On my own...not even close!

Two are better than one, if one falls down the other can help him up.

A strand of three cords is not easily broken

~ The Bible

I can't write about myself without writing about the others in my life who support my learning to teach and lead process.

Family and Friends: Erik, Mom, Cheryl, Carolyn, Dave et.al. ...you know what you do.

Networking with Colleagues: Over the past 3 years I have worked in 6 schools. I have met many amazing staff members with resources galore. When I left my first school I was able to take some of those resources with me in the form of an "exit binder". I have continued to add to that wonderful binder and my well established files in my travels. Through "Chatt", the Halton email system for communication, I can maintain those connections.

The ongoing connections with my current coworkers remains, probably, my most valuable resource as we practically look forward to the next school year and during the year plan on, realistically, a daily basis.

Resources: I walked into a retired teacher's room and thought "How on earth do you end up with so many books?" Now I know. Here are my 3 most frequent "go tos" for language instruction.

• A Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading – Kindergarten to Grade 3, Ontario Early Reading Strategy (2003) (Which apparently does not exist on the internet.)
• Units of Study By: Lucy Calkins
• Literacy Place Reading and Writing Guides By: Anne Brailsforn and Tony Stead

Great Finds Guaranteed:

1. Hiding on my computer: Over the years I have collected and made resources from a variety of sources. If I could only figure out how to attach a document we'd be set, but it doesn't seem like I can do that. Here are some titles I would be including, feel free to contact me if you would like any of these resources:

• Read aloud lessons on: Making Connections, Inferencing, Main Idea, Prediction, retelling, using your schema, synthesis and visualization
• Literacy Stations
• Lists of Higher Order questioning

2. Websites: There are a few websites that have become valuable to my language instruction, some which I've used in the past and some which I have only recently discovered:

• International Children's Library - Great for books in other languages
• Raz Kids - A purchased program from the Halton District School Board for our Grade 1 and 2 students
• Elementary Internet Tools - A site designed by the HDSB for research and educational websites by grade.