-media-technologies

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When students can visually see the steps of the writing process, it may be easier for them to understand how it works. Using clothespins, students can physically move their names from one step of the process to the next. This will help build up their confidence and allow them to see what is coming next.

http://www.mrsbeattiesclassroom.com/2013/04/writing-organization-woes.html

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Since writing workshop is a time when teachers confer with students individually, often times students need to rely on themselves to check and revise their writing when the teacher is busy with another student. Writing checklists can help students make sure they are staying on task. They can be differentiated and modified to fit all students' needs.

http://www.theteacherwife.com/search/label/writing

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Teachers can work on writing skills with students by first teaching a mini lesson and then by conferencing with each student individually to work on skills. During writing workshop students can work with partners as well to revise and edit the works they've written.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/writing_workshop.html

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Differentiation is key, but may be difficult during Centers. Color-coding folders for differentiated instruction among different groups of students is a casual but organized way of making sure each student gets exactly what he or she needs during center time.

http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.com/2014/12/easy-differentiation-with-colored.html

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While students are working independently and the teacher is busy conferring with groups, it is a good idea to have something for students to reference about "tips" for good reading. Making a chart with all the things that "good readers do" is a good idea. Reviewing it often and having it displayed clearly may help students with remembering what they need to do during independent or group reading.

http://msthirdgrade.blogspot.com/search/label/anchor%20chart

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Readers Workshop typically consists of a mini lesson followed by opportunities for students to practice the new skill. Centers allow students to work independently or in groups. They are enjoyable because students get to move around the room and become engaged in several different types of activities.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2009/10/reading-workshop

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To get kids actively engaged and up and about, a comprehension beach ball is a good idea! The beach ball should have different comprehension questions written on (that are grade-appropriate). The students take turns throwing the ball around. Where ever their hands are when they catch it - that's the question they have to answer.

http://www.icanteachmychild.com/reading-comprehension-beach-ball/

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Using the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, "cootie catchers" are a fun way to recall parts of a story and also ask students higher order thinking questions. All of the skills on the game are helpful in developing reading comprehension skills.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Comprehension-1787131

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Text comprehension is essential to teach students because understanding what we read is so important. There are many things that teachers can do to improve students' comprehension. It is important to practice the skills needed to comprehend text often.

http://www.benchmarkeducation.com/best-practices-library/comprehension-strategies.html

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Sticky notes are a popular way to help students organize their thoughts while they read. Color-coding the sticky notes and placing them in the form a bookmark ensures that the students will not lose their place - in addition to making sure sticky notes are always available as they read.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sticky-Note-Bookmarks-1379340

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Using audio books or video read alouds in addition to traditional read aloud methods is fun and engaging for students. Videos like this example feature the words of the story at the bottom so students can read along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfE5X-bn3uU

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There are many ways to have students read in a classroom - and to make sure all students are accounted for, it is important to utilize more than one style of reading. Teachers can use read alouds, guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/types-reading-aloud-guided-shared/

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Games like muffin tin reading games help to develop a child's gross motor skills while also increasing his or her vocabulary knowledge. Students can take turns throwing a ball into the tin and then giving their own definition of the word. They can also use the word in a sentence or manipulate the word to make a new word!

http://growingbookbybook.com/2011/10/31/muffin-tin-reading-games/

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Giving students organizers to learn different vocabulary words helps them to remember the words. It may also help them remember certain suffixes and prefixes associated with the word.

http://tipsandtricksteacher.blogspot.com/2012/08/upper-elementary-middle-school-reading.html

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Vocabulary development is key for reading comprehension. The more words students can understand, the easier it will be for them to comprehend a text. Vocabulary development can be planned or happen spontaneously and organically throughout all sorts of lessons!

http://www.k12reader.com/effective-strategies-for-teaching-vocabulary/

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To get kids up during a lesson, incorporate sight and CVC words with exercises. This is especially helpful for students who cannot sit still for a long period of time because it gets their bodies moving. The class gets to shout out the words as they appear, and the more they are exposed to the words, the more familiar they become. The more words they are familiar with, the more fluent their reading will become!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xxZslXZcUQ

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Games like "Roll and Read" utilize students' downtime to develop their fluency. Students can roll a die and read the corresponding passage. The passages should feature sight words.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Moffatt-Girls/Order:Most-Recently-Posted#seller_details_tabs

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Fluency is a student's ability to read a text accurately and quickly with expression. A student with good reading fluency recognizes words automatically and comprehends the text as he or she reads.

http://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101/fluency

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Teaching students about word families is a good way to promote phonics development. While learning about word families, students learn to manipulate words. This may help students with their reading and writing skills. Spinners with different word families are a fun and engaging way to learn phonics!

http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/spin-a-word-family/

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For young children, physically sorting items based upon the sound of their beginning letters is a good way to practice phonics. Teachers can label baskets or bins and let children sort out small items based upon the beginning letters.

http://theimaginationtree.com/2014/03/phonics-activity-sorting-baskets.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+theimaginationtree/XyqA+(The+Imagination+Tree)

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Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds in language. Phonics is necessary to help children learn to speak, read, and write.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-tips/phonics-basics/

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Teachers can create songs that use silly words to teach students about letter sounds. For example - teachers can change the first letter of a word in a song so students can hear and then verbalize the differences between letter sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjc_kOgjZas

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Using letter sound clip cards can help students learn to identify letters based upon the sound that they make. Students can identify the picture on the card, and then identify the letter that makes that sound!

http://www.themeasuredmom.com/52-free-cards-for-teaching-letter-sounds/

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Phonemic awareness is a student's ability to hear, identify, and manipulate different sounds in the form of spoken words. It is important for students to understand and to be able to work with phonemes, because when this will help them better comprehend word meaning later on.

http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html

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Book Baskets are a great way to engage very young readers. For a given story book, a corresponding themed basket is created! The baskets may include dolls, animals, small tokens, and other sensory-stimulating items. As children read, they can use the items to represent characters, they can act out various scenes, or they can retell the story or make predictions about what would happen next.

http://afewshortcuts.com/2014/07/how-to-make-preschool-book-baskets/#_a5y_p=2100610

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Simply displaying the alphabet for children to see is beneficial for early childhood literacy development. Students can point to different letters, identify them, make letter sounds, and state words that begin with given letters. The alphabet can be displayed on walls, in books, or in the form of games.

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/05/z-review.html

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Many children are exposed to reading or writing before they even get into a classroom setting. The methods these young students use may appear different from traditional literacy education methods. They may involve the use of play, pretend, symbols, or scribbles! http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/early-language-literacy/beginnings-of-literacy.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/