Ideally, we are connecting with all students in our classrooms each week.  Have you tried a reading conference with each learner?  This could be done through Teams, or even over the phone.  Attached is a reading conference form you could use to guide the conversation.  I have created it so that the conference shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.  The student doesn’t need to read the entire book to you.  Perhaps they could share their favourite part.  We can learn so much about our students’ reading right now, such as:

• Are they able to choose a just right book?
• Do they have access to books at home, and/or books online?
• What kinds of books are they choosing?
• Is there someone at home who can read with them, or talk to them about their reading?
• Are they enjoying reading right now?  (This is our end goal, ALWAYS!)

Click here to view the reading conferences sheet.  I’d love your feedback.  Together we are stronger!

Tanis.Anderson@burnabyschools.ca

Pioneer Valley Books are sharing their leveled book collection for free, in a digital version!

They have created a webinar, so you can learn how to use these books, either in a guided reading format, and/or for independent reading.  Click here to view webinar

These books would be ideal for students who are developing a foundation of reading, and require books with controlled vocabulary, and predictable text, with pictures to support them.

Thank you to Matt Glover, who has created these wonderful videos for parents, showing them how to support young writers.  There are two videos, and here are the links:

Part One Click Here

Part Two Click Here

I think there are a lot of kids being told to “sound it out” at home right now.  Unfortunately, that strategy doesn’t work all the time.  Here are some prompts you might want to pass along to parents.   Click here

Now, more then ever, students need to know how to pick a just right book.  This could be something you set up for your students, as they are learning at home.

Perhaps students have access to books at home, or books online.  If they do have access to online reading options, their choices are unlimited!  However, they might need some support in choosing a good fit book.  Thanks to the Daily 5 sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, who have created a great lesson on how to teach kids to pick just right books.  I love the lesson in the Daily 5 book, but attached are two graphics you could provide to your students remotely. Their assignment could be to find a just right book, with the attached criteria, and to write or talk to you about their book choice.

Click here

Thanks to Gravity Goldberg, for creating this document we can send to parents, for how to support their children at home with reading.  Click here to view the document.

Here is a fun activity students can do at home!

Click herefor PDF.

Thank you to Popey for creating these fabulous documents, to support learning at home.

Click hereto view their Home Learning Menu #1

Click hereto view tips for home learning.

Fountas and Pinnell have added some tips for teachers who use LLI with their students, and ways our students can be supported at home.

FOR LEVELED LITERACY INTERVENTION (LLI) EDUCATORS:

• Encourage students to read aloud and talk about the books they are reading to a parent, caregiver or sibling at home.
• For K-2 LLI students: Prepare to send home the Take-Home Bags with LLI Take-Home Books and students My Writing Book for children to read or reread.
• For 3-6 LLI students: Prepare to send home the Student Portfolios with LLI books (create a check out system if you are able), their Literacy Notebooks and any class work to extend learning remotely.
• For 3-6 LLI students: Create a plan to leverage the Novel Studies in LLI.
• Review the nonfiction topics from the LLI books and send home YouTube™ links to build background knowledge.
• Consult your LLI Lesson Guides for recommendations on homework that may benefit students while they are remote learning.
• Print some of the games from Gamemaker that they have already taught and send home to apply/practice independently or together with family.
• Encourage children to write daily.

We invite you to join the conversation and be in collaboration and community on the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Learning Group on Facebook to hear ideas from other educators and to share your own ideas.

~ The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Team