Tag Archives: Reading

RECOMMENDED READING: A Novel That Teaches Media Literacy

GRAM & GRAN SAVE THE SUMMER by Stephen Chiger and Daniel Pereira An early blurb for this amazing children’s book states: “Put together the wordplay of The Phantom Tollbooth, the imagination of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the … Continue reading

Posted in Children's literature, Media Literacy, Novels, Recommended Reading, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Combine PHONICS with COMPREHENSION: A.I. Decodables Plus Diffit!

While some folks argue over whether we should spend more time on phonics or more on comprehension, I have found a way to use AI tools to do BOTH. Because both are needed. This approach assumes you have phonics instructional … Continue reading

Posted in AI tools, Bard, ChatGPT, Comprehension, decodables, Diffit, Phonics, Reading, Reading Instruction, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to “AI” More Effectively: OpenAI’s Official Guide to Prompt Engineering

A while back, a friend shared a daily newsletter called “TLDR AI” (“Too Long Didn’t Read AI”). At first I was ecstatic, thinking, I’m gonna be a pro at this stuff in no time. Then I read the first entry. … Continue reading

Posted in AI tools, Prompt Engineering, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ONE WAY TO SOLVE READING PROBLEMS with ChatGPT

One challenge educators face when trying to provide effective reading instruction is that their bookshelves are overflowing with “lower-level” texts that look like this: “The bear likes to draw [see picture of bear drawing].  The bear likes to paint [see … Continue reading

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How to Make Interactive Read-alouds TRULY INTERACTIVE

One consequence of the pandemic in K-12 these days is that we are working with a high percentage of struggling readers.  As I discussed in this post about our national reading problem, there are three main reasons for that: 1) … Continue reading

Posted in Class discussions, Comprehension, ELA Common Core Standards, Inference, Note-taking, Questioning, Reading, Reading Instruction, Resources | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

CLOSE READING STRATEGIES: Nonfiction Edition

“My students are struggling to comprehend.  What should we do?”  I hear this question almost daily. My first question is this: Can they decode?  If the answer is NO, then launching robust, systematic phonics instruction should be your first step … Continue reading

Posted in Annotation, Close Reading, Comprehension, Inference, Nonfiction, Questioning, Reading, Reading Informational Text, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Our National Reading Problem

Recently one of my former students, now married with three children, reached out for help with his 5th grade daughter. “She’s bright,” he said, “but she’s really struggling to read. She doesn’t like it, and her grades are going downhill. … Continue reading

Posted in Phonics, Podcasts, Reading, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

NEW RESOURCES: Video Training Modules!!!

I am super-excited to report that I’ve been designing video training modules to support literacy instruction!!!  These brief but informative modules cover key topics that I’ve been presenting on and writing about for the past decade, and they are now … Continue reading

Posted in Comprehension, Inference, Main Idea, Paraphrasing, Presentations, Professional Development, Quadrant Analysis, Reading, Resources, Summarizing, The Literacy Cookbook BOOK, TLC Website Resources, Video Training, Vocabulary, Vocabulary in Context | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ONLINE LEARNING: FREE Independent Reading Access for ALL!

Although most schools are now closed for the summer, it is not too late to reach out to your students and tell them about Libby.  If you’ve never heard of it, Libby is a FREE app that enables people to … Continue reading

Posted in Audio Books, Independent Reading, Libby app, ONLINE LEARNING, Reading, Recommended Reading, Resources, Summer Reading, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Blend Grammar into Daily ELA Instruction

[This post originally appeared in slightly different form on MiddleWeb.] One of the most common concerns I hear from ELA teachers is “I want to teach grammar, but I’m not sure how to fit it in.” This post explains a … Continue reading

Posted in Curriculum, ELA Common Core Standards, Grammar, Instruction, Lesson-planning, MiddleWeb, Reading Instruction, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Using Grammar to Improve Writing BOOK, Vocabulary, Writing, Writing Feedback | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment