September 19

Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School

September 19

In the News
Aoccdrnig to a recheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervitsy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny imprmoetmt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer beat the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae teh humamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istief, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/
"Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that provides information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help."

All Kinds of Minds - Mastering the Challenges of Reading: http://www.allkindsofminds.org/learningBaseCategory.aspx?categoryID=2

Can All Kids Read?: http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0502/coverstory.html
With penalties looming under NCLB, educators are increasingly using 'scripted' reading programs to teach budding readers, but this newest trend in reading instruction has fast become a lightning rod for controversy.

Cuddling Up With Your Child and a Good Book -- 10 Great Resons to Read Together: http://www.booknutsreadingclub.com/cuddlingup.html

Education World Job Newletter
Subscribe at: http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml

Edutopia is magazine by the George Lucas Foundation. It highlights many of the ways technology is used in the classroom. The latest issue can be found at: http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/index.php You can subscribe to it at: http://www.edutopia.org/products/edutopianews.php

Half-Baked Software: http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/index.php
"The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. Other users must pay for a licence. Check out the Hot Potatoes licencing terms and pricing on the Half-Baked Software Website"

Long-Awaited Study Shows ‘Success for All’ Gains: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/05/11/36success.h24.html
" A rigorous study of 38 schools that are using the Success for All improvement program has found that students read better after two years in the program and outpace students in regular classrooms by up to half a school year. But the long-awaited study, which was posted online last week, is as notable for its research design as it is for its results."

Promoting Strong Motivation Within Your Readers: http://www.mrsstedman.net/facilitatingmotivation.html

Reliability of web info challenges educators: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5424
Go to Google, search and scroll results, click and copy: When students do research online these days, many educators worry, those are often about the only steps they take. If they can avoid a trip to the library at all, many students gladly will.

Study shows some teens not as Web-savvy as parents:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2005-01-30-teens-usat_x.htm
A study by the Nielson Norman Group found that young adults are not as adept as parents in Web researching skills and dealing with sites that have design obstacles, which goes against the widely held perception that teenagers' Web skills surpass their parents'. The study concluded that immaturity and poor reading skills explain this performance. In addition, the study found that businesses are not doing a good job of using effective strategies to target teenagers, who prefer a cleaner design over "glitzy blinking graphics."

Reading Research

Deford Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile: http://www.suu.edu/faculty/lundd/3520web/torp.htm
A slide show about it can be found at: http://courseweb.coe.unt.edu/dana/4820/CH1/sld004.htm

How children learn to read: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/ccld_learn.html

Kendall, Juli "The Million-Dollar Question: How Do We Connect Reading and Writing?" http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/JK70.html

Preparing Our Teachers-Opportunities for Better Reading Instruction: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074452/html/
This book can be read online.

Probst, Robert "Classroom Talk about Literature: Or, the Social Dimensions of a Solitary Act" http://www.npatterson.net/probst/vm.html

Put Reading First: http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/PFRbooklet.pdf http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/PFRbrochure.pdf

Reading for Comprehension: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1465/MR1465.pdf

Report of the National Reading Panel on teaching children to read: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/teaching_children_to_read.html

Running Record: http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_mylabschool_demo_1_UB/0,9736,1641430-,00.html
Running records modeled.

Schrum, Lynne "Technology in the Classroom: Asking the Right Questions" ENC (Eisenhower National Clearinghouse) http://www.enc.org/focus/edtech/document.shtm?input=FOC-000694-index

Simple Things You Can Do To Help All Children To Read Well and Independently by the End of Third Grade: http://www.ed.gov/PDFDocs/simple.pdf

Reading Programs
Lexile Framework for Reading: http://www.lexile.com/

Success for All Foundation: http://www.successforall.com/

Voyager Literacy Reading: http://www.iamvoyager.com/literacy/index.jsp

4-Blocks
Four Blocks is the name of a reading/writing method laid out by Patricia Cunningham. Basically, it uses four main "blocks" to teach and practice the skills of reading and writing. One is self-selected reading, one is guided reading, one is working with words, and one is a writing workshop. The program emphasizes kids working at their reading levels for independent reading, supporting children in accessing and understanding reading that may be slightly above their level, lots of modeling of reading strategies and written work. It fits in with reading/writing workshop and differentiating instruction.
Four Blocks is the idea of teaching reading four times a day - phonics; writing; self selected reading; and guided reading. Guided Reading the Four Blocks Way is focusing all the students attention on comprehension. You set a purpose in your before reading, then during reading, the children work in a variety of formats (small group, whole group, echo reading, shared reading, partner reading, individual reading, etc.), then the children work in an after reading discussion making sure that every child
knows what was learned.
Some books by Patricia Cunningham:
Phonics They Can Use
Classrooms that Work: They Can All Read and Write

4 Blocks Literacy in Kankakee: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/FourBlocks/

The Carbo Reading Styles Program-National Reading Styles Institute (NRSI): http://www.nrsi.com/

Four Blocks Literacy Center: http://www.readinglady.com/4blocks/
Includes PowerPoint presentation of Four Blocks

The Four Blocks Literacy Model: http://www.wfu.edu/~cunningh/fourblocks/about_fourblocks.html

Four Blocks: Research: http://www.wfu.edu/~cunningh/fourblocks/research.htm

Word Wall Activities: http://www.wfu.edu/~cunningh/fourblocks/block4.html
Just in case you're running a bit stale with your spelling lists or word walls, here are numerous suggestions for word wall activities for elementary classrooms.

Word Wall Lists: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/word_wall_grade_level_lists.htm
For kindergarten through third grade, find weekly lists to use for your classroom word walls. The site suggests printing each batch on different colored card stock, and includes those categories as well.
Word Wall Routine: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/word_wall_routine.htm
Working within the four blocks literacy framework, word walls have established a solid footing in elementary classrooms. Here are some suggestions on how to use them to your best advantage, with further extension activities.

6-Traits
6-Traits Writing Rubric: http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/RWdownld/MvaleRubric.pdf

Sandy Hoodenpyle's 6+1 spreadsheets scoring guide: http://www.middleweb.com//mw/images/Scorguide6traits.xls and student friendly version: http://www.middleweb.com//mw/images/SFriendly6traits.xls (cancel the login window,if it appears and the spreadsheets open)

Six Traits Posters: http://www.readinglady.com/Six_Trait_Writing/index.html

The Writing Process: A Web Tutorial with Conn McQuinn & Mona Roach, Ph.D: http://www.psesd.org/technology/writeprocess/default.html
The Puget Sound Educational Service District has come up with a quick tutorial for teachers on how to teach the five stages of writing: prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish. Tell your students it's like making a pizza, where you first gather the ingredients for your story and then assemble it. Be sure to click on the video player to watch the stages being taught in an actual classroom.

Practical ideas
-Have kids circle the 2 traits on the 6-trait rubric that THEY want graded. It puts some differentiation into the grading and is less to think about than 6-traits. It definitely saves time.

Big6
Big6-An Information and Problem Solving Process: http://www.big6.com/

The Big Six: http://www.gardensprings.fcps.net/library/thebig6_files/frame.htm
This is a seven slide PowerPoint presentation of questions.

Big6 Bulletin Board: "Santa Uses the Big6 to Plan Ahead!": http://www.big6.com/showarticle.php?id=320

Practical ideas
-Here's a suggestion to introduce the whole process to middle age students.. Try explaining to them that they are already expert researchers--they just don't know it yet, but that they do research every day of their lives. Then divide them into groups of 4 or 5 and tell them to pretend that they are going to a
movie together this weekend. Brainstorm the first Big6 step--what movie, what questions do they need to ask & have answered to choose a movie-- like the cost, time, theater, how they can get there, and so on. Move on to Step 2--where can they find out this info--newspaper, calling the theater, Internet, and so on. Which one is the best source and why? How do they use the newspaper (find the entertainment section of the paper)--and find all the answers to their questions, choose a movie and report to the whole group what they decided and why. For the last step, they can reflect on any info that was difficult to find (not all newspapers tell the cost, for instance) and how they could find out that information were they to do it again.
- Big6 when checking out library books
Step 1: Students come to check out sci-fi/fantasy. Define the task, & decide on the important information, which are the characteristics of sci-fi/fantasy books.
Step 2: Discuss where to locate sci-fi/fantasy.
Step 3: Do a few booktalks.
Step 4: Kids search, look through the books, etc.
Step 5: Kids check out books.
Step 6: The next week., kids tell me if their book met the criteria, and if they enjoyed it.

Fountas/Pinnell Literacy Collaborative Way
Fountas/Pinnell uses data to drive the small homogenous guided reading groups. The data comes from running records that you do with the students to determine their reading level and assess the strategies they are using. Then, you plan your instruction based on the strategies they need to use. Independent strategy use is the goal. They use a Shared Reading component for Large Group work. They emphasize Vigotsky's "zone of proximal development" as the key for developing lesson plans for reading. The plan shifts from K-3rd grade based on the students development and ability to be more independent in a Reading Workshop approach. F/P has phonics books you can buy that are K, 1st, and 2nd grade.

Independent Reading Ideas
DEAR - drop everything and read - students read books independantly on their own reading level

Story Card - students read an assigned story and draw a picture and/or write about their favorite part. This can be varied by having students write the problem and solution of the story they read. This helps monitor comprehension.

Illustrate - students draw pictures of words from the word family they are studying that week.

Big into Small - students take a large word (sometimes I make it seasonal like Thanksgiving) and make as many smaller words as they can out of it. Magnets can be used to do this so they can just slide the letters around.

Pocket Chart - Cut up a song or poem that is familiar to the students. This can be done line by line or word by word. Students take the cut pieces and assemble it correctly. You can provide them with a copy of the song or poem.

Word hunt - students look for certain words in their reading.

Integrated Curriculum
Center for Problem Based Learning: http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/cpbl.html

Kathy Nunley's Layered Curriculum: http://www.help4teachers.com/

Reciprocal Teaching: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at6lk38.htm

Lexile Framework for Reading
Lexile Framework for Reading: http://www.lexile.com/

Spelling
50 Common Spelling Errors: http://dissc.tees.ac.uk/Mistakes/Spelling/Test/word1.htm

50 commonly misspelled words: http://www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html

When Two Vowels Go Walking: http://pbskids.org/lions/songs/two_vowels_rp.html
Do you remember the song "Conjunction Junction" from Schoolhouse Rock? Putting words to music is a great way of remembering things! The Between the Lions site has a wonderful song and animation called "When Two Vowels Go Walking" that explains the rule for when a vowel is silent.

Daily Spelling Bee: http://www.zdaily.com/words.shtml
Online test of spelling skills

Dictionary of Prefixes and Suffixes: http://www.spellingbee.com/pre_suf_comb.pdf

Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.html

Houghton-Mifflin spelling site: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsv/smg/index.html
For grades 1-8, this site was created to go along with the Houghton-Mifflin textbook series. It is an
interactive game for spelling.

Learn to Read: http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/index/load.htm?f
This is an excellent interactive site for phonetic spelling.

look, cover, write, check: http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/toftwood/lcwc.html

Merriam-Webster OnLine: http://www.m-w.com/
This site has a dictionary, thesaurus, free subscription information for Word of the Day email, toolbar that allows you to look up words on any webpage, and games.

Prefix Game and Associated Worksheets: http://members.aol.com/twittwoo/grpdfs/prefixgame.pdf

Quiz Hub - online interactive quizzes on a variety of topics (with sound): http://quizhub.com/quiz/quizhub.cfm

Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee: http://www.spellingbee.com/index.shtml

Spelling - Harcourt Brace. grades 1 through 6: http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/harcourt_brace_spelling.html

Spelling With Spellit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/index.shtml

Spelling Worksheets from Spelling it Right: http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/exlist.html

Sweating That Spelling Test: http://www.nasaexplores.com/show_k4_teacher_st.php?id=03010994210&gl=k4

Ultimate Spelling Quiz: http://www.ocstc.org/pdf/spellquiz.pdf

Words and Pictures: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/index.shtml

This site began in March 1998 and was created by Janet Luch. This page was last updated on September 18, 2005.
Email to studyplans@yahoo.com.