Literacy Speaks Volumes

Writing is very much an art. Just look at our scrawled notes that we leave each other compared to the beautiful penmanship that was required years ago. It is both a visual and an emotional art. I love to hand write notes, letters, and journal entries. Writing is a very creative endeavor that requires skill, passion, and discipline.

The United Service Organization (USO) is a nonprofit organization that provided live entertainment and other programs to members of the United States Armed Forces and their families. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense, relying heavily on private contributions and on funds, goods, and services from various corporate and individual donors. Although it is congressionally chartered, it is not a government agency. The USO operates 160 centers worldwide.

Standard Weekly Routines Repeated work with words Explore word meanings with dictionaries Writing sorts, word study, vocabulary notebooks Word hunts Partner work: timed sorts, blind sorts, writing sorts Games and other activities Assessment The generative process of how word elements--prefixes and bases are put together. Identify prefixes and what each means Explain how the addition of a prefix changes the meaning of the word Spell the words correctly

The three-tier structure is often illustrated as a three-tier pyramid with Tier 1 at the bottom and Tier 3 at the top. A four-tier approach is another option. The fourth tier indicates the referral process used to evaluate students for a potential special education need. The focus herein will be on the three-tier model as it is the most common. The components that make up Tier 1 create a solid foundation for RTI. The basis of Tier 1 is a high-quality, guaranteed, and viable curriculum including standards-based instruction supported by research-based materials. The regular education classroom is the setting for Tier 1. Within Tier 1, teachers commit to devoting time to each subject and curricular fidelity. The time commitment typically includes a minimum of ninety minutes of reading per day as this gives the appropriate time for content, concepts, and application of understanding. The strong emphasis on reading is due to federal legislation regarding state testing ...

Developing readers find it difficult to select appropriate books for independent reading. these students also struggle with independent reading as a task in general. the students sitting in your intervention class have difficulty sustaining any level of silent reading, and they are unable to create written responses to the texts that they are reading. So, how can you help these kiddos? Make sure that you have an extensive varied collection of books for all the readers in your class. Provide book talks for students who are reading at an easier level. Help students craft their own book talks for one another. Attend carefully to your reading interviews with developing readers. Check in with your developing readers every day. Seat developing readers next to established readers. Help developing readers find books that are just right for them. Confer with developing readers more frequently than with other readers. Listen to students read aloud often. Talk about books with all of you...

This photo belongs to Melissa Reese Etheridge  RTI is a structure that aligns instruction and systems of assessment, data collection and analysis, and interventions to best meet the academic and behavioral needs of students. It is based on the belief that all students--including English learners, students with disabilities, students who are economically disadvantaged, and students of all ethnic backgrounds--can learn if they are given the proper materials, strategies, and interventions. The goal of RTI is to maximize student achievement through the use of effective instruction strategies while teaching and promoting behaviors that are supportive of the learning environment. Think of RTI as the framework for a service-delivery system that includes high-quality instruction, evidence-based academic and behavioral interventions, frequent monitoring of student progress, the regular and consistent use of data for decision making, and team collaboration. Evidence-based intervention...

How do you find and choose texts for shared reading? These resources can make a critical difference in the success of any shared reading. In the intervention classroom, the idea of reading an entire novel independently can be overwhelming. These students especially need a shared reading experience. While many novels lend themselves to oral reading, I always try to choose books with rich dialogue, interesting characters, and intriguing conflicts as the focus for any shared reading experience.  Choosing these books can be most important thing that you do for your developing readers. In order to choose good shared reading books, you need two good knowledge bases:  Know your students. Know your resources. You can get to know your students through surveys and questionnaires. Here are some possible items to include in a reading questionnaire: What books, plays, or other texts have you read in other reading classes that you liked? What texts have you read in ...

What are the ways that students can use their writing? First, students can use their writing as a way to connect with their peers. Secondly, Students can use their writing to take action in their communities and around the world. If we want our developing readers to become skillful writers, then we need to allow them to read skillful writers.  So, what does a skillfully written piece look like? It is interesting and relevant. It is surprising, puzzling, funny, quirky, and frank. It is complex enough to justify time and thought. It invites the reader to visualize places, faces, and events. It features people that you can get interested in. It provokes lots of questions. It contains debatable issues that provoke lively discussions. It supports a wide array of writing responses and topics. Give your students rich and relevant content that they will enjoy reading, thinking, talking, and writing about. The mentor texts that you ...

Eight Ways to Foster a Nurturing Writing Atmosphere You don't need to grade every piece of writing. Periodically collect and review pieces of text to gauge engagement and thinking. Assign much more writing than you will actually read. Your students write before, during, and after studying a topic. Your students write for purposes and audiences beyond the teacher's inbox. You need to break longer writing assignments into a series of doable steps. Your students should recognize and emulate the craft techniques found in mentor texts. Your students should write with an eye toward voice, creativity, originality, and humor. Your students should use writing to explore and monitor their own thinking.

There are 13 different types of questions found on standardized tests. Context Clues: You will determine the meaning of a word based on its context. To check your answer, try using it in the sentence from the text to be sure it makes sense. Root Words: You will draw on your knowledge of word roots and affixes to determine the meaning of a word. To check your answer, try using it in the sentence from the text to be sure it makes sense. Figurative Language: You will answer questions about the meaning of figurative language and symbolism used by an author. To check your answer, ask yourself whether it fits with the overall meaning of the text. Characterization: You will describe an author's use of characterization. Look back at the text to find information that supports your answer. Setting: You will tell how the setting of a work contributes to its effect. Ask yourself how the work would be different if it were set in a different time or place. Plot: You ...

Types of Multiple-Choice Questions Many multiple-choice questions fall into categories. The following are the most common categories: Main Idea: The most important point expressed in a reading passage is the main idea. The main idea must relate to the entire passage, not just to a portion of it. After reading a passage, locate and underline the main idea. Significant Details: You will most probably be asked to recall specific details from a reading passage. You will know what details to look for if you read the questions before re-reading  the passage. Underline these details as you re-read. Remember that correct answers do not always use the precise phrases or words that appear in the passage. Vocabulary: Standardized tests will often ask you to define a word within the context of the passage. In many instances, the answer choice will include an actual meaning of the word that does not fit the context in which the word appears. Reading the answer choices and the...

The main goal of the reading questions on any standardized test is to determine your understanding of different aspects of a reading passage. Basically, if you can grasp the main idea and the author's purpose and then pay attention to the details and vocabulary so that you are able to draw inferences and conclusions, you will do will on these types of tests. Strategies for answering multiple choice questions Here are some suggestions for taking any standardized reading test: First, read the passage as if you were not even taking a test. Do this to get a general overview of both the topic and the tone of a passage. Look at the big picture. In other words, examine the most obvious features of the passage. To do this ask yourself the following questions as you read: What is the title? What do you believe is the main idea of a piece of nonfiction or the theme of a piece of fiction? What do you think is the author's purpose? to inform? to entertain? to show how to...

Summertime's calling me! Check out this great Beach Music Song by the Catalinas. It's a classic!

Does butter go bad if you don't refrigerate it? Check out the above link for the answer to that question.

Check out these fun hot dog recipes ! A hot dog or frankfurter or frank or wiener is a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in a partially sliced bun. Typical garnishes include mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish, coleslaw, cheese, chili, olives, and sauerkraut. Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pig in a blanket. The hot dog's cultural traditions include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile . 

Memorial Day by Gregory Orr 1 After our march from the Hudson to the top of Cemetery Hill, we Boy Scouts proudly endured  the sermons and hot sun while Girl Scouts  lolled among graves in the maple shade. When members of the veterans' honor guard aimed their bone-white rifles skyward and fired, I glimpsed beneath one metal helmet the salmon-pink flesh of Mr. Webber's nose, restored after shrapnel tore it. 2 Friends who sat near me in school died in Asia, now lie here under new stones that small flags flap beside. It's fifth-grade recess: war stories. Mr. Webber stands before us and plucks his glass eye from its socket, holds it high between finger and thumb. The girls giggle  and scream; the awed boys gape. The fancy pocket watch  he looted from a shop in Germany ticks on its chain. Gregory Orr, "Memorial Day" from The Caged Owl: New and Selected Poems

Many common games are good for your students' brains. But problem-solving games are the best. Problem-solving games increase neural connectivity, the number of glial cells, and overall brain mass. Problem-solving games must have content that requires different ways to solve the problem, They must be challenging yet non-threatening. And problem-solving games must stimulate a variety of emotions. When choosing a problem-solving game to play with your intervention class, look to traditional games for ideas: Monopoly, Clue, Trivial Pursuit, Chutes and Ladders.  Here's an example of an adapted game: use Monopoly as a graphic for your students. After read the text, have your students work in pairs to substitute, alter, and re-label the game. As the brain learns new material or a new reading strategy, it stimulates cells to grow branch-like extensions called dendrites. Each dendrite is another neural pathway by which cells can connect to each other. What we call going deeper with a...

CCSS Language 9 says, "Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches that authors take." Comparing complex text is the highest form of analyzing a text. It is what we call synthesizing texts and information found within that text. In order to teach my students to analyze a complex text, we must first chunk and scaffold the text for them. I learned the hard way why this is so important for struggling readers. My 7th and 8th graders were reading the short story "A Crush" by Cynthia Rylant. The basic plot is a mentally challenged 33-year-old man has fallen in love with Dolores, a local hardware store worker whom he's never met. The problem with my students' misunderstanding stemmed from the fact that the story begins at the end--with everyone in town wondering why Dolores, of all the women in town, was getting flowers from a secret admirer. My students couldn't understand the...

Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or other surface, often within public view. Graffiti range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and they have existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. Check out this resource for using graffiti boards in the classroom.