Literacy Aficionados: Supporting Knowledgeable and Enthusiastic Readers!

I am a WORD NERD.  No really.  I am, and I'm totally okay with it!   I LOVE collecting words, and I have so much fun with language.  I love playful sounding words like "hullabaloo"... descriptive words like "crestfallen" in place of overused "sad"... and words that have an extra flair to them like "aficionado".  Sounds fancy, eh?

Okay, if I haven't scared you away and you're still reading my ramblings, then you should know this:  My goal every year is to create & support literacy aficionados. Merriam-Webster defines an aficionado as "a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interested or activity."  An aficionado, in essence, is someone who is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and passionate about a topic. Passion is everything.

I like to think of myself as a literacy aficionado.  (I told you that I'm a nerd.)  I have ALWAYS been passionate about reading.  I remember begging my mom to take me to the library as a little kiddo.  I was always signed up for the summer programs, and when I was in second grade, I am pretty sure I read every single book in "The Babysitter's Club" series before I started attacking the "Sweet Valley" books!  :) I would check out as many as I could, I would devour them, and then I'd go back for more.  I obviously have less time for recreational reading now that I'm a "grown-up", but my love of literacy has never waned.  Now, I get to share that passion with all of my students... and a whole slew of teachers too!  How cool is that?! :)

I was so excited to share my Cultivating Strategic Readers bundle with everyone this past spring... and now it has a sister pack.  I JUST finished my Literacy Aficionados: Supporting Knowledgeable & Enthusiastic Readers bundle today, and I am so pumped to share it with all of you!  Life is just FULL of simple joys, isn't it?

All of the ideas contained in the file are  tried & true research-based activities that I have adapted to reflect my own teaching style.  (I am sure that you will recognize many of them!)  Basically,  I created resources that capture the essence of each research-based strategy, but I tweaked them to include lots of fun graphics and opportunities for collaboration/engagement!

This bundle is FULL of fun literacy ideas to supplement your existing programs and lessons! It is intentionally open ended, and templates were created to be WRITTEN ON by both students and teachers.  I want to be able to use this resource over and over and over again.  Although I like to create a lot of digital goodies for my classroom, I also subscribe to the idea of putting my own writing all over the room too!  I like having the ability to run things off and keep them on hand... and then just slap my handwriting on it when the time comes.  At first glance, some of the cards in the bundle look just like pictures, but they are made to be laid face down with letters or words written on the blank side. I just want to be explicit right out of the gates!  I try really hard to share everything at face value.  :)  I never want to disappoint anyone.  It's a sickness!  Ha.


The following strategies are included in this 60 page file:
Title p.1
Love Note p.2
Jackdaw p. 3-5
Vocabulary Timeline p. 6-8
Discussion Web (interactive) p. 9-15
How RIVETing (RIVET) p. 16-28
Hink Pinks p. 29-35
Brainstorming p. 36-42
List, Group, Label p. 43-45
Sketch-to-Stretch p. 46-48
Word of the Day/Week p. 49-55
Whoa! Tableau! p. 56-57
Word War p. 58-59
Thank You/Acknowledgements p. 60

If you're interested, you can check it out HERE! You can snag it for 20% off through tomorrow night!