Best Practices in Literacy Instruction - Third Edition
John T. Guthrie, Linda B. Gambrell, Lesley Mandel Morrow, and Michael Pressley  

We loved the first two editions of this book, and think the review on Amazon sums it up perfectly, "Now in a thoroughly revised and expanded third edition, this evidence-based book distills the latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning into clear strategies for helping all children succeed."  We consider this one of our top 'go to' books for best practice in our classroom.  A must-have for all teachers.

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Comprehending Math:  Adapting Reading Strategies to Teach Mathematics, K-6
Arthur Hyde

This has been another book we have been reading this spring.  Once we read the review, see below, we thought it was worth checking out.  It has certainly not disappointed us!  If you are working on creating students who think in all curricular areas, this book might be one to add to your summer read list. Review: No matter the content area, students need to develop clear ways of thinking about and understanding what they learn. But this kind of conceptual thinking seems more difficult in math than in language arts and social studies. Fortunately we now know how to help kids understand more about mathematics than ever before, and in Comprehending Math you'll find out that much of math's conceptual difficulty can be alleviated by adapting what we have learned from research on language and cognition.

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Kindergarten Literacy Matching Assessment and Instruction in Kindergarten
By Anne McGill-Franzen  

How best to implement teaching practices when it comes to kindergarten students is a constant conversation that teachers address while attending our classes.  It is also one that we too have pondered with our staffs in our own schools. Kindergartners are wonderful ages and could be categorized as the age group that, at the end of the day, offers us some of the funniest stories.  However, we have also found our youngest learners can be one of the most difficult ages to teach. 

Recently, we had the honor of meeting Anne McGill-Franzen, the author of Kindergarten Literacy, at the Michigan State Conference.  She has spent many years researching Kindergarteners.  This book has risen to the top of our favorite books for teaching Kindergarten.  We have also found that the research and strategies are very sound for all young learners. 

Anne’s belief that, “We have underestimated the power of kindergarten to change the developmental trajectory of children…” sums up the tone of this book.  A must read for those who teach the youngest of learners.  By the way, did you know that she is married to one of our other favorite researchers – Richard Allington?  It was new news to us!

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ReadingYear.Blogspot.com
Franki Sibberson

As you probably remember, we are very much fans of Franki Sibberson and her work. This month, we are featuring her blog as one of our favorite things! She and another teacher have created a wonderful opportunity to share thoughts and tidbits about various books they are reading through the use of an interactive blog! We thoroughly enjoyed reading each entry, all the while excited about what they were going to share with us next.  It’s a great site that not only allows you to reflect on various topics or emotions, but also provides you with an extensive resource list that is second to none! A simply “must see!” Enjoy!


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Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for our Youngest Writers
Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe

Those of us who have the pleasure of teaching our youngest learners, know the challenges and the joys that go along with teaching writing. In this book, Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe take us into classrooms where they tailor each writing lesson to meet each child’s specific writing needs and then move them forward for continued progress. We especially love and appreciate how the book is organized by topic and how each lesson follows a consistent format.

Although this book is written with our youngest writers in mind, it is easy for us to see how the lessons can be adapted to work with much older children. Happy writing!

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