Lately, there has been a big push for early foundational reading skills. I love all the attention the early grades are getting. Nothing is more important than setting kids up for success in the early grades. However, that doesn’t leave much time and attention for the next level.
So I thought this month I’d send some love (since it is February) to the middle-grade readers and their teachers. One of the resources listed below might just be the one you’re looking for to help the readers at your school grow. Check them out and let me know if you find something new!
♥️ #1 If you haven’t checked out AdLit - All About Adolescent Literacy it might be a great place to start. You can find tons of resources and information on the website linked here. There’s information in the classroom focused on things like writing strategies and teaching English Language Learners. There’s also information on books and authors!
♥️ #2 If you are looking for something to help with writing instruction consider
checking out The Writing Revolution by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler. You can also learn more at https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/. At the website you’ll find an entire community of teachers working to improve writing, examples of the different strategies, and opportunities for more learning.
♥️ #3 If you are wondering about ways to build fluency daily that doesn’t eat up all of your class time, check out all the ideas in The Megabook of Fluency by Tim Rasinski and Melissa Cheesman Smith.
♥️ #4 Are you looking for an open-source resource to support multisyllabic word reading? If so, check out this resource found at https://www.jessicatoste.com/wordconnections
Word Connections is a 40-lesson program available for you to download. Many students in the middle grades who aren’t yet reading on grade level have difficulty with larger words, helping them learn how to tackle big words will grow them as a reader.
♥️ #5 Do you have some students who are significantly behind and you’re just
not sure what to do? Are you an interventionist providing additional support to help close the reading gap? Equipped for Reading Success: A Comprehensive, Step-by-Step Program for Developing Phonemic Awareness and Fluent Word Recognition by David A. Kilpatrick might be what you are looking for. This resource will give you specific direction and lessons to help build readers' word recognition.
♥️ #6 As a middle-grade ELA teacher you may not have had the opportunity to attend professional learning focused on the Science of Reading. Schooling yourself about what the science of reading means and some of the current discussions and changing that are happening in the early grades will help you better understand how to help the students in your care. Check out Science of Reading The Podcast, found here. Go back to season 1, start at the beginning, and listen to the episodes.
If you have a resource that you love share it with me. I’d love to learn about what you love! Email me at april@incompassingeducation.com!
