Here are some blog posts you might like!
3 Effective Close Reading Strategies for Informational Text
Ask many students how they feel about close reading informational text, and they’ll tell you it’s a bore. Informational text is full of just that, information. Without a fun story or interesting characters, some view it as a one-way ticket to Snoozeville. Throw in close reading strategies, and you’ve entered the Humdrum House. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Well chosen informational text
Compare and Contrast with Paired Passages Plus!
I have heard from many of you who use my Text Time close reading passages that the paired passages have been particularly effective with your students. That is why I decided to make an entire paired passages product – actually, one better because there are three passages on the same subject instead of just two. That means that you can select any of the the
How to Select High-Quality Close Reading Passages for Your Students
As you probably know, there are many passages available that claim to be ideal for close reading and reading comprehension. Many are in published books. Many are available either for free or for purchase on the internet. As you select passages for your students to read, please keep in mind that not all passages are created equal. Teacher sites like Teachers Pay Teachers are open marketplaces. That
No-Prep Close Reading
I hope your students read real books and articles. I hope you facilitate close reading activities using those books. I hope your students are having lively discussion, thinking deeply, and writing thoughtful reflections about the texts that they read. Unfortunately, creating these opportunities takes a great deal of time, time that you may not have each and every week. It takes time to research appropriate texts
Top 10 Read Alouds for Fourth Grade
Hi, I’m Lisa Robles from LisaTeachR’s Classroom.  I’ve been teaching 26 years (yikes!). I’m super excited to be blogging about this, because I am a book fanatic.  My favorite time in my class is read aloud time!  These are my top 10 favorite read alouds! Here are my top 10 read alouds for fourth grade: I like books that are multicultural and teach empathy–books that catch their
It’s a Mystery to Me!
Today, we’re welcoming Sharon from Classroom in the Middle! She’s sharing her ideas on a combined reading and writing unit with a mysteries theme. Are the finer points of reading comprehension and written composition still an elusive mystery to your students? To one degree or another, reading and writing can be a bit mysterious to all of us, so why not play up the mystery theme with
