Week 1 I didn't change anything this week about the lessons because I had to do a lot of reviewing expectations and procedures, so my mental capacity was pretty full. Changing up the lessons to fit best practices while also maintaining the integrity of the curriculum is challenging, and I just didn't have it in… Continue reading Benchmark Advance Unit 3
In Part 1, we looked at how to choose meaningful vocabulary words and introduce them in ways that build understanding from the start. But knowing a word isn’t the same as owning it. To help students truly own their vocabulary, we need to give them repeated, varied, and meaningful opportunities to interact with those words.… Continue reading Make It Stick: Vocabulary Activities That Deepen Word Knowledge
Many of us have a scripted curriculum that seems to randomly choose words from the passage to teach as that week's vocabulary words. However, it becomes clear pretty quickly that the words are either too simple or aren't actually important for helping comprehension. That's when we have to use our expertise as teachers to read… Continue reading Word Power Starts Here: How to Choose and Introduce Vocabulary Effectively
The five pillars of literacy are: phonemic awareness, phonics and word study, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Of these five, vocabulary and comprehension seem to not get as much attention. However, without a strong vocabulary, students will not be able to comprehend what they read. Therefore, vocabulary instruction must take place at all grade levels, no… Continue reading The Importance of Vocabulary in Literacy Education
It just so happens that our unit about the American Revolution comes right after this reading unit, so I am excited to see the connections that they make. This is one of my favorite Benchmark units because I love teaching about the Revolution, and that makes students get into it as well! Day 1: We… Continue reading Benchmark Advance Unit 7, Week 1
It has been way too long since I have done a blog post. I started the Reading and Literacy Instruction EdS program at Bay Path University in the fall of 2023, which is coincidentally when my last post was. I have learned so much in this program, but boy is it intense. This is one… Continue reading Journey to Becoming a Reading Specialist: My EdS Experience
The Blissful Teacher 