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Read Aloud

The 5-Phases of Turn and Talk: How to Provide Support

"Collaboration provides the social glue that students need to become better readers," (Dewitz, 2022). Turn and talk during the instructional read-aloud increases collaboration and student engagement. But how do teachers support students who struggle with turn and talk? In this blog article, Sarah Collinge, author of the Read Side by Side Reading Program, walks you through the 5-phases of turn and talk and how to support students who are struggling.

The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Teaching

The Read Side by Side Reading Program, a curriculum for teaching reading in grades 3-6, is designed...

5 Tips for Reading Aloud to Children

Reading aloud to children is one of the most effective routines for raising reading achievement and...

Using Turn and Talk Stems Across the Globe

Earlier this month, Bethany and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Macau near Hong Kong to...

Hooked on C. I. A.: Reflections on the Year

My CIA experience this year was AMAZING! My students are hooked on the CIA reading program! Here...

Janet's Year End Review - Looking Back

It’s hard to believe another school year is complete. This year will be one that I always remember...

Sarah's Year End Review

The students and I know our classroom would have been a very different place without CIA this year.

Glory Be: Charts and Vocabulary

“But it was so much fun!” This was in response (from my most busy girl) to a very long catch-up...

City of Ember Writing

The last 5th grade CIA unit is the City of Ember written by Jeanne DuPrau. It is about a futuristic...

Charts with Children of the Gold Rush

This is my first time teaching 4.4, Children of the Gold Rush, and I’m really enjoying it! My...

Teaching Genre with Glory Be

After we came back from Spring Break, we started our final CIA unit of the school year, Glory Be. I...

Background Knowledge for Streams to the River

We are starting Streams to the River this month just as we are finishing our Native American unit...

4th Grade Writers

Writing is a big part of the CIA program as it gives students a chance to think deeper about a...

Kids at Work

My students are reading the fourth unit of study, Kids at Work by Russell Freedman. Like the other...

Historical Fiction - Chains

My class will begin reading Chains in January. There are a couple of things I think about, one the...

MLK and Writing

Well, we are finally halfway through Martin Luther King Jr.’s biography! It feels like we’ve been...

Background Knowledge in Streams

One reason I love the third CIA unit for 4th grade, Streams to the River, River to the Sea, is the...

Student Engagement

Well, I sit here trying to figure out what to write about engagement. I have never used a...

The C. I. A. Approach in The War with Grandpa

I cannot believe we are in the process of wrapping up the writing project that follows our read...

Castle in the Attic with Janet Erickson

My students are really into Castle in the Attic! We have almost reached the end of the second...

The Holes Unit of Study

Our second unit of study for 5th grade is Holes. Students are always excited to begin this book...

Vocab Handbooks

One part of the CIA program that I really enjoy is the vocabulary handbooks. This is a great way to...

Vocabulary Handbook

At the end of each CIA unit of study are the pages of the Vocabulary Handbook. I make sure that the...

Castle in the Attic C. I. A.

Beginning Castle in the Attic As a grade level we have to rotate CIA units so this year I started...

Turn and Talk - Hilary Cullen

Sentence Stems The use of stems in my classroom has completely changed the way I look at student...

Writing - Finishing Poppy

Poppy is Over :-( Every single student in my classroom can now say that they have read a chapter...

C. I. A.: Poppy in Sarah Linington's Class

Beginning the CIA Unit We started the unit of study for Poppy after two weeks of Patricia Polacco...

Poppy: C. I. A. in the 3rd Grade Classroom

Updates I’d like to start this blog with a few updates since my last blog. In my blog, about...

Earthquake Terror Unit of Study

In 5th grade, our first CIA unit is Earthquake Terror written by Peg Kehret. It is an exciting...