Coming Soon...

So...working on putting what I do into a unit (that can be shared) takes A-LOT of time but....I've had so much fun. We are jumping into a mini-unit called "Our Universe" this coming week, and I've started to compile my literacy plans into a document that I can share with you all.

This is what you can expect from this and a lot of units that I'll be working on this summer.

My Balanced Literacy Thematic Mini-Units (sounds like a lot, huh) will include

* Original Poetry
* Read Aloud suggestions
* Read alouds with accountable talk prompts- I've gotta get my kids THINKING and TALKING as much as possible!
* Ideas for shared writing, interactive writing  with photos from my unit
* Content project ideas that encourage vocabulary, following directions, and creativity (kids need time to cut, paste, and be 7 years old- it is meaningful and necessary!)
* Thinking Maps
* Various items that can be threaded throughout this mini unit that I'm still tinkering with

All of these components are planned with one goal in mind:

What can I teach them during this component that will support them as independent readers and writers during the workshop?

I mentioned before that I adore Kathy, and can I just PLEASE  share with you a paragraph from her book? This was the
"ah ha" moment from before. I found it scanned in on google reader- pretty cool.

Kathy Collins, Growing Readers- pg. 36:
(click to enlarge)

Preach. That. Sista. 
Words to TEACH by.

I'm not quite ready for the TPT thing yet, so I'm going to upload this at the end of the week and ask for constructive criticism. I'm like... a perfectionist who struggles with being criticized (aren't a lot us teacher-type personalities? lol) so I'm REALLY putting myself out there in hopes of getting feedback that will help me get better.

So here is what is coming soon...(the goal is to have it posted by the weekend!)

More Later,