Teaching tips

45 posts

January Office Hours Webinar

January 6, 2020 teaching tips uncategorized webinar

Please join Jan Richardson and I next Tuesday, January 14, at 4:00pm EST, when we’ll be holding our free Office Hours webinar. Our topic will be Guiding Writers: Teaching with Intention and Intensi...

Teaching Tip: More about Word Study

December 10, 2019 teaching tips

Word study is an important but very brief part of a guided reading lesson. In November, Jan Richardson and I hosted our first webinar, where we attempted to answer a range of questions about word s...

Michèle and Jan’s Office Hours Webinar

November 15, 2019 teaching tips

I’m pleased to announce that Jan Richardson and I will be holding office hours for 30 minutes once a month to talk about how the amazing tools from Pioneer Valley Books help you teach literacy in y...

Teaching Tip: What Are the Other Kids Doing?

November 12, 2019 teaching tips

One of the biggest things that gets in the way of implementing guided reading is keeping the other students appropriately occupied so guided reading lessons can be taught without interruption. I ha...

Teaching Tip: Teaching Test-Taking

October 15, 2019 teaching tips

Fantasy, mystery, biography, poetry, and informational are some of the genres we use during guided reading. Often forgotten, or maybe not considered, is reading for test-taking. This genre demands ...

Warm Up the Reading Muscles

September 18, 2019 teaching tips

I took a month off from my BODYPUMP class this summer. When I got back, I found myself struggling with the weight I was used to lifting prior to my hiatus. I had to use smaller weights. And boy was...

What about a Spelling Program?

April 25, 2019 teaching tips

Spelling is an integral part of word study. During word study, students will learn to spell words that will be useful to them in reading and writing text. If you feel you need a spelling program th...

Teaching Tip: Partnering Up

March 19, 2019 literacy footprints new at pioneer valley books teaching tips

Some children learn to read almost effortlessly, and others seem to struggle endlessly. I recently started working with a little guy in first grade named Cayden. Halfway through the year, he had pr...

Teaching Tip: Getting Guided Reading Lessons Started

August 23, 2018 literacy footprints teaching tips videos

With the beginning of the school year in mind, I’m sharing my tips for getting Guided Reading lessons going early. Check out the video below! Happy Teaching! -Michèle

Teaching Tip: Organizing Your Classroom Library for Young Readers

August 13, 2018 literacy footprints teaching tips videos

I, like many educators, cannot believe how quickly summer passes! Nevertheless, back-to-school time is here, and many teachers are putting the final touches on their classrooms for this year. I tho...

Hi, my name is Michèle Dufresne. Welcome to my teaching blog! I am passionate about helping children learn to read. I am an author, educational consultant, literacy specialist, and former Reading Recovery Teacher Leader. I have cowrittten with Jan Richarson the best-selling book The Next Step Forward in Word Study and Phonics and the Literacy Footprints Guided Reading System and have authored over 800 titles for young readers, including the ever-popular Bella and Rosie stories and many of the titles in the Explore the World nonfiction series.