Reading Countess

Today during our gathering session in preparation for teaching the district’s Reading/Writing Workshop for Grades 3-5, I shared with the other two teachers co-teaching with me some sites I have found to be extremely beneficial for my instruction delivery. Goodreads, kidblog, animoto and diigo were new to my partners. Although excited by the prospect of [...]

Today I met with two other teachers, our district’s Language Arts curriculum specialist (K-8) and a consultant for NWP/University of Houston Clear Lake associate dean of the School of Education to begin planning the school district’s reading/writing workshop training for beginning teachers. The official title of the course next week is “Introduction to Reading and [...]

In my last post, I shared my struggle with balancing an extremely satisfying, but demanding, full time teaching position with an even more satisfying eternal parenthood role. Today, in honor of Father’s Day, I want to acknowledge my supportive husband and loving father of my three boys. We ALL would be adrift without his calm [...]

What does an old Johnny Carson reference have to do with today’s post, you wonder? Think back to 1980′s The Shining, with Jack Nicholson… I have a personality that tends to go to extremes. Okay, I am more than  a bit extreme sometimes. Alright, if my feet were put to the fire, I would admit [...]

” Hi. My name is Reading Countess and I have a reading problem.” This is something that I might be forced to say if my ever-growing list of books to-be-read (TBR) doesn’t stop…and soon! But that truly is a conundrum for real readers. If we are to live active literate lives, then new titles pop [...]

Donalyn Miller, author of one of my favorite books touting the importance of book choice in school, has issued a summer challenge. “The-Book-a-Day Challenge” is now in full swing and I find myself reveling in reading various genres of interest. Picture books, middle grade readers, books on the craft of teaching writing, and adult fare [...]

Social networking is growing by leaps and bounds. When used appropriately, sites such as Facebook and twitter can be excellent tools for discovery and for connecting with friends (both old and new) across the globe. But with a younger audience dipping their toe into the medium, I have come to realize that like most things in [...]

For today’s post, I have included Share a Story, Shape a Future’s blog post from yesterday. I am so pleased to have had a small hand in placing more books into the minds and hearts of more eager readers! Thanks again, RIF!   Thanks Again to Reading is Fundamental!   Isn’t this just a great [...]

My middle son is looping with his classmates and teacher next year. Stepping into third grade next year with the same teacher and kids whom he has grown to know and love will undoubtedly serve him well. In an attempt to stoke the fires of friendship even during the long summer months, I offered to host [...]

   Sixth grade reading looks very different from reading in my classroom. This is in no way a value judgement, it is simply a statement of fact. Knowing firsthand how different the class is because I had a sixth grade son this year, I wanted to give my students a tool that might help guide [...]