Hello guys!!! I want to share something that I compiled from the net. Here it is:

Ideas that work (Reading)

"You, as the teacher, should model how to read for your students. Every day your students should hear fluency in reading, correct pronunciation of words, expressive reading, exposure to correct grammar and meaningful sentences. This is done by listening to a good reader – YOU! Listening comprehension is an essential to learning how to read. You are the role model. If you think it is important to read, your students will also think it is important. Set aside 15 or 20 minutes a day just for listening. After reading a story, go back and reread it and ask questions about the book. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to bring your students to higher levels of thinking. Prepare questions ahead of time. Be prepared. Have great expectations for your students and they will rise to meet these expectations."

"For younger children who are just learning to read or readers who are experiencing difficulty, ask a class of older students to buddy with your class. Work with the teacher to pair students who will work together in a productive manner. You both know your students and their needs. It is important that students be comfortable with each other. Before getting to the reading, let each older student interview their “buddy” to get acquainted. The older students could work on preparing a questionnaire in class. Then sit with their buddy and ask some questions about favorite things to do, hobbies, reading interests, etc. Share time together, have a snack and the process has begun. Teachers could find a common time for students to read together once a week. This helps younger students to feel comfortable with the older students, will increase reading interest, and help younger students grow in self-esteem. Older students can learn responsibility as they work with their buddies. As the older students get to know their buddies, they can choose books that are of interest to their new friends. There will be much benefit gained for the older and younger students."

"Divide your class into 4 teams. Each team should line up in a row. Make four sections on the chalkboard by drawing 3 vertical lines from the top to the bottom. One person from each team will compete to properly spell words that you call out. The person that finishes first and spells the word correctly will get a point for his or her team. The first person from each team will go to the board and then, you call out a word having to do with the Olympics. They then go to the end of the line and you continue with the next set of people."

"I also use Accelerated Reader. This is my 4th year and it gets better all the time. I schedule 60 minutes of reading per day, 50 of it independent. The students must earn 80-100% on the comprehension test of the book they read, to earn a ticket. On Friday, I roll a dice and draw that number of tickets from the TOPS jar. I teach second grade and before Christmas break I had four SUPER readers and four INDEPENDENT readers. When we reach those certification goals, students call their parents from the classroom. If they can't be reached at home, we call them at work! Parents don't mind. Matter of fact, we haven't had to make any behavior calls because we are too busy reading and making positive phone calls!"

Ideas that work (Writing)

"Photo essays are a special type of writing; they tell stories with a group of photographs that are connected to a theme. One activity using photo essays as a type of writing includes having students pick a topic (in any content area) that they would like to "write" about. Tell them that they have to collect photographs or pictures that represent the topic. Once they have their collections and you gave them a chance to discuss the relevance of the photos to the topic, ask them to arrange the photos in such a way (sequentially, etc.) that tell a story or relay the message related to the topic they chose. Students love to express their thoughts about topics using this medium. If you have technology to complete this activity, you can have students cut and paste their story using photos or images that they find on the Internet. This is a great activity for group work."

"Always use 5 steps to writing when asking children to complete a writing assignment. Start with Pre-Writing; get the students to gather ideas for writing on any given topic from experience, past knowledge and having the time to talk about the topic. The second step involves Drafting; students begin to write what they think is importatn and that should be included. Step three is Revising; students check the draft and decide what stays and what goes. Fourth is Editing; students check for spelling, punctuation; and other mechanical considerations. The final copy is then prepared. The fifth and final step is Publication; students share their writing with an audience of choice. Following the five steps will help students to write more effectively and appreciate what they produce."

"The teacher gives the students a paragraph to get the story started and pupils add their sentences alternately. It's great fun building a short story with students. After story building, students can create illustrations based on the short story."

"We all try getting our students to use "bigger words," but I found this idea that really worked with my class this year. Students are allowed to take dictionaries home if they check them out from me. They can look up words, find their definition, try to find examples or pictures, etc., and then come and teach our class these new words. They have to be able to use it in a sentence too. Each time they share a new word, I place a big marble in a big jar. Students are allowed to make posters or explain the word in any way. I help them out at times and use the overhead, or students grab their own dictionaries. As they creatively use their new words correctly in their writing, I add a small marble into the jar. We often find synonyms and antonyms to everyday words. Once the class fills the jar with "marble words," we have an all-day reading campout, where we make smores, etc., and write how-to essays on what we make that day. They really enjoy it!"