Literacy Learning Zone

Check out other favorite Picture Book Lists #pb10for10 ______________________________________________________________ As we finish up our summer #cyberPD conversations, I'm quickly reminded that August is right around the corner and I need to start thinking about my picture book list to share. Ten books I love. Ten books I want to share. Ten books that I can't live without in my classroom. Ten books. I love coming up with lists of picture books I adore for various reasons. However, this year I came up with the most brilliant idea! (Well, at least I thought it was brilliant!)  Here are the picture books I can't live without  ... because these are the LAST 10(+3)  picture books I most recently purchased!  ______________________________________________________________ 1.  If I Built a School   by Chris Van Dusen My daughters read If I Built a House and If I Built a Car over and over and over. They couldn't wait to read thi...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Lisa sent me a message at the beginning of summer wondering if my girls would be interested in a summer pen pal with her daughter. "Yes!!" They shouted. And they waited for the first letter to arrive. It arrived one late afternoon as I was making dinner. They ripped open the envelope and read the note together with pure excitement. I have the image of them huddled together reading it aloud. I wish I grabbed my phone to capture a picture. Within minutes, they each grabbed a notecard and a pen...

I'm reading and reflecting on Welcome to Writing Workshop with a different lens than most teachers. As a reading specialist, I am not fully implementing writing workshop. However, I can support teachers with implementation, brainstorm ideas through the challenges, and support reading and writing in my role knowing the full experience of the workshop model. My Thoughts and Reflections for Week 1: Chapter 1-4 "It's our belief that every student can write --  even the ones who have stopped believing in themselves as writers ."   (Shubitz & Dorfmann, p.1) Takeaways I work with students who have not yet developed the belief that they are readers and writers. So to hear from the authors they too belief ALL students are writers reminds me of the power of YET. I need to remember this definition when talking about workshop: "The structure of writing workshop is simple: it is student centered and based on the belief that students...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Summer is here. And I'm loving it. Even though I keep saying that being a full time mom and working through the to-do lists is more exhausting than going to school every day! In summer, there's ... More  slow mornings reading time baking yummy goodness dinner creations More  spontaneous moments hanging out with friends hiking, swimming, biking it's past bedtime nights More  'yes, let's do it' days summertime adventures special memories captured time to just ...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ The last days of school are for ... reminders to exercise their reading brains making a reading plan of who? what? where? when? and why? filling their arms with new books to read at home and a notebook and pen to write story after story The last days of school are for ... small moments of connecting with each child noticing and telling of why they matter to me and this world sharing and caring as much as they need with hugs in between pouring all that I can into their hearts and mi...

Announcing the 2019 #cyberPD Book! Check out our  NEW  #cyberPD MeWe Community   to learn more! We can't wait for YOU to join in the conversations! ________________________________________________________________ It's that time of year again! Cathy and I have finally selected our #cyberPD book for our summer learning. It's never an easy decision.  Conversations go back and forth.  Ideas fly.  Standards are high.  Book stacks full of possibilities are higher.  And then ... it happens.  The just right book emerges from the stacks. The book selection is important, but what makes this PD event truly successful are the amazing teachers and educators across the globe that support each other through the learning process. YOU make #cyberPD a success!  Thank YOU for joining us ... whether this is your very first year, or your 9th year,  or somewhere in between, we are thrilled YOU are joining in!  _______...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ Rescuing a dog comes with many responsibilities, like lots of walks. Every day Harley and I walk about the neighborhood at least two times a day. One walk occurs after the girls get on the bus in the morning. I make my way around the outside of neighborhood completing the one-mile stretch. It's usually a quiet walk as most are off to school or work. Sometimes I think about my day and ponder life or pray. Other times I intently observe the neighborhood, houses, plants, front doors, and so on looki...