Dear Teacher, 

It is finally May and you know what that means right? Planning for Back-to-School is in full swing. Since the end of March, my school has been preparing for the return of students full time in the fall. This means I finally get to decorate the classroom I moved into this year. 

First stop... the heart of my classroom. The classroom library. 

​I am always looking for new books to read to my students. Books that they connect to and that show different perspectives of life in America. These are always the favorite for #bookaday in the classroom. 

This book popped us as a free option for teachers in March 2020 on Libro.fm.  You can learn more about Libro.fm and their free books for teachers in my post titled Free Audiobooks for Teachers.

​Leveled ELA Groups are (were) THE way to teach. I learned this in college. Watched mentor teachers demonstrate their skill in the practice and have used it in my own classroom. It is estimated around 90% of elementary teachers use this practice. and I am one of them! 

But we are wrong. What could be worse than teaching it wrong? We are damaging students abilities to learn how to read by continuing to do it wrong despite evidence to the contrary.