Archive for January, 2010
Beyond the Names Chart is Here!
Posted in Books and videos, tagged Beyond the Names Chart, phonics, Really Good Stuff on January 31, 2010| 3 Comments »
Peace Partners – January 29, 2010
Posted in Peace Partners, tagged Peace Partners on January 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »
To receive Peace Partners messages in your e-mail inbox, send an e-mail to d.diller@live.com
Did you remember to start each day with a smile? We can teach our children to do the same. Here’s a little rhyme you might teach your primary students:
“When someone is sad
and wears a frown,
a smile can turn it upside down.”
Wishing you a peaceful weekend,
Debbie
Shared Reading Text in Kindergarten
Posted in Classroom tips, Great classroom spaces, Work stations, tagged shared reading on January 27, 2010| 5 Comments »
While working in Arkansas recently, I talked with kindergarten teachers about finding the right kind of text for shared reading. I look for books and poems that are close to the guided reading level of most of the class. We read the booksand poems together for repeated readings and then move those same materials to literacy work stations for practice. Here are some samples of text that is just right for kindergarten shared reading and stations.

Sentence strips in a pocket chart include students' names and short sentences using high frequency words
Peace Partners – January 25, 2010
Posted in Peace Partners, tagged Peace Partners on January 25, 2010| 1 Comment »
Here is the first installment of Peace Partner messages. To receive these via e-mail, send a message to d.diller@live.com
“Peace begins with a smile.” -Mother Teresa
This Monday morning, begin your day with a smile… even if it was hard saying goodbye to the weekend. Smiles are contagious. Some of your children may be in need of a smile today. Some of your colleagues may, too. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.
Peace be with you,
Debbie
Small Groups are Happening at Westwood!
Posted in Classroom makeovers, Great classroom spaces, tagged small groups, small-group area on January 20, 2010| 2 Comments »
While at Westwood Primary in Greenwood, Arkansas, I worked with teachers on getting the most from small group instruction. They are reading and studying my book, Making the Most of Small Groups. Look at what they’ve already put into place!
Hats off to Dr. Sarah Turner, Principal, and Suzy Wilson, Assistant Principal, for the amazing collection of guided reading books they’ve provided for teachers at their school. They set up their bookroom in the teachers’ lounge to make the books easy for teachers to access. This is one of the loveliest bookrooms I’ve ever seen! Don’t you agree?
Peace Partners
Posted in Peace Partners, tagged Peace Partners on January 17, 2010| 2 Comments »
In early November, I made a conscious decision to establish a quiet time in my day—a time to reflect and rest. I chose to start each day in a place of serenity with a sense of peace. Over the course of the next few weeks, a crisis occurred in my life. I thought I was losing my mind. But then it came to me… I had lost my peace.
As I work with classroom teachers everywhere, I hear the same thing. “There’s no time. Now they want me to add this to my day. How can I fit it all in? There are so many needs to meet.” We are nurturers. But the last person we ever take care of is ourselves.
You are not alone. As an author and consultant, I spend much of my time hurrying and scurrying about the U.S. and Canada. Classroom visits… how many can I fit into a day? Training that is exhilarating but exhausting. Too often I am running on empty and not taking time to refuel.
Thus, Peace Partners begins. If you’d like more peace in your day, permission to breathe, a sense of rest, then please join me. We can help each other find hope and serenity in the harried world of teaching today.
Each Monday and Friday I will send you a brief email message related to peace. It may be a quote, a poem, a reminder, or even a challenge. I’ve chosen these two days to help you begin and end your school week on a note of peace.
There will also be a Peace Partners tab on my blog. We invite you to send in your stories about how you’re finding peace in your classroom and in your life. A friend and I have already started. We simply call each other often with this question, “How’s your peace?” We offer each other words of encouragement to rid our lives of “peace robbers,” as we’ve come to call them.
Will you join me? I hope you’ll sign up today to be part of the Peace Partners Project! To receive the e-mails, just send a message to d.diller@live.com with Peace Partners as the subject line. If you have a story, quote, or poem to share that helps you find peace, please send it to the same e-mail address with your name, hometown, and a brief message.
Awesome Arkansas Classrooms
Posted in Great classroom spaces, tagged literacy work stations, whole-group area on January 15, 2010| 10 Comments »
I started out the new year in Greenwood, Arkansas on a return visit to Westwood Primary. On my last trip there in June, we set up a first grade classroom together and made over the space in a day. We also learned about literacy work stations. Boy, did these teachers put it into action! A big thank you to all the awesome teachers at Westwood Primary!
New Year’s goals
Posted in Inspirations, tagged goals, Inspirations, New Year on January 6, 2010| 6 Comments »
Friends: