* This class is set up as an ongoing class so it is a weekly drop-in course.  Subscriptions to this class can start or stop at any time. It will never be cancelled due to low enrollment as I will teach to one learner.

Effective readers employ a variety of skills and strategies to get meaning from unfamiliar text. This course will focus on those practices which will allow your reader to grow and develop as they learn to read increasingly complex text. Instruction in both fiction and non-fiction will encourage your reader to feel more confident reaching for different genres. The strategies and skills taught are developed with the Common Core State Standards for second and third grade as a guideline. Each week, printables will be posted in the classroom 48 hours before class starts. The expectation is that all students will come prepared with them as they are essential to fully learning and applying what is taught. 

I strive to keep my lessons structured, yet open to input from learners. Because I want to ensure that every student is able to participate in this very interactive class, my maximum number of learners is only 5 students. I also encourage students to stay unmuted as long as there is no background noise. This provides for a more seamless conversation among the group.

Learners will not be expected to read the material independently in class, however an instructional reading level approaching third grade or above will enable your learner to focus on the skills and strategies being taught rather than decoding the text.

Please be aware that because dialogue is learner-dependent, and I feel it is necessary to allow discussion about strategies to come to a natural conclusion, we may run over the listed timeframe on any given week.

The following is a list of the skills and strategies that will be taught as well as the resources I will be using:


03/04-03/08 Understanding Problem and Solution. I will read the book The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (fiction)

03/11-03/15 Finding The Main Idea. Students will use the article Service Dogs Rock by Lydia Lukidis (non-fiction)

03/18-03/22 Synthesizing: Changing Our thinking Along the Way. I will read the story Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell and Corinna Luyken (fiction). 

03/25-03/29  Asking Questions: thinking deeply about the story. I will read The Man Who Caught Fish by Walter Lyon Krudop (fiction)

04/01-04/05 Making Inferences and Predictions. I will read Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto (fiction) 

04/08-04/12 How are Text Features Helpful? I will model using the book Wild Animals by Lynn Huggins-Cooper (non-fiction).

04/15-04/19 Identifying Text Structures: Compare and Contrast. Students will use the article Is That a Boa or a Python? by Guy Belleranti (non-fiction)

04/22-04/26 Understanding Cause and Effect. I will read Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson (fiction) 

04/29-05/03 Adapting a story. I will read a traditional Cinderella story and we will compare it to Prince Cinders by Babette Cole (fiction)

05/06-05/10  Character Analysis. I will read the story The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch (fiction)

05/13-05/17 Determining Importance: Summarizing. I will read the story The Three Wishes retold by M. Jean Craig (fiction).

05/20-05/24 What are Fables? Identifying the moral of a story. I will read Aesop's Fables retold by Brad Sneed (fiction)

05/27-05/31 Compare and Contrast two stories. I will read The Wolf Who Cried Boy and The Boy Who Cried Wolf (fiction)

06/03-06/07 Identifying Key Concepts. Students will use the article Hibernation by Kimberly M. Hutmacher (non-fiction)

06/10-06/14 Exploring Point of View. What does it mean? I will read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Sciezka (fiction)

06/17-06/21 Establishing your own viewpoint and supporting your opinion. I will read The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini (fiction)

06/24-06/28 Understanding narrative story plot. I will read Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini (fiction)

07/01-07/05 Analyzing poetry. I will use various poems (fiction)

07/08-07/12 Summarizing and Answering Text Dependent Questions. Students will use the article Groundhog or Woodchuck by Kelly Hashaway
(non-fiction)

07/15-07/19 Determining Importance and summarizing. I will read the book Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (fiction)

07/22-07/26 Close Reading. Students will use the article Magician of the Sea by Kelly Hashaway (non-fiction)

07/29-08/02 NO CLASS

08/05-08/09 Using Text Evidence to Support Your Thinking. Students will use the article Skunks by Cynthia Sherwood (non-fiction)

08/12-08/16 Visualizing. I will read Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el (fiction)

08/19-08/23 Understanding Story Elements and Structure. I will read Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne (fiction)

08/26-08/30 Identifying common non-fiction text features. I will read the book Hurricane Katrina by Sean Callery


09/02-09/06 Making Connections and activating prior knowledge (schema). I will read City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (fiction).

09/09-09/13 Identifying Author's Purpose (various mixed genres)

09/16-09/20 Identifying the Central Message or Theme. I will read A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon (fiction). 

09/23-09/27 Making Inferences and predictions. I will read the story The Magic Amber retold by Charles Reasoner (fiction)

The content of this class begins to repeat.