Best Practices

from teachingmatters.org

Use an LCD projector, computer and white board to strengthen your literacy lessons

• • Project shared reading material for read-along

  • Project reading-rich websites to expand your library of resources

  • Project graphic organizers and templates during guided reading

  • Project student writing material for editing and commenting during shared guided writing

  • Project concept maps with mindmapping software

  • Go to http://www.graphic.org

Use word processing software to support editind of student wdriting in grades 3 and up

• • In gr. 3 use different colors and fonts for students to comment on each other's writing (red=punctuation, green=mispelling, yellow=sentence structure, etc.)

  • In gr. 4 and up use the "track changes" in Microsoft Word

  • Go to http://www.microsoft.com/education/WordTutorial.aspx for help

Participate in ready-made collaborative projects, motivate students as readers and writers

• • E-Pals classroom exchange http://www.epals.com/

  • CIESE curriculum http://www.ciese.org/currichome.html

Publish student work on the Internet, students write for a real audience

• • Kids' Space: http://www.kids-space.org/index.html

  • Kid Pub: http://www.kidpub.org/kidpub

  • Electric Soup: http://homer.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/esoup/about/Young-Writers.html

Use a digital camera to create writing activities that accommodate students' multiple intelligences

• • Use graphics as prompts for student writing

  • Allow students to add sound or music, hand or computer drawings to writing

  • Post products on classroom bulletin boards or newsletters.

  • Go to http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ucfcasio/english.htm

Set up an ongoing video reading and writing studio in you classroom

• • Allow students to record themselves reading their own writing (tthey will become more fluent and be inspired to edit their work)

  • Go to http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired.wired.html for resources on using digital media

Use commercially-available electronic books to expend you classroom library with multimedia reading materials

• • Support struggling decoders by reading to them

  • Motivate reluctant readers with graphics and sounds

  • Add to story comprehension with supplementary literacy activities

Create rubrics to assess student literacy learning

• • http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

  • http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html

  • http://www.readwritethink.org