Making time

Life is crazy right now.  Isn't it always?  One of my big goals for 2013 is to make time for myself.  That means taking time to have coffee with my Weight Watcher friend, Jean.  It means taking time to read the paper at night and the book for my monthly book club meeting.  (We meet Monday.  I haven't started the book yet.)  It means time to write and reflect.  So, here I am joining the March 2013 SOL group.  It's time.

This story is about Granfather Twilight and how he puts the world to sleep night after night. It would be a great book to read aloud or to use for teaching comprehension strategies such as Wondering/Questioning and Inferring. Debbie Miller uses this book as an anchor text in her book Reading with Meaning. (Chapter 9 Asking Questions)

How Many days to America?

Are you looking for a good mentor text to use with Questioning/Wondering? This book by Eve Bunting might be a great choice. This story is told from the point of view of a boy whose family has to hurriedly immigrate to Amercia from their Carribbean Island home because they do not think the way the soldiers think. This book could be used to teach inferring or important ideas/summarizing as well. It could also be used in a Social Studies unit about immigration.

Night in the Country

Cynthia Rylant's book has wonderful, rich language. I have been using it in with Barb Sauter's first graders to teach visualization. The writing helps the reader actually imagine the sights and sounds of a night in the country. This story could easily be used during Reader's Workshop when teaching connections, questioning, or inferences. The descriptive language also makes it a great mentor text during Writer's Workshop.

Hello Ocean

Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan is a great mentor text for visiualizing. It has many sensory details that helps us "see" the ocean through our mind's eye. This is also a great text for teaching the five senses, rhyming words, and descriptive writing.

Giving Up the Whole-Class Novel

Here is a great article from Choice Literacy that we thought was good food for thought. We hope this will help you as you work to have a balance in your reading workshop.

Mentor Texts and Conferring

This post on the Two Writing Teachers blog has some good food for thought. Are you working with favorite mentor texts? Are you using them during conferencing? Read this for some good ideas.