Presenter Jean Gerold, Kim Clark, Jennifer Mushitz, and Curt Maki

Ok…there’s Devon who wants to read but struggles to lift any word off the page; Emily, who devours every chapter book conceivable for a second grader; and Michael, who has just arrived in the United States and is beginning to learn English. We know about the standards that our school district and state mandate, along with expectations of teachers to get all students to achieve them. But how do we manage and instruct with this wide range of needs?

These teachers will honestly tell you their likes and dislikes about two different research based approaches to teaching literacy. The first literacy structure deals with ‘The Daily Five’ and second one uses the book, Growing Readers by Kathy Collins who believes primary-grade teachers have an important dual challenge. She says, we need to teach children how to read, but we also need to teach them how to fall in love with reading. We need to teach children the skills and strategies that strong readers use, but we also need to teach them the reading habits long after they leave our classrooms. The book shares ideas for launching and maintaining an independent reading workshop in your classroom that not only teaches a child how to read but also shows them why to read.

The presenters want you to know that they volunteered to tell you about the work involved in setting up their programs. You will notice similarities but distinct differences as well.

They also want you to know that they are not experts ---but—like you--are sincerely focused on trying to deliver the best possible learning experiences for each and every child in their classrooms. It meets the children’s reading licensure renewal requirement.