WELCOME, Readers!

Please check my homework hub to know what is expected each day.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

My role as an educator is to empower my students, providing an education that will allow them to change their world for the better. For this reason, my teaching philosophy is student-centered. My goal in my teaching is to mentor my students, guiding them in their development of the skills necessary to become lifelong learners, learners capable of continuing the progress of our world. 

All students will read every day using the following: 

Reader’s Workshop: Opening: (10-15 min) A short reader’s craft lesson where a target skill/strategy is explicitly taught by the teacher. Students then practice briefly with teacher support. 

Work Period: (30 mins.) Students practice target skill/strategy in partners and/or independently. Teacher pulls small reading/writing groups and confers with individual students to address specific needs. The remainder of the class practices the target skill/strategy from the opening. 

Closing: (5-10 min) Teacher and students debrief about the target skill/strategy practiced in the work period. Students often show their work from reader’s or writer’s notebooks while discussing their understanding and application of the target skill/strategy.  

Reading & Writing Journals: Students record comments and thoughts about daily reading based on reader’s craft lesson topics. Possible journal entries include progress towards reading goal(s), responses to independent reading, and/or reflections over shared reading. Through the use of journal writing students are provided daily opportunities to review and make connections in learning, improve communication skills, practice correct grammar, and encourage creativity.  

Guided Reading: An instructional practice designed to meet the needs of all levels of readers. It provides students an opportunity to problem solve while reading for meaning. The teacher works with a small group of students who are reading at or about the same text level and who have similar needs.

Book Clubs: An instructional practice designed to get students excited about reading as well as deepen their comprehension. It consists of 3-5 students reading the same text, corresponding texts, texts on the same topic, or by the same author. Students should be practicing strategies, responding to the text, then meeting with their book club group for enriching discussions that will enhance their comprehension. 

Reading Conferences: Conferences are short interactions between a teacher and an individual student or group of students during the work period of Reader’s Workshop. During conferences, teachers check on student progress, work to meet students’ individual learning needs, and work with students to set learning goals. 

If students, "...don't like to read", it is probably because they have not been introduced to the right book. If students, "...don't like to write", it is probably because it is not meaningful to them. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: kdahl@saintsebs.org

Email Response Times: 

• M-Th: 24 hours

• F-Sun: will respond on Monday