Susan Hauptman's List: Online Learning for Literacy Teachers

"This video workshop addresses critical topics in teaching reading for K-2 teachers. Boston University professor of education Jeanne Paratore moderates the eight sessions with practicing K-2 teachers, reviewing current research on reading instruction and drawing out how it can inform classroom practice. In this workshop, participating teachers can compare their experiences with the onscreen teachers and review the video clips of real reading classes as they discuss the challenges of developing the literacy skills of their diverse students. Using the video programs, Web site, and print guide, K-2 teachers and reading specialists will gain confidence to adopt new strategies and refine their current practices to meet the needs of all their students." Workshops #3 and #4 are excellent. They focus on word study, fluency, comprehension and response.You must use Safari--Firefox does not work.

This month's Reading Teacher magazine has an excellent article about how to teach reading comprehension and how it is affected by a variety of factors. What I really like is that the author summarizes in chart form what the student brings to the text, the demands of the text, and the situation of the lesson. She then gives examples of activities to use for each one. She also discusses easy-to-implement comprehension activities to use occasionally such as DRTA (students make predictions before/as they read then recheck after they read), ReQuest (teachers and students take turns asking questions about what they have just read), and Think-alouds (teachers read a section to students, stopping to model what they are thinking about). She does not give much more information about the above, but there is much in the article to ponder such as other specific activities to do before, during, and after reading. Although some of the techniques in the article may be geared for older students, you may pick up a few ideas to use with your students.\n\nHere is my favorite quote: "There are no generic worksheets that can provide activities appropriate for each text and group of readers; only informed teachers can create this kind of instruction."

"This video library features the teaching practices of a diverse cross-section of kindergarten through second grade teachers from across the country. The teachers introduce their students to reading through a variety of methodologies. The library includes nine half-hour classroom videos showing teachers and students engaged in effective reading practices; three half-hour longitudinal videos that show individual students developing reading skills over time; and one half-hour library overview." Becoming Readers and Writers #1 is an excellent overview for Prek and K teachers with solid, specific ideas for teaching. You must use Safari--Firefox does not work.

"Below you will find 50+ web tools you can use to create your own web-based story. Pick one that sounds interesting and see if you can produce something. I have used each tool to produce an example of Dominoe story and links are provided, where available, to examples by other people."