Groovy Educator

 Decodable texts can be boring but they can also be very useful.  My district uses the SRA Imagine It! reading program.  First grade students have two workbooks filled with decodable texts that can be ripped, folded, stapled, and taken home to practice.  By the end of the year the children have over 100 decodable books to add to their home library. Here is a list of ways that decodable texts can be used... Practice telling a story through the pictures (picture walk). Echo read with someone (take turns reading the same page) Buddy read with a partner (one person listens, one reads and switch) Read it to a stuffed animal Read it using silly voices Be a word detective and look for words that contain a certain letter or spelling pattern. Practice retelling the story. Add descriptive words to the book. Look for end marks (periods, question marks, and exclamation points).  Copy sentences under appropriate heading (statement, question, command). Pra...

Even though we are busy, busy, busy teaching the curriculum, it is very important to help the children develop listening skills.  Being a good listener is a life skill.  Many children these days have difficulty focusing and attending.  Everyday I do many short activities to augment these skills.  Being able to focus is an essential attribute of a good listener. My theory is that if children can focus intensely on technology (e.g computer game, X-Box, etc.),  they have the capacity to focus on other things (e.g. people). With that said, this is what I do... I never assume a child knows HOW to listen.  During circle time, I explicitly go over what a good listener looks like what a good listener does .  We role play and practice at the beginning of the year. I read Listen Buddy by Helen Lester .  This book really helps in explaining WHY it is important to listen.  We make a chart listing other reasons why it is important to listen....