Here are the three blue chairs that have made such a big difference in things this year:

So what to do if there is an advanced kid in the class? Most kids who have lived in other countries where the TL is spoken are not literate. They can speak and understand, but they can’t write or read much. Many teachers differentiate with the writing piece. But we know from field experience and

Lots of little new changes. Nothing big because who can change the power of the Three Steps, right? Little changes: 1. The space I am teaching in doesn’t have any students sitting up close to me so that there really is an acting/teaching space that is open and inviting. I’ll get a pic real soon

I think that those pictures of the question words just clutter. I am into extreme simplicity now so that if a question word is needed I write it down fresh behind me on the board, each time it comes up. In this way I am forced to go more slowly in my overall instruction. Before,

Those using vPQA this year as contributors or users will want to make a note of this link. If it gets to be used a lot, I will make a hyperlink for it above. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XaDAUj6j_srGb8JcantWntFjERdEcPsaWfFml6s3Zzo/edit Thanks to Ruth Fleischman for her hard work on this.

Linda’s classroom is below. I don’t have a pic of mine yet but the desks are all the way against the wall and the students turn their chairs around to write.

No desks this year. Three big blue armchairs, real comfortable ones, form a kind of dominant triad almost like in a living room, around my instructional space. No one gets a chair right away, because they are reserved. All the students have to sit in the plastic chairs that are between the armchairs and behind them.

Free Writes/Fluency Writes are evolving from the days when we just counted words. We are starting to define writing in terms of standards. Last week we posted Bob Patrick’s writing plan, a real winner, and now we have another concrete idea from Lance, which might make it easier for us to talk to parents about

Those in the PLC who are familiar with the terms and who are experienced, do CWB to finish classes. Start with stories. Be sure to assign jobs: Story Writer Quiz Writer Artist 3 PQA Counters Professor 2 Timer Why? Because assigning these jobs and getting the kids working in those capacities completely changes the feel

I have found it helpful, in the very first classes, to begin the year by first asking the class to pair up and briefly discuss which of the four skills (written on the board) are learned in what order in small children. They always say the listening skill, then the reading skill, then speech and

I don’t use the hand comprehension checks anymore. Not only do the kids lie about what they are getting, but also it takes too much time and sometimes leads to English. Instead, and many of us already use this, I just have them put a thumb up in response to my thumb up as if

Check it out. Our own Skip Crosby is getting some love back for all the love he has put into his career and and into CI and into making the Maine Conference each October one of the four top TPRS/CI conferences in the world: I was not a great student, but 1 teacher believed in