It is so important to read and discuss books that highlight students with disabilities. Not only does it help students become more knowledgeable and understanding about specific needs and challenges, but it also helps kids to become more inclusive, too. All students can relate to these books in some way, supporting the overarching idea that […]
Using Sticky Notes to Teach Reading Strategies
All grade and age levels need to concretely learn and practice active reading strategies. Just because reading comprehension strategies are more explicitly taught and focused on in primary grades doesn’t mean that middle and high school level teachers shouldn’t be teaching and reinforcing, too! Actually, as the content gets harder (around 5th to 7th grade) […]
Learning Sight Words
If you teach reading, you probably spend a great deal of time focusing on fluency, reading comprehension, and decoding skills. One area that I sometimes lacked giving sufficient support and instruction is sight words. Especially as a middle school or even upper elementary teacher, it’s easy to assume that students know the most common sight […]
Teaching Vocabulary
Teaching vocabulary can be one of the most critical skills for readers (especially struggling readers). Many times, students just skip over important vocabulary without using the context clues or word parts to help them. Children really need to be taught how to identify important vocabulary words and examine them to understand why they are used […]
Incorporating Games into Reading Time
For many students, reading is a fun and enjoyable time where they can learn new things and build on their strengths. But for many other students, reading is a dreaded time. This is especially true if the student has a weakness or disability in the area of reading. It’s hard to make reading fun for […]
Close Reading: Getting the students to ask the questions
As teachers move towards a style of “close reading”, it is more and more important to get students involved in their own learning when they read. The goal is that students are independent readers who can think critically about a text. Getting the students themselves to ask questions is one way that allows them to […]
Getting Kids to Really Read
One observation I’ve made over the years is that the students who actually enjoy reading make the most significant gains with reading. And yes, I mean “really read”. That means reading something they like, not just because a teacher said to read it. I know this sounds SO obvious! However, it’s always a struggle getting […]
