It is imperative that children learn to take notes and organize their thoughts and facts before, during, and after their reading and writing. You may choose to use some of these organizers and planners the way they are presented.

Perhaps you can add some artistic expression as well. Just cut, glue and embellish! You will undoubtedly be amazed by the presentation when we allow children to transpose their graphics into visual writing. The skills and objectives will be learned with...

Center time has just started in Miss Shipley’s Kindergarten classroom. The environment is bright, engaging, and buzzing with curiosity and “play”. Children are choosing what dress-up clothes to put on, building towers as high as they can, and listening to stories that build on the curriculum they are learning that week. Miss Shipley and a volunteer/teacher’s aide are getting a round table and horseshoe table...

R.L. 2.1- Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

We always begin the year with asking questions (who, what, where, when, why and how?) and I start with a tactile experience. This ELA standard has been a foundational standard for my...

I absolutely enjoy teaching writing to my students. As a matter of fact, I encourage a variety of writing every day, cross-pollinating the curriculum all year long. There have been many times I have heard, “There is no time to write”; “I only write twice a week”, or “how do I include writing in all subject areas?”

Reading and writing go together, and you can’t teach one without the other. The Common Core expects our students to be able to respond to the text with writing. No matter...