Word Journeys

Reviews from Amazon include:

"Teachers will find the supplemental word lists in Appendix 1
to be a great source of words for sorting activities and
the reproducible forms in Appendix 2
easy to use and very practical. Those who are new to word study will
find this text easier to follow than Words Their Way"

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Reading With Meaning :
Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades

Reviews from Amazon include:

"It is the first resource I have found that truly helps
me to visualize how I can teach all of the reading
comprehension strategies in my first grade classroom.
It also backs many of my current beliefs with
Debbie's resources and well thought out rationales.
I would highly recommend this book
for any teacher who is ready for
their primary kiddos to start interacting with
and understanding what they are reading."

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Teaching the Youngest Writers: A Practical Guide

Reviews from Amazon include

"It is THE BEST resource I've found on how
to create an environment so that kindergartners will write.
The book is very easy to read, and the author guides you the process of creating a classroom
of young writers. She offers manageable and practical suggestions
(you can tell she knows what she's talking because she has experienced it!).
She takes the steps of the writing process (prewriting, writing, editing, etc.)
and shows what they "look like" in a primary classroom."

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Building a Writing Community: A Practical Guide

Reviews from Amazon include

"The teachers see it as a tool to help
them keep student writers at the edge of their learning.
We have seen writing scores on state-wide assessments
increase in our school using the target skills and craft models discussed in this book."

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Literature-Based Mini-Lessons To Teach Writing (Grades 1-3)

Reviews from Amazon include

"As an educator of second grade children,
I found this book extremely helpful and very practical in the
teaching of young writers. The conversation style of the book helps the teacher in lesson planning
as well as gives the teacher a clear picture of student understanding.
This book helps even the veteran teacher
better her writer's workshop activities.
The samples of student writing are real and therefore
perfect examples of the successes of the program.
The step by step procedure to writer's workshop
mini lessons helps the educator take the small
steps necessary to teach young writers."

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Four Square Writing Method : A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3

Is That a Fact? : Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3

Strategies That Work : Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding

This book tells how to teach your students
to think while reading (through think-alouds) and gives many
minilessons for teaching comprehension.
This book is divided into three parts:
Part 1, THE FOUNDATIONS OF MEANING,
explains how research based comprehension
strategies support and enhance student learning;
Part 2, STRATEGY LESSONS AND MORE,
focuses on strategy lessons, response options,
and assessment practices;
Part 3, RESOURCES THAT SUPPORT STRATEGY INSTRUCTION, numerous resources listing picture books to use
for teaching each of the seven comprehension strategies.
Throughout the book, the author's talk about
"anchor lessons" and the importance
of using the first lessons as a way
for students to remember a specific strategy
and apply it. The idea of anchor lessons
really assist the student in
learning and applying
the strategies taught!
This book teaches
us that we want our students to come
to realize how important their
thinking is when they read.
A must have for reading teachers!

Mosaic of Thought : Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop

I first read, Mosaic of Thought in a Literature
Circle and I was impressed with the book and began using the terms with my students. Mosaic stresses that we need to teach children
what good readers do when they read.
Good readers make connections with the text.
They make text to text connections, text to self connections, and text to world connections.
Teachers need to model the connections
they make while they read and encourage
their students to do the same.
This book really made me think about how I read and what I DO while I read.
After reading Mosaic, I suggest you read Strategies That Work.

Phonemic Awareness : Playing With Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills

This is one of those books I use over and over
again with my K-3 reading groups.
The kids love the activities and I am happy with what they are learning.
To be good readers, children
need to be able to hear the sounds that make words,
change sounds in words to make new words,
and see the relationship between sounds.
This book supplies you with over
60 exciting lessons for just that.
The lessons are easy to do
and many you can do without any materials.
The book does supply you
with the needed reproducible manipulatives,
picture cards, and word lists

One of my favorite and easy activities
in the book is called Rhyme Away.
You draw the given picture on the board
and erase parts of the picture as you
read clues to the class. The students have
to finish a rhyme phrase and then erase
that picture on the board.
That is a Level 1 activity in the book.
The activities range in Levels from 1 to 5.
There are activities for
rhyming, blending, syllable counting, sound matching, phoneme isolation, phoneme counting, phoneme substitution, phoneme deletion, and more!

This book gets my full approval and I am so happy to have found it.

Making Words : Multilevel, Hands-On Developmentally Appropriate Spelling and Phonics Activities

Word Building was introduced to me about three years ago.
I have been teaching for four years now and have used
word building as a part of my reading program.
I am pleased with the progress
that my 2-3 graders make with this program.
They understand how spelling
and reading are related.
Also it teaches them that two or three letters when put together make one sound. I purchased this book in September.
I have been very happy with it.
If you are unfamiliar with this method,
this book is all you need.
At the start of the book it shows you step by step how to set up word building in your classroom.
Pictures are included. You will find over 150 word building lessons.
Letter tiles for you to copy, cut, and laminate are included. I now feel that word building should be a part of every k-3 reading program

Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success (Grades K-2)
A wonderful book filled with fun activities for the K-2 student.
Activities in the book include;
phoneme discrimination, rhyme and alliteration,
oddity tasks, oral blending,
oral segmentation, phonemic manipulation,
and linking sound to spelling.
What I like best about the book is
that each activity offers a suggestion box with ideas to help children who are having difficulty with the activity.
Also, the activities are easy to do,
do not take much time, and lots of preparation is not needed.
I often hear my students say, can we play Higglety, Pigglety, Pop (a game from the book). This is a great book to use with any reading program

If you are teaching reading to K-1 readers,
or if you teach struggling K-4 readers, you must have this book...
I REPEAT - MUST!!!!
I just started using this book this
year as a component of my reading program.
I am amazed at all my K-1 students are learning.
They are students with learning disabilities and they are reading at an average or an above average reading level.
Also, this has been very helpful to my 2-3
students who are struggling with reading.
I highly recommend this book for you to
read and suggest to your parents. I have been very pleased with the hands-on lessons contained in the book. You will be happy with the price too!

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