Comprehension | Content Area Reading | Emergent Literacy | Home Communication | Levels of Support/Instructional Approaches | Reading/Writing Connection | Vocabulary | Word Identification

Emergent Literacy Emergent Literacy Research and Resources How Young Children Become Readers and Writers Early Years: Birth to Preschool Activity Ideas Purposes for Reading: Emergent Level Making Friends with Phonemes Phonemic Awareness for Young Language Learners Teaching Phonemes Using The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss Alphabet Chants Be_bop and other "op" words: A phonemic lesson with Charlie Parker Did Someone Say Phonemic Awareness: A General Overview and Detailed Lesson Plans Rhyming Word Activities Teaching Sound Isolation Teaching Syllable Segmentation  Listening Skills Listening Skills Homework helper tips page Earventory Creative, active listening lesson A Listening Skills Rubric Thinking Skills Guide - Listening Actively How to Listen Better Listening as a classroom and study skill Elementary School Through the Ages Students can listen to interviews as part of a Think Quest exploration of the history of schooling African Primates at Home Interactive site allowing students to listen and view primates in their natural habitats Thinking Skills Guide - Questioning Strategically Children's Storybooks Interactive, age-appropriate stories to read aloud, with sound effects, riddles, and activities Online Children's Stories Story Collections, songs and poetry, and more Word Identification Teaching Word-Identification Skills and Strategies: A Balanced Approach Word Identification-Shared Reading Lesson Word Identification Lesson Links to Word Identification and Word Recognition Resources Word Identification and Recognizing Word Patterns using Goodnight Moon Activities to reinforce and teach Sight Words Multisensory Teaching Techniques Animal Word ID Lesson Plan Dolch Word List: PrePrimer, Primer, and First Grade Phonics Phonics Lesson Plans Phonics Lessons and Resources Phonics Lesson Plans Phonics Link The Phonics Room Phonemic Awareness Activities Word Families Using Word Families Making Words: Cardboard Letters : K-1 hands-on activity in which children discover sound-letter relationships Word Families in Nursery Rhymes Activities to Practice Word Families (Rhyming Patterns)   Sign Language A Basic Guide to ASL Silent Thunder Animation Page Interactive site teaches kids to sign simple words Sample activities with story Nobody Listens to Andrew Worksheet Sample activities with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff Lesson plan links Printables Prediction lesson Lesson Idea Guided Reading - If You Give A Mouse a Cookie Word Identification and Spelling Spelling Activities Spelling Fun at Funbrain.com Spelling Merriam-Webster Online Language Center Spelling Stuff Zaner-Bloser Spelling Research Overview and Examples Word Study Instruction Sample Word Study Lesson Word Wall and Making Words Comprehension Comprehension Strategies Reading and Viewing Help with textual and visual literacy Thinking Skills Guide - Drawing Conclusions Thinking Skills Guide - Predicting Thinking Skills Guide - Elaborating Thinking Skills Guide - Paraphrasing Strategies for Comprehension Monitoring School Improvement in Maryland Using Collaborative Strategic Reading Repeated Reading Lesson ideas Story Wheels Lesson plan Story Chains Lesson plan Focus on Sequencing Skills Compare and Contrast with the H-Map Comparing and contrasting two stories Discovering main ideas Graphic Organizers Thinking Skills Guide - Representing Information Graphically Graphic Organizers Index Links to Graphic Organizers Sample Activity: The Case of the Snoring Stegosaurus Stegosaurus Materials and Activities K-W-L K-W-L-H Technique Printable KWL chart KWL - A Reading Comprehension Strategy Use a KWL to Help Children Do What Good Readers Do Sample Application: Social Studies/Baltimore City Official Baltimore City Website Baltimore City, Maryland Maryland Archives Site Vocabulary Vocabulary: Educational Stimulation and Fun Mix of word games, puzzles, and activities English CLUB Fun! Playful, theme vocabulary quizzes Vocabulary Bingo Easy Vocabulary Quizzes with Pictures SuperKids Word Scrambler Fake Out! Vocabulary game from Houghton Mifflin Kids Center: Words Vocabulary Building Dictionaries LITTLE EXPLORERS: Multilingual Picture Dictionary with Links and Sound HandSpeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Online The Dinosaur Dictionary Online Student Dictionary The Semantic Rhyming Dictionary Word Central Interactive site from Merriam-Webster Online Picture Dictionary Levels of Support/Instructional Approaches Choral Reading Choral Speaking for Children Directory of links Choral Reading and Speaking Thorough overview of choral reading Poems for School Poems and activities for read-aloud and recitation Readers' Theatre Aaron Shepard's Reader's Theatre Page: Scripts & Tips for Reader's Theatre Reader's Theatre Example lesson plan with definitions, rubrics, etc. Reading Aloud Emily Elizabeth's Read-Along An interactive Clifford story site Top Ten Suggestions for books to read aloud, with comments on "reading aloud" in the classroom Tips on Reading Aloud for Children by the American Library Association Shared Reading Experience Shared Reading: An Effective Instructional Model Word Identification-Shared Reading Lesson Key Elements of Guided Reading Shared Reading in Kindergarten Shared Reading (whole class or small group routine) Shared Reading ...from the MCPS Early Literacy Guide Shared Reading: A Strategy That Leads Towards Better Readers (A Lesson Overview) Beginning of the Year ...shared reading lesson plan Books for Shared Reading...an annotated list Activities for Any Book Discussion Starters for Any Book Sample shared reading activity, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" Puppet and play activity Mixed-Up Fairy Tale Lesson Idea Strategies to Extend Student Thinking Strategies to extend student thinking Higher-Order Thinking Strategies for the Classroom  Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Thinking Skills Guide - Accessing Information Content-Directed Reading/Thinking Activity (MSPAP) Guided Reading From the MCPS Early Literacy Guide Guided Reading using Gail Gibbon's book Frogs First Grade Guided Reading Chart Guided Reading - If You Give A Mouse a Cookie Sample Activity: "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse," by Elizabeth West Story Arts/ Aesop's ABC The Animals of Town Mouse/Country Mouse Town Mouse/Country Mouse Variants Town Mouse Country Mouse: Recognizing Story Grammar Individualized Reading Independent Reading From the MCPS Early Literacy Guide The Effects of Independent Reading on Reading Achievement Sustained Silent Reading Helps Develop Independent Readers and Writers Between the Lions: Stories Self-paced, interactive site from PBS Online Books and Stories Links to quality online reading sites Assessment of Reading Proficiencies Reading Response Logs The Running Record Sample Script for Running Record First Grade Daily Reading Logs...letter home to parents   Puppetry Puppetry Definitions Using Puppetry Puppetry Traditions Around the World Puppet Building Puppetry Sites and Sources Sample Activity: Creating Puppets for familiar folktale, "The Mitten" Legends and Lore - The Puppets Everything Place Group Discussion BOOKREAD An online, interactive book reading and group discussion project for K-12 students Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site An excellent resource for teachers seeking literature lesson and discussion ideas Hold a Town Meeting A lesson in which children create and act out a mock town meeting Pyramid Strategy Sample Application: Classifying Animals/Mammals Animals Unit - Lesson Ideas Levels and types of questions Thoughts on Problem Solving: Bloom's Taxonomy Categorization of Skills Teaching using Bloom's Taxonomy Types of Questions Based on Bloom's Taxonomy A Questioning Toolkit Question-Answer Relationships Question Answer Relationships Question-Answer Relationships: Strategies Sample Application: Science/Space Postcards from My Planet A Related Unit Sample Application: Owl at Home A Teacher's Commentary Arnold Lobel Citations Meet Arnold Lobel Strategies to Extend Student Thinking Strategies to Extend Student Thinking Higher-Order Thinking Strategies for the Classroom Reciprocal Teaching What is Reciprocal Teaching? Sample Application: Social Studies "Families Near and Far - Africa" Journey to Africa Response Logs Reading Response Log...sample instructions Reading response journal lit logs Sample Application: Neighborhoods and Communities - Heather Becomes a Firefighter Test of Courage: The Making of a Firefighter Fire Safety for Kids Retelling Accordian Books and Story Retelling Kindergarten Written Story Retelling Summary Scoring Guide Story Retelling: Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten Story Retelling Rubric Poems for School Poems and activities for read-aloud and recitation Sample Application: Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present, by Charlotte Zolotow Charlotte Zolotow Information Page List of Zolotow titles Semantic Feature Analysis What Is Semantic Feature Analysis? Think-Aloud Reading Think Aloud How Can You Use a Think Aloud? Visualization Content Area Reading Reading Strategies for All Content Areas Reading Strategies: The Way Readers Make Use of Cues K-3 Themes Many content-area reading activities Thinking Skills Guide - Evaluating Evidence Thinking Skills Guide - Comparing and Contrasting Thinking Skills Guide - Cause and Effect Thinking Skills Guide - Sequencing Thinking Skills Guide - Problem Solving Hidden from View: The Fossil Record Site on fossils incorporating reading and writing activities Reading/Writing Connection Language Experience Approach What is the language experience approach? What is a Language Experience activity? What is a language experience story? How to create a language experience story Using language experience stories Developing a Language Experience Story Reading Workshop Reading Workshop Reading Workshop Framework Reading Workshop Assessment and Mini-Lessons Reading Workshop for Fluent Readers Reading Workshop and Accelerated Reader Introduction to Literature Circles Literature Circles Literary Lessons: Literature Circles (Structured Approach) Reading Scene: Online Book Club for Kids The Writing Workshop Approach Reading and Writing Workshop One teacher's approaches Stance Questions Sample Stance Questions Helpful Hints for Developing Stance Questions Shared Enquiry Sample Scoring Tools Journal Writing Journal Writing with Author Virginia Hamilton Study Web: Journal Writing: Links Journal Writing Every Day: Teachers Say it Really Works! Home Communication Ready Set Read for Families Reading with Your Children at Home Raising Readers: Helping Your Child to Literacy NIEWorld Parents - What is language experience? Helping Your Child Learn to Read 8 WAYS PARENTS CAN PROMOTE READING AT HOME Tips for Parents: Parents as Reading Models Parents & Reading Helping Your Child with Reading...includes bibliography Parent Resources for Reading/Language Arts THE READING SITE - Information For Parents Reading With Children Recommended Book Lists Family Reading Corner Parents Reading Tips Encouraging Reading? Better Kid Care: Reading Aloud Explains the benefits of reading aloud to children Online Books and Stories Links to stories for reading aloud and interactive reading Beginning to Read Fun activities for parents and kids preschool through grade two Book Bowl: Competition Increases Reading Help Your Child Learn to Listen How Can Parents Model Good Listening Skills? by Carl Smith