background preloader

Language Arts

Facebook Twitter

Homepage. Dialogic Reading: An Effective Way to Read to Preschoolers. Over a third of children in the U.S. enter school unprepared to learn.

Dialogic Reading: An Effective Way to Read to Preschoolers

They lack the vocabulary, sentence structure, and other basic skills that are required to do well in school. Children who start behind generally stay behind – they drop out, they turn off. Their lives are at risk. Why are so many children deficient in the skills that are critical to school readiness? Children's experience with books plays an important role. Picture book reading provides children with many of the skills that are necessary for school readiness: vocabulary, sound structure, the meaning of print, the structure of stories and language, sustained attention, the pleasure of learning, and on and on.

KG Primary Italics font by Kimberly Geswein. The Shooting of Dan McGrew - Bill Kerr. Trait Definitions. The 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment comprises 6+1 key qualities that define quality writing.

Trait Definitions

6+1 Trait® Writing Institute for the Common Core State Standards. With the Common Core’s emphasis on rigorous student writing in response to nonfiction texts, effective writing instruction is needed now more than ever.

6+1 Trait® Writing Institute for the Common Core State Standards

This redesigned institute brings fresh content to an already powerful model for helping teachers improve student writing. Newly created materials address the greatest challenges in CCSS: teaching text types and writing in response to complex literary and informational texts (including texts specific to content-areas). Our Common Core institute has established itself as one of the premier professional development opportunities for educators in the country. 6+1 Trait® Rubrics. The core of the 6+1 Trait® Writing Model of Instruction & Assessment is the set of rubrics that specify how to assess the quality of student writing and tailor instruction to students’ needs.

6+1 Trait® Rubrics

The K–2 rubric supports teachers and students as they are starting to write, creating classroom writing processes, building a common vocabulary, and establishing a vision for good writing. The 3–12 rubric is often used in late second or third grades and into higher grade levels. Newly Revised: Aligned to Common Core State Standards The rubrics are field tested, research-based, and teacher friendly. The latest versions, released in summer 2014, are designed for easier use across text types (i.e., informative/explanatory, argument, and narrative writing).

If you are interested in partnering with Education Northwest to provide feedback, please contact Jacqueline Raphael. Examples of Active and Passive Voice. Active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb.

Examples of Active and Passive Voice

In passive voice sentences, the subject is acted upon by the verb. Check out the examples below. Need more explanation? Check out the YourDictionary Active vs. Passive Voice infographic for an easy-to-understand visual explanation. Schoolhouse Rock: Grammar - Conjunction Junction Music Video. Take a look at the unique ways that TpT’ers are celebrating Earth Day with their students.

You’ll find recycling-themed lessons, photography projects, and activities to supplement nature walks. Three cheers for Earth Day! (Image from an Apples and ABC’s blog post by TpT Teacher-Author, Michelle Griffo) Portraits of Struggling Readers. 5 Favorite Apps for PBL Language Learning. If you have an inkling to try your hand at project-based language learning (aka "PBLL”), you will need to stay organized, and help keep the students on track toward meeting our communication-based proficiency outcomes.

5 Favorite Apps for PBL Language Learning

Here are a few tips I have learned as a PBLL teacher. 1) Help! I need a management system! My favorite app for managing the ebb and flow of communication between my students and me is Edmodo. There are other worthy options, but I have been using Edmodo for a number of years, and it feels like home now. I post daily agendas on the Edmodo calendar, and I like that students can add notes to their own calendars as well. I also appreciate that students can send me notes and questions via Edmodo; I have set up notifications to come to my phone, so I can reply when I wish, usually right away since it entails only a moment or two to do so.

Did I mention that Edmodo is free? 2) Reminders on Remind! 3) Blending content on BlendSpace. 4) Bulletin boards on Padlet. Destiny Quest. Reading Advocacy - Auke Bay Library. National Council of Teachers of English - Homepage. All Children Can Write. By: Donald H.

All Children Can Write

Graves The following article by Donald Graves, considered by many to be the "father" of the process approach to writing, is a classic piece on the need for a change in the way writing has typically been taught in schools. This article helped spark the movement now known as the "Writer's Workshop" approach. We selected this article because Graves discusses the challenges and needs of students with learning disabilities in the area of writing, clearly lays out how teachers can establish a community of learners and the writing process, and provides examples of teachers and students working together. We recommend the Writers' Workshop approach as a basis for teaching writing to students with learning disabilities, in combination with explicit instruction in writing strategies and skills. Many children who have learning disabilities are poor writers.