Facebook Groups that Every Reading Teacher Should Join

Facebook groups are an amazing way to collaborate with other educators around the country and even the world! In these groups, teachers can ask questions, share resources, and celebrate successes together. While classroom teachers benefit from the collaborative groups, they're especially helpful to reading specialists. Many times, there are only one or two reading specialists in a building which makes it difficult to collaborate with others. These groups provide an opportunity to connect with others who understand our job expectations and struggles. 

Here are Facebook Groups that will help you to enhance your reading instruction by collaborating with others. 

The Reading Roundup Facebook Group

I created this group to support teachers in ALL aspects of balanced literacy. It is a newer group that continues to grow each day, so new members are always welcome! Don't be shy - feel free to share resources or ask questions at any time!

The Reading and Writing Strategies Book Community

While this group was created to continue the learning of the Reading Strategies Book and Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo, you do not have to own the books to benefit from the community. Teachers use this group as a way to share strategies that have worked for them, mentor texts, and other resources.

Disrupting Thinking - Why How We Read Matters - Book Club

If you haven't read Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst yet, stop everything you're doing and go get the book! It is by far the BEST professional book I've read in a long time. The group is intended to facilitate discussion around the strategies in the book but additional ideas are also shared among members.

Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Community

Irene Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell are balanced literacy gurus! Members are invited to "discuss what works and what challenges you face, ask questions, tell stories, and share what inspires you. The hope and purpose of this group is to help each other collaborate on a deeper understanding of all things Fountas and Pinnell."

Keeping Up with All Learners

This group is intended to help teachers better meet the academic and behavior needs of our most challenging students. A great support network to make sure we are helping ALL of our students be successful!

Second Story Window

Primary Teachers this group is for you! There are other groups for specific grade levels, but I like that this one includes all primary grades. Specialists who work with students in grades K-3 will also find helpful tips and resources in this group. 

Upper Elementary Ideas

In order to not leave out our upper elementary teachers, here is a very active group especially for you! As previously mentioned, there are groups for specific grade levels but this group is especially helpful for specialists like myself since it includes a range of levels.

What other Facebook Groups have you found to be beneficial? Please share them in the comments below!

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Opportunity VS Obligation

 

   Every day we come to school we have the incredible privilege of impacting our students' lives. We can inspire them to overcome challenges they previously thought impossible. We can cheer them up from a difficult morning at home. We can help them reach their fullest potential. And we can create an environment that makes them LOVE coming to school!  

   We all know that there are plenty of things we are obligated to to as teachers... parent communication, staff meetings, grading papers, and so on. The reality of standards-based assessments also exists, but it does not have to define our teaching. 

   Changing my mindset to focus on making the most engaging opportunities for my students rather than being dragged down by my obligations has re-sparked my love for teaching! Each day I strive to create fun and interesting learning activities for my students. Opportunities to expand their thinking and help them grow as readers. And most importantly, opportunities to allow my students to feel success every day. 

   Some of the ways I've created these opportunities is by bringing back the FUN. It makes it more enjoyable for me and the students!

  I've made an effort to incorporate more hands-on learning and more technology to provide opportunities to engage students. These opportunities may also be creating special moments for students such as getting to read by the "fireplace" while listening to Christmas music. I strive every day to find these opportunities for students rather than only focusing on my obligations.

   Not only do I feel the positive impact of my new mindset, the students feel it also. They actually look forward to coming to our remediation group, when before it felt like an obligation to them. In fact, other students see the activities we do and want to be a part of our group! But the most rewarding change has been the tremendous increase in students' motivation and their confidence in themselves as readers! Now my only "obligation" is to keep creating more of these opportunities to further inspire my students.

What opportunities can create for your students? I'd love to hear your ideas!

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