Digital literacy tools can play a significant role in supporting literacy development across grade levels by providing personalized and engaging experiences for students.
In what ways do you think this is beneficial?
Once a year our district partners with the local Great Start Family Coalition and we put on a Parent Academy - an evening where families can come to learn more about supporting their child/children at home to develop language and literacy skills. Local businesses provide supplies i.e. puppets, playdough, books etc. and parents rotate through interactive centers. In these centers they learn how to create reading spaces in their homes and so much more!
What are some effective ways to engage families in supporting their child’s literacy development at home?
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What are some ways you are integrating technology into your classroom this year?


How do you modify your teaching when you have a significant number of students out with illness? For example, today half my Kindergarten students are out sick today, and I am reviewing some ideas with the students who are here while introducing a few new things that I can review as students slowly return. How do you handle situations like this when one or more students are absent?


I’m loving this idea—what are some ways you build discussion with your students?
Here is a quick video on one of the many ways you can use playdough to aid in reading fluency!

What are some strategies you’ve used to build positive relationships with school personnel?
Establishing professional relationships is a cornerstone of the teaching profession. While we all aim to build positive relationships, there are always challenging situations.
Building positive relationships requires understanding of diverse cultures, various personality styles, and different perspectives. It also requires the ability to effectively communicate and function in a political educational environment. Finally, it requires always treating students, parents, colleagues, administrators, and other school personnel with respect.


How can I keep track of how my students are progressing in literacy small groups?
This is something I just recently started doing with my third through fifth grade intervention students: when we have an exit ticket, I will leave some highlighters next to the turn in bin. Students highlight their name when they turn in the assignment: green if they feel like they got it; yellow if they feel like they mostly have it; and orange if they are still struggling. This provides them some self advocacy and allows them to share with just me that they may need more help or that they felt great about the assignment!
What are some ways you practice self-assessment with students?
Find out some very easy ways families can incorporate reading into a morning routine!
You can learn more about me - my experiences, availability for speaking etc. at www.ginapepin.com
I am excited to share with you practical make and takes - easy tips along with real life shared stories - so that you can easily create joyful shared reading experiences and other amazing strategies and approaches in your classroom, daycare centers, and homes right away.
Get your free PDF @: https://www.ginapepin.com/blank-1
What science topics do you cover in September and October? We include some seasonal topics such as seasons and some learning about lifecycles (monarch butterflies, pumpkins and apples), but we are looking for some different, non-seasonal topics.


Tis the season...for progress monitoring! We use MAP testing in our district for elementary students and one of my favorite ways to encourage them to meet their goals is to first meet with them before the test and discuss what they feel their strengths are and what is something that they'd like more help in. For MAP, they receive their score at the end so I love to write a sticky note (or put it at the top of their scratch paper) what their goal score is so they know immediately if they met it or not. I will also put an encouraging note beside it to remind them how awesome they are.
What are some ways you encourage your students to meet their goals when taking tests?
