First-grade teacher Hildi Perez expects "every child in the classroom to read, at their full potential, by the end of first grade." In this video, Ms. Perez guides students to become active readers and writers who problem solve when they have difficulty and who articulate their problem-solving strategies. Using ongoing formal and informal assessment, Ms. Perez addresses a wide range of student needs with whole-group, small-group, and individual instruction. Ms. Perez carefully chooses appropriate literature for each child and balances independent work with explicit instruction throughout the literacy block.

Ms. Perez's literacy lessons demonstrate the following: Literacy Teaching Practices •  Shared Reading •  Guided Reading •  Independent Reading and Writing Formal and informal assessment linked to instruction Explicit teaching of skills and strategies using whole texts Teacher-directed instruction balanced with independent reading and writing tasks Differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students including emergent readers and writers and high achievers Connection between reading and writing

"I think it's really important to have a balance between teaching children how to read and teaching children the love of reading."
Hildi Perez

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