If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of their workshops, I totally recommend it! You can check out their tour schedule by visiting their website (listed below). When I checked in I received their "handouts" that are in book (a REAL book) and DVD that shows a sample of their program in action along with your name tag and a pad of post-it notes.
But here's the best part...as the day goes on, you receive the things they talk about as gifts! I swear it was like Oprah's Christmas Special for a few of the teachers! :) Here's a picture of my gifts!
- Dex, The Heart of a Hero by Caralyn Buehner and illustrated by Mark Buehner is a story about a daschund who wants to be a superhero. It's a cute story that "The Sisters" use to help teach stamina to their students.
- Falling Down the Page-A Book of List Poems edited by Georgia Heard is a book of poetry by several different poets. It has some great ones to use all year!
- We received a four pack of Eye Lighters that will help our readers with fluency, tracking and comprehension. They are available in 4 different colors and we received all 4 colors-yellow, blue, green, and pink. The website lists them at just $1.25 so I'll probably order enough to use in small groups with those kiddos who will benefit from them! (There's research on the connection between the color and the success of the student. Check out Reading By The Colors by Helen Irlen for details!)
- We also received a small sand timer to help those kids with time management when they're reading or working.
- The blue check mark is used for "Check for Understanding" which is a component of "Read to Someone" in their Daily 5 Workshop. I found them on Learning Loft's website for $6.95 for a pack of 6-two red, two blue, and two green. It's called a Check-A-Roo and I think I'll be ordering a class set of these...they're very durable and I think they just might survive the school year!
- Our final gift of the day was a wind chime for us to help with transitions from one activity to the next. I was worried that it would be too twangy and harsh, but when I got it home, I was impressed...it was actually kind of calming. It's a J.W. Stannard Wind Chime. I didn't have any luck finding it on the J.W. Stannard website, but I did find it on Amazon (linked above) and as of today it's out of stock. (Probably because there were like 400 teachers at yesterday's conference and "The Sisters" bought all of them for us.)
Then "The Sisters" shared all of the research they implemented into their program. I loved this part because we know what works best for kids, but now we have the research! :) Here's a list of their books and the research they used!
- The Daily Five by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser
- The CAFE Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literary Assessment and Instruction by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser
- Their Daily 5 Website: http://www.the2sisters.com/
- Their website has tons of information and handouts available.
- Explaining Reading-A Resoruce for Teaching Concepts, Skills, and Strategies by Gerald G. Duffy
- Reading Essentials by Regie Routman
- Outliers-The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
- Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write by Patricia M. Cunningham and Richard L. Allington
- Readicide-How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher
- RTI in Literacy-Responsive and Comprehensive by Peter H. Johnston
- Best Practices in Literacy Instruction
- Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice
- A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough
- In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study by Katie Wood Ray
- Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing by Ralph Fletcher
- Richard L. Allington
- Nancie Atwell
- Regie Routman
- Brian Cambourne
- Ken Goodman
- Dr. Ken Wesson-brainworldmagazine.com
- Michael Grinder
- Randy Sprick
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