From the first year that we transitioned to teaching with authentic literature through the Reader’s Workshop model to last spring, my classroom library grew exponentially. Anytime I heard about new books being published, I ran to the local bookstore and grabbed them. I follow several blogs and twitter accounts that are focused on children’s literature.… Continue reading Gert and the Sacred Stones
Author: Kate Merten
Templates to Enhance Literacy Instruction
What a year! One thing that has been remarkable about this time is the amount of open sharing that educators have done. From Bitmoji Classrooms to teaching templates, we have embraced the notion of “We are all in this together.” In the coming weeks, many schools are returning to a full and in person model… Continue reading Templates to Enhance Literacy Instruction
Reinventing the Reading Journal
Pre Pandemic, my literacy instruction followed the Readers Workshop model. Reading journals were essential to the success of my instruction. This fall I worked with my friend and fellow blogger, Ann Williams to create this journal to support her fourth graders with reading instruction. While this journal has worked well for Ann’s fourth graders, we… Continue reading Reinventing the Reading Journal
The Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
"A love letter to black America" ~ Kwame Alexander https://youtu.be/pLCLX8xW11k Author Kwame Alexander is a wonderful example of the power of perseverance. In the video below he talks about getting his book Crossover published, and the seventeen or eighteen rejections he received before being successful. Then he talks about his book The Undefeated . https://youtu.be/6CLWVHObYms… Continue reading The Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Student Response and Class Discourse with Pear Deck
Remote Learning Distance Learning Hybrid Learning No matter how you say it, teaching has changed. Experienced teachers have had to reinvent themselves, finding new ways to teach concepts that were once second nature. More than once this year I have heard, “I feel like this is my first year teaching,” and “Today was not my… Continue reading Student Response and Class Discourse with Pear Deck
Reimagining Anchor Charts in the Virtual Environment
One thing I love about teaching is creating anchor charts with my students. I know, it sounds crazy, but I love it. I love the discussions that take place as students share their thinking, and I love seeing the anchor charts evolve as students begin to think more deeply about a story. When we are… Continue reading Reimagining Anchor Charts in the Virtual Environment
Reading to Students in a Remote Environment
If you walk through an elementary school during the first week of school, at almost any time of day, you will hear teachers reading aloud to their students. Teachers use books to teach lessons about friendship and about being an individual. We use old favorites, such as Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester to teach… Continue reading Reading to Students in a Remote Environment
Stargazing by Jen Wang
In June, I made a commitment to read more books with main characters from different cultures. My commitment grew as I looked for books with these characters, where their race or their culture was NOT the focus of the book, but rather the book was about these characters who happen to be from a different… Continue reading Stargazing by Jen Wang
Summer 2020: My Rebuilt Stack
2020. Like many of you, 2020 has been for me, a time to survive. Teaching remotely, and trying to do it well, living in quarantine and pretending that all is normal, grocery shopping (!), posting monthly on this blog; it has been quite a year. This month, I was so excited to share my summer… Continue reading Summer 2020: My Rebuilt Stack
Celebrating Literature in a Virtual Environment – Part 1
This is the first in a two part series about Book Celebrations in the Virtual Learning Environment. Both posts were written by Kate Merten and Ann Williams. Check back on 5/28/20 for part two! At home learning is the new normal for the remainder of the school year, and we are all working very hard… Continue reading Celebrating Literature in a Virtual Environment – Part 1
Just Keep Reading…Part 2
“What are you reading?” How many times have you been asked this question? In this unprecedented time, this question is now followed up with, “Where are you getting your books?” Have you read all of the books you have at home? Are you interested in trying some new genres or authors? Do you want to… Continue reading Just Keep Reading…Part 2
Just Keep Reading…
Readers ~ Many of us are spending time at home in the next few weeks, and many of us are looking for new and interesting books to read. Have you read all of the books you have at home? Are you interested in trying some new genres or authors? Do you want to hear a… Continue reading Just Keep Reading…
Camp by Kayla Miller
Graphic Novels ~ As teachers we hear so much about them. Many parents (and some educators) feel that graphic novels “don’t count” as reading. I couldn’t disagree more. There are many, many benefits to reading this type of book. Some benefits that I have found are: Inferring - this is perhaps the biggest benefit to… Continue reading Camp by Kayla Miller
Spencer’s New Pet, by Jessie Sima
Picture this… 21 students sitting silently “listening” to a story. Only this story is different. There are no words. There is not a sound- not from the teacher or from the students. You can hear a pin drop. This wordless picture book is like no other I have read. Illustrated in black and white with… Continue reading Spencer’s New Pet, by Jessie Sima
Please Don’t Eat Me, by Liz Climo
Have you ever had an unusual friendship? One in which it seems like your friendship doesn’t seem to work very well, or at all? Maybe you felt that your friends wouldn’t approve? These were all questions posed before we began reading Please Don’t Eat Me by author and illustrator Liz Climo. This book highlights the… Continue reading Please Don’t Eat Me, by Liz Climo
I Want a Dog, By Jon Agee
My fourth grade class recently began our thematic study of dogs. During this study, we will participate in an Interactive Read Aloud, Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer, read fiction and nonfiction books about dogs and become experts on the subject. To introduce our unit this year, we read I Want a Dog by… Continue reading I Want a Dog, By Jon Agee
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill
“Be Kind” ~ How often have you heard those words? How often have you said them? We spend hour after hour sharing the importance of being kind and trying to teach our students the value of kindness. But what does it mean to be kind? Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller takes the concept of… Continue reading Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill
When Pencil Met Eraser by Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos, Jr., illustrated by Germán Blanco
https://youtu.be/YiMwpCJ8VWc Pencil was an artist who liked to work alone. When he met Eraser, he was not interested in seeing anything that Eraser had to offer. Throughout this story, s Eraser continued to change Pencil’s drawings, and each time Pencil grew angrier and angrier. He thought his art was amazing, and it didn’t need to… Continue reading When Pencil Met Eraser by Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos, Jr., illustrated by Germán Blanco