Hello, and welcome to our Blog!  We are excited to provide you with numerous ways to improve your instructional practices.  This month’s tips are connected to reading.  Knowing that Reading and Writing are connected, and make for strong literacy practices, we wanted to share the following tips for you. Also, you will find in your mailbox an activity that we would like for everyone to use this next month. We have named it “Fall Writing”.  You can chose to use it however you like, we are modifying it for Fall and we are including a pumpkin instead of a heart. Lastly, we would like to see your best two compositions (written by your students) together with the Pumpkin Graphic Organizers, to showcase on our Writer’s Wall!

Goodluck,

The Writing Committee

Jessica Vidaurri                                        Hilda Roybal

Imelda Castro                                           Adriana Menchaca

Celeste Hinojosa                                       MJ Garza

Ø   According to Morrison, Jacobs, AND Swinyard (1999), “Documentation that teachers who read can better motivate students to read and that teachers who read for personal pleasure report using recommended literacy practices in their classrooms significantly more often than do teachers who report less personal reading.  Teachers should share newspaper articles about a content subject or a book they have read that relate to a topic at hand.  Modeling is a form of visual literacy.”  So in other words, “Teachers take out your favorite books, magazines, in your favorite genre and let your students know that you read for pleasure!”

Richardson, J. S., & Morgan, R.F. (1997). Reading to Learn in the Content Areas (3^rd ed.). Belmont, CA:

     Wadsworth Publishing

Checklist for Strategic Teaching-

Ø   Engages reader’s prior knowledge

Ø   Uses communication skills

Ø   Respects and uses students’ discourse patterns

Ø   Provides for satisfaction with learning

Ø   Enhances critical reading and problem solving

Ø   Enhances critical readers’ autonomy and self-initiative

Ø   Uses active involvement and participation and social interaction

Ø   Provides feedback to students

Richardson, J. S., & Morgan, R.F. (1997). Reading to Learn in the Content Areas (3^rd ed.). Belmont, CA:

     Wadsworth Publishing