Hedlund's Highlights

January 2023

"Reading Buddies" from The Reading League

I've linked a video below to an awesome series on YouTube, called "Reading Buddies." The show was created by The Reading League and is based on the science of reading. It is perfect for pre and early readers to introduce phonological awareness, letter names and sounds, word blending and the basics of decoding. It is a wholesome show that I feel good about having my sons watch and the adorable characters make them big belly laugh together. There are two seasons available and they are free on YouTube.

Technology Tip

I am always looking for ways to become a better teacher and parent, so I read a lot of articles online. In doing so, I stumbled upon this free parenting class about a month ago from Positive Parenting Solutions. The class gave me some great strategies that I have used at home and at work. I would recommend the class to any teacher, parent and anyone who works with children. The "class" is about an hour long, but I paused it as I needed to in order to make it through the lesson in smaller chunks. There's also a note-taking guide which is really helpful for forgetful folks like me. You can sign up for the class by clicking the link below.

Positive Parenting Solutions Free Class

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Learning Ally

Research shows that when students struggle to read, accessing grade level content is essential to continue to build vocabulary and background knowledge. A great way to do this is with audio books! Montezuma has purchased Learning Ally, so that students can access novels, textbooks and so much more! I've set up a few teachers to get started. Please let me know if you have a student who might benefit from this tool.

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Early Intervention Reading Kit Project Coming this Spring!

Thank you for your support and generosity for this project. I am blown away by the community support! I'm planning to offer a screening event for 3-4 year olds this spring to spread awareness about early intervention and share kits with parents. I created a Donor's Choose page and the project is now fully funded! I am beyond excited to get started creating these intervention kits to benefit our children, families and community! Thank you!!

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Knowledge Curriculum based on the Science of Reading

We are now in search of a knowledge building curriculum to use as well that will provide students with content and vocabulary instruction. Teachers are currently teaching students decoding skills systematically and explicitly; however, the content and knowledge we are sharing is without organization. We are pleased with the phonics and phonemic awareness components; however, It is time for us to update our main reading curriculum at South Gray.