April Evans

We’re baaaaaack! Tomorrow is the first day of school for my first graders. I’m looking forward to posting their progress in reading and writing. In the meantime, here’s my room transformation! 😍 #back_to_school #firstdayofschool

@NateJoseph19 Can’t wait to read it! Thanks! 🙏🏼

@SoRinPractice Respectfully they are dead wrong. pedagogynongrata.com/tier-3-instruc…

I used to be convinced that studies with larger sample sizes were inherently better. I’ve changed my mind on this. I think studies with smaller sample sizes are often better, because instructional variables can be more easily controlled for.

@NateJoseph19 I guess reading interventionist specifically in K-2 vs later on. My principal won’t get an interventionist because she doesn’t think it make a difference.

@SoRinPractice Like overall?

@kyairb Congrats Kyair!

Thank you so much! I love representing our kids and this district!

A couple weeks ago I reached out for suggestions on moving Ss from tapping every word to reading whole words. We’ve been working hard using the Reading Rockets with Linda Farrell video. This is a Ss of mine moving from sounding out every word to reading more fluently. #sor

@goyenfoundation Thank you for this experience! It was so much fun learning from everyone in this community.

Then came @SoRinPractice's fellowship, which was just another knowledge-building triumph. My favorite thing about April, though, is that she's always and humbly pushing her practice, asking questions, and revising her teaching based on what she learns. twitter.com/SoRinPractice/…

Yesterday, we shared that we're opening up applications for our 2nd cohort of literacy fellows. (Apply below!!). Today, I wanted to reflect back on our FIRST (and ongoing) cohort of fellows. Buckle up. This is going to be a long thread. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

@joycesbrooklyn Can’t wait to try this!

@SoRinPractice youtu.be/kJMsWoVeBjk This could be a helpful video.

🚨Help🚨My first grade team is looking for advice. We are seeing a group of Ss that tap and blend accurately consistently but we can’t move them to reading the whole word without tapping. Advice on next steps???

Thank you all for the suggestions!

@thismomloves Thanks so much!

@SoRinPractice scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewconten…

Small groups? Need good info? Can’t recommend this enough! @KConradiSmith Conradi Smith, K., Amendum, S. J., & Williams, T. W. (2022). Maximizing Small‐Group Reading Instruction. The Reading Teacher. ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100…

A couple of my favorite Geodes texts used in small group. These have taught me so much about the world!

First response “Windmills produce electricity.” Second response “The difference of a post mill and a tower mill is a post mill is wood and a tower mill is brick.”

Having an efficient focused small group time is so important to me. Equally important is what the other Ss are doing who aren’t with me. Here is an example of my Ss weekly work packet. During group we discuss the question and then they write about it independently. #SoR

@LiteracyJourney @ClassroomWonder @GreatMindsEd This book is included in our Wit & Wisdom lessons. We loved it.

Who would have thought the inner workings of a windmill would be so interesting? My Ss have a lot of knowledge of the wind and windmills. They loved learning about how they work today. Their engagement and curiosity warms my teacher heart ❤️ #curriculummatters @GreatMindsEd

After reading today, Ss answered a question orally then wrote about it during their independent time.

This small group started with word work (previous post). Then Ss get into a rich knowledge building text which also ties directly to the phonics patterns they are learning! Build knowledge and apply phonics patterns at the same time?…yes please! #SoR #Geodes @GreatMindsEd

Two examples of phoneme manipulation. This group starts by orally manipulating the second consonant in a blend and then does a word chain before reading. #SoR #phonemicawareness