BLOGS > OCTOBER 29, 2018
BY CARLY ACCOMANDO
This 2018-2019 school year marks my fifth year as a teacher. It is hard to believe that I have only been teaching for five years, because teaching has always been my passion in life, even from a very early age. This year, I told myself, was going to be a year of changes for me. I am proud to say that we’re just five weeks into the school year and these changes are already set into motion.
This year I decided that I wasn’t going to teach out of an old curriculum book this year, but I was going to teach hands-on with materials that engaged my students, rather than boring them. I gave up all of my old curriculum and I started fresh.
We’re doing mostly interactive notebooks, and let me just say, wow! I wish I would have made this switch sooner.
In addition to interactive notebooks, I decided that this year, instead of using our 10-year-old reading series, that I was going to teach reading through the use of picture books. This has been the best decision I have made to date.
I couldn’t have had a better time to take place in the #ClassroomBookADay Challenge! Many of the picture books I am reading are also double-dipping as mentor texts. We are currently using our picture books to practice our inferencing skills. It makes me so proud to hear students saying things like “based on the pictures, I can infer….”
I am looking forward to blogging about this journey with all of you throughout this school year. My class is also excited about this journey. This process is helping them read for enjoyment and meaning, rather than because it was assigned to them. It brings joy to my heart when they come in every day and ask which book we will be reading today!
Pictured below are two students re-reading the first picture book we read during this challenge during our partner reading time.
CARLY ACCOMANDO
Fourth Grade Teacher, Duker School, McHenry, IL
Carly Accomando is a fourth grade teacher at Duker School in McHenry, IL. It's her fourth year teaching, and this is her second year at Duker School. Previously, she taught first and second grade at a charter school. Says Carly, "Teaching is my greatest passion in life! I feel very fortunate to say that I truly love what I do. Each day is a new adventure." In her free time, Carly enjoys reading, baking and shopping. She also loves spending time with her family, boyfriend and their three dogs.
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