It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Please don't hate me for saying this, buuuuuuut I can't wait for school to start!  I'm ready to start talking and planning with teachers and preparing for the wonderful little people that will be coming through our doors very soon!  Of course, part of my job is helping teachers prepare for this! Our first training class for new teachers starts in about two weeks and I am trying to get all of my ducks in a row.  The first thing that I am doing is 'refreshing' all of my training documents that I use to help teachers take on the balanced literacy framework.  The first part of our training week focuses on Observation Survey by Marie Clay and Benchmark Assessment by Fountas and Pinnell.  The second part of our week is focused on classroom preparation and set-up.  Teaching children to be 21st century learners requires a different type of classroom, and by that I mean laboratory, and I'm hoping these documents help to provide that.

The first document that I put together is one on classroom libraries...We all have a classroom library and we must ensure it's being used to the fullest potential...it should be the heart of a classroom!  I truly believe that all it takes is one book to hook a child and turn he/she into a life-long learner.  Of course, it must be well-organized so that children can easily use it.  Here are some pictures on a quick, easy way to organize a classroom library:

A classroom library should be a place where children select books based on interest, not reading level, so a classroom library (or any library) should never be organized by reading level.  Instead, organize your bins by theme or author.  Here are some ideas on what types of themes/authors/other bins to include in your library:

Popular Authors:  Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, Dr. Seuss, David Shannon, Laura Numeroff, Ezra Jack Keats, Audry and Don Wood, Robert Munsch, Mem Fox, Joy Cowley, Mo Willems, Mercer Mayer, Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstien, Tedd Arnold, Patricia Polacco, David Adler

Popular Series:  Berenstain Bears, Arthur, Frog and Toad, Fancy Nancy, Little Golden Books, STEP Readers, Little Golden Books, Clifford, Curious George, Madeline, Richard Scarry, Frances Badger, Franklin, Little Critter, Froggy, Henry & Mudge, Amelia Bedelia, Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, There Was an Old Lady..., I Can Read, Disney, Biscuit, Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen, Magic Tree House, Black Lagoon, Pete the Cat, Magic School Bus

Topics: sports, animals, pets, abc books, fairy tales, math books, holidays, science, hidden pictures, social studies, insects, dinosaurs, about me/self-concept, USA, maps/atlases, plants, ocean, colors, seasons, birthday books, traditional tales, families, school stories, Spanish, friendship, character, comic books, careers, community workers, presidents, wordless books, how-to books, song and poem books, jokes and riddles, nursery rhymes, fiction, non-fiction, educational, biographies, award winning books, books based on tv/movies, class favorites, teacher favorites

Other Reading Materials: newspapers, magazines, food boxes/labels, menus, flyers, advertisements, brochures, catalogs, instruction manuals,  big books and pointers, classroom newsletters, school newsletters, options are endless!

The key to remember is...

It’s so important there is something in your classroom library for everyone!  Please don’t be picky about what kids are interested in reading about because remember…

reading is reading!!!

What are your thoughts on this?  Can you think of anymore genres/themes/authors that I missed?  Please let me know and I will add them...I do have a very serious condition called Summer Brain (LOL) and am sure I missed some big ones!  Here's the link to this entire guide:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Library-Essentials-779972

It's a free download.  Please look it over and let me know if there is anything that I should add.  We are off to school for a while!  Have a great day!

Jess

I feel so smart!

Let's not talk about how long it took me, but take a peek at the new look of my blog!  Isn't it amazing how good you feel when you figure something out.  On the other hand, isn't it frustrating when you can't figure something out!  I still have a few kinks to work out, but I learned more tonight than I ever thought I would on blog design.  I seriously cannot believe those words just came out from me.  I'm not going to get too cocky until I wake up tomorrow morning and it's all still here.  Until then, good night!

Bloglovin

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9883041/?claim=svup388je2r">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Here we go!

Hello, World!  I am so excited about this new direction that I have decided to take with literacy coaching!  I love what I do and can't get enough of seeing amazing things happen everyday in classrooms and I want to bring this opportunity to as many teachers as I can.  Let me introduce myself...My name is Jessica Pelka and I am a literacy coach in the Rice Lake Area School District in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.  I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to train to be a literacy coach a few years ago under Andrea McCarrier (co-author of INTERACTIVE WRITING along with Gay Su Pinnell) and Tina Henry at Ohio State University. These two ladies are brilliant and I hope that by writing about what I have learned from them, it will help me help others to truly understand how children learn best.   Prior to becoming a literacy coach, I taught kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade.  Luckily, I was coached in the literacy collaborative framework while working as a 1st grade teacher.  This is when my passion for teaching and learning ignited!  I owe so much to my coach, Lynn Shroeder, for helping me to understand how young children learn to read and write. She also helped me to realize that I couldn't do it alone.  As teachers, we all need someone to help us look at education with 'fresh eyes'.  We all need time to think, talk, experiment, wonder, ponder, and vent when it comes to teaching in a way that will make every single child in your classroom successful.  This is hard work...we can't do it alone...and no one should be expected to!

I will be training a group of brand new teachers to our district in a comprehensive, balanced literacy framework that consists of interactive read aloud, guided reading, shared reading, independent reading, shared writing, community/interactive writing, writer's workshop, and independent writing.  I will also be teaching teachers how to use the observation survey by Marie Clay, Benchmark Assessment by Fountas and Pinnell, and the DSA by Kathy Ganske.  Some of these teachers are right out of college, some have a few years of experience, and some have several years of experience.  What I know right now is that we are all going to learn a lot this year.  So, please, join me as I take my learning to a new level and document my journey of helping new teachers in our district become keen observers of children.  These are amazing times in education and we all want what is best for kids.  This is my part in how I'm going to make it happen.