Differentiating Reading Instruction in Kindergarten through 5th Grade

Reading instruction can be challenging when a teacher has many different ability levels in her classroom. Furthermore, kindergarten and elementary grades are fundamental. Reading expert, Laura Robb breaks down excellent reading instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade. Dr. Robb has written more than 25 books on reading but also takes 3-4 months each school year as a classroom teacher. From how to form reading groups, how to reach individual children, and how to communicate with parents, Dr. Robb's advice is practical and extensive. This is an extended, 38-minute episode that covers everything about differentiating instruction with reading and is designed to be a complete overview to help every teacher working with young or struggling readers. This episode also includes a transcript on differentiating instruction.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e791

sponsor: Thank you eSpark for sponsoring today’s show. eSpark is a differentiation and intervention tool that helps teachers of kindergarten through grade five save time by providing ready-to-go, standards-based reading and math activities that students love. eSpark is free for teachers.Each Quest includes a pre-quiz, framing videos, instructional videos, practice activities, critical thinking challenges, a post-quiz, and an optional student recording. I love that for activities to remain in the eSpark catalog that it must have a high student engagement rating based on a student chosen thumbs-up or thumbs-down. You can even import NWEA or STAR data to give students a more differentiated experience from the first log on. Oh and did I say it is free for teachers! So, go to go.eSpark.app forward slash cool cat teacher - that’s g-o dot e-spark dot a-p-p forward slash Cool Cat Teacher and sign up today for eSpark. You’ll be glad you did.

Laura Robb - Bio as Submitted

Author, teacher, coach, and international speaker, Laura Robb has completed more than 43 years of teaching in grades 4-8, and she returns to teach striving readers each year. Robb received the Richard W. Halle Award for outstanding middle level educator from NCTE as well as the Friends of Literacy Award from the Nassau Reading Council.

Laura Robb has written more than 30 books for teachers. Recently she has completed two books with her son Evan Robb, a middle school principal. TeamMakers: Positively Impacting the Lives of Children through District-Wide Dreaming, Collaborating, and Change, published by Dave Burgess Publishing was published in 2019. Schools Full of Readers: Tools for Teachers, Coaches and leaders to Support Students, is also from 2019. 

In 2016, two books were published: The Reading Intervention Toolkit, by Shell Education and Read Talk Write: 35 Lessons That Teach Students to Analyze Fiction and Nonfiction, published by Corwin Literacy. Corwin Literacy also published Robb’s Vocabulary Is Comprehension: Getting to the Root of Complex Texts.

Her newest for Heinemann is a First Hand Curriculum: Smart Writing: Practical Units For Teaching Middle School Writers, and a professional book, Teaching Middle School Writers: What Every English Teacher Needs to Know. For Scholastic, Robb has completed several best sellers including the first and second editions of Teaching Reading in Middle School, Differentiating Reading Instruction, Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math, and her newest, Unlocking Complex Texts.

Robb is a keynote and featured speaker at conferences and leads workshops all over the country and in Canada. She writes articles for education journals and blogs. She is a regular contributor to www.therobbreviewblog.com and has a series of podcasts with Evan Robb that you can access on https://therobbreviewpodcast.podbean.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."