As teachers, we are always looking for ways to get the biggest bang for our buck during instruction. Therefore, when you're planning always determine how to make your literacy instruction align with not only the standards, but also align to other areas within the Balanced Literacy Model for instruction. By doing so, your students see the cohesion of your lessons and fundamentally have a stronger foundation to transfer the learning. Take a moment to read the quick tip on reading and writing instruction below.

Hopefully, you'll find it helpful to your teaching!

Ways Reading Can Support Writing Instruction

You may have heard the phrases: “Writing helps to grow readers and Reading helps writers grow!” or you may have heard: “Read like a writer and write like a reader!” Well these phrases are actually true! Good readers most times become good writers and good writers are often good readers. 

So here’s a quick Literacy Tip for you…

When planning your reading instruction allow your writing instruction to be like the flip side of the coin. Plan reading mini lessons that will strengthen your writing mini-lessons. For example, when teaching narrative writing, choose read alouds that display great small moment stories. Check out this site to find

 The Top 10 Anchor (Mentor) Text for Small Moment Writing.

When you expose your students to great narrative small moment stories, they will better be able to relate to the concept of a small moment. Additionally, you can implement reading strategies that will essentially help them to be better readers and writers! 

Potential is Always Bigger Than Problem! 

"Potential is Always Bigger than the Problem." I heard this quote recently and like many profound quotes that I hear, I wrote it down. In the current state of the world, it can be easy to focus on the pandemic and allow it to force us into negative thinking.  In life, we often focus on the problems we encounter or the problems we foresee. Yet, concentrating on the negative can often cause you to become stuck and unable to develop or tap into the infinite potential that we all possess.

This is often the case in the realm of education as well. Unfortunately, we encounter many different challenges that often change the course of our school year. We begin the year with a multitude of goals, but life has a way of interrupting the best made plans, such is the case with the Corona-virus pandemic. We are faced with a significant challenge that is constantly changing the scope of how we currently live and how the education system functions. To say that that the Corona-Virus has "thrown us for a loop," is an understatement. Yet, educators  are known for exhibiting flexibility and it has been amazing to see the teamwork and camaraderie that many have shown in our schools. This shows that our potential is always bigger than the problem. We are greater when we operate collectively to achieve common goals. Life may have thrown us for a loop, but it also has a way of forcing us to connect and cooperate in ways that has drawn us back to what matters most in life and hopefully compels us to see that our collective potential is bigger than our current problem. Check out the link to view Corona-Virus resources for teaching, learning and thinking critically.