Primary Junior Language Arts/Literacy

Why has the 6+1 TRAIT model had such a tremendous impact on writing instruction? Because it works. It allows teachers to pinpoint students' strengths and weaknesses in ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation, and focus instruction. Now Culham turns her expert eye to our youngest students. Like her groundbreaking guide for grades 3 and up, her new book contains scoring guides, sample papers, and focus lessons for each trait, but framed to address K-2 teachers' needs! For use with Grades K-2.;All the assessment and teaching tools K-2 teachers need to focus writing instruction!;Ruth Culham, Ed.D., is President of The Culham Writing Company and former Assessment Program Unit Manager at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, Oregon. As a pioneering researcher of the 6+1 TRAIT model, she conducts workshops, organizes national and international institutes, and writes extensively on writing assessment and instruction. Prior to joining NWREL, Ruth was English Teacher of the Year in Montana, a highlight of her 19-year teaching career. She is the author of 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up, as well as many other trait-related teacher resources.

This conveniently organized resource book provides step-by-step instructions for using fifty research based, classroom tested literacy strategies. For each, supportive material helps classroom teachers decide the when, why, and how of optimal use. A strengthened focus on adapting instruction for all students, as well as new guidance on integrating standards and technology, make this revision a powerful choice for today's classrooms.   KEY TOPICS: reading, writing, listening, speaking, and visualizing.   MARKET: A wonderful resource for Elementary & Middle School teachers in literacy and language arts.

Available Online
Timely and accessible, this book offers tangible strategies that will help teachers plan and sustain writing workshop experiences that are responsive to the needs of their specific students. Angela Stockman helps teachers understand why some writers may fail to meet their expectations and how to help all writers reach their fullest potential. Organized in three parts, this book reframes common narratives about resistant writers, empowers teachers to design, lead and refine their workshop, and provides a toolkit to do so. The appendices and eResources included provide teachers with instructions for mini-lessons and learning targets that support multimodal composition, perfect for pre-service and in-service teachers.

Available Online
Covering the essential areas of practice, this book suggests ways to make your literacy teaching as creative and engaging as possible. Children get the most out of their learning when it is exciting, and this book offers great ideas for classroom practice, while making careful links to research. Sections advise on teaching narrative, poetry and non-fiction, and each chapter contains case studies and ideas to try out in practice. The authors cover a broad range of topics, including:Exploring traditional talesWriting from experienceUsing playground games as a foundation for literacyPerforming poetryWritten for teachers working with children aged 3-11 years, and specifically aimed at those with responsibility for literacy, this book gives you the opportunity to develop children's literacy in enjoyable and interesting ways.

The Daily 5, Second Edition retains the core literacy components that made the first edition one of the most widely read books in education and enhances these practices based on years of further experience in classrooms and compelling new brain research. The Daily 5 provides a way for any teacher to structure literacy (and now math) time to increase student independence and allow for individualized attention in small groups and one-on-one.--page [4] of cover.

Available Online
One 200-year-old folk tale, 30 teachers, and 1,000 students. Ride along with literacy guru David Booth as he takes the same story to a wide variety of classrooms, from kindergarten through grade 12, and be amazed by the learning generated. This intriguing book illustrates ways to transpose that original text into other forms so students can see the text with different eyes, challenge what they read, and add their new learning to the construct of the world. Authentic student samples and transcripts explore a multitude of experiences that will "explode" definitions of comprehension, response, and engagement, and redefine classroom literacy!

Available Online
Accessible and engaging, this book offers a comfortable entry point to integrating language instruction in writing units in grades 3-8. A full understanding of language development is necessary for teaching writing in a successful and meaningful way. Applying a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach, María Brisk embraces an educator's perspective, breaks down the challenges of teaching language for non-linguists, and demonstrates how teachers can help students express their ideas and create cohesive texts. With a focus on the needs of all students, including bilingual and English language learners, Brisk addresses topics necessary for successful language instruction, and moves beyond vocabulary and grammar to address meaning-making and genre. This book provides a wealth of tools and examples for practice and includes helpful instructional resources that teachers can return to time after time. Moving from theory to practice, this teacher-friendly text is a vital resource for courses in language education programs, in-service teacher-training seminars, and for pre-service and practicing English Language Arts (ELA) teachers who want to expand their teaching abilities and knowledge bases. This book features a sample unit and a reference list of instructional resources.

Available Online
Committed to embracing the power of oral language, Literacy Out Loud recognizes the important role "talk" plays in developing the reading and writing abilities that students need. The book offers strategies where oral language takes centre stage and is fostered through engaging activities. Literacy activities and events focus on all aspects of listening and speaking, and emphasize enjoyable, purposeful, social learning. The book argues that listening and speaking, or "talk," is at the heart of a vibrant classroom. It shows teachers how to nurture dynamic classroom talk that is essential in its own right, and makes all learning possible.

Available in print and online
What are the principles that every elementary teacher must learn in order to plan and adapt successful literacy instruction? This concise course text and practitioner resource brings together leading experts to explain the guiding ideas that underlie effective instructional practice. Each chapter reviews one or more key principles and highlights ways to apply them flexibly in diverse classrooms and across grade levels and content areas. Chapters cover core instructional topics (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension); high-quality learning environments; major issues such as assessment, differentiation, explicit instruction, equity, and culturally relevant pedagogy; and the importance of teachers' reflective practice and lifelong learning.   

Available Online
This practical handbook shows teachers how to nurture a kindergarten learning environment in which children feel safe, comfortable, and able to take risks. It offers innovative ways to encourage children to explore, experiment, discover, solve problems, and freely interact with one another. Based on extensive classroom practice, Reading, Writing, Playing, Learning provides concrete suggestions for creating play-based learning in a culture of inquiry. The book discusses all aspects of oral language development, reading to and by children, shared and guided reading, reading to write and writing to learn, putting "play" into word play, celebrating diversity, and meeting the needs of all learners.  

Supporting pre-emergent and emergent readers -- Teaching reading engagement: focus, stamina, and building a reading life -- Supporting print work: increasing accuracy and integrating sources of information -- Teaching fluency: reading with phrasing, intonation, and automaticity -- Supporting comprehension in fiction: understanding plot and setting -- Supporting comprehension in fiction: thinking about characters -- Supporting comprehension in fiction: understanding themes and ideas -- Supporting comprehension in nonfiction: Determining main topic(s) and idea(s) -- Supporting comprehension in nonfiction: Determining key details -- Supporting comprehension in nonfiction: Getting the most from text features -- Improving comprehension in fiction and nonfiction: Understanding vocabulary and figurative language -- Supporting students' conversations: Speaking, listening, and deepening comprehension -- Improving writing about reading.

This popular text explores and provides the subject knowledge to teach grammar, punctuation and spelling and gives guidance on how to teach it. New edition updated in line with the new National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and explores the national SPAG tests in primary schools.

Writing Workshop in the Elementary Classroom is a culmination of the authors' work with students and writing for collectively over 35 years. Teaching writing using a workshop methodology can be exciting as it is an interactive approach to writing, but it can also be challenging as it is not the traditional teacher directed whole class lessons that many test preparation curriculums tout. The book takes the reader through the stages of the writing process in the first part, explaining what students are doing and thinking in each stage. In the second part, the authors explain how to manage students, materials, mini lessons, grading and other aspects that help writing workshop classrooms run smoothly. To help with the transition to a workshop method, readers are asked to keep a journal wherein they plan what they will do in their classrooms.

Writing in the Elementary Grades is a comprehensive literacy document that deals with the teaching and development of student writing from Kindergarten through Grade 8.--Back cover.