Welcome to my website about reading. The purpose of this site is to increase communication about the importance and love of reading. This site will focus on reading: reading strategies, recommended books, the reading process, reading tips for parents, good website recommendations, etc. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
My story.
This year will be my twenty-sixth year of teaching. I recently retired from our public school system and I am super excited about beginning a tutoring service.
I began teaching in a small rural school in central Illinois. After teaching Second Grade for 10 years, I got my Masters in Reading from Illinois State University. I was lucky enough to study abroad my final year in the master’s program. Our cohort traveled to Lancaster, England to study British Literacy Instruction for a month. The following year I began and achieved National Board Certification. My certification is in Early and Middle Childhood: Literacy, Reading and Language Arts.
After getting my Masters in Reading, I moved from the "regular" classroom into a Title 1 reading room. Over the years I have become more and more interested in reading and the reading process. The one thing that I am convinced of is that the reading process is very personal and complicated. Learning to read encompasses so many different skills (letter/sound relationships, grammar, background knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, story structure, reading strategies, etc.) that it is no wonder that it is a challenge for some kids. Recently I have completed 60 hours of Orton-Gillingham training---an explicit, sequential, multi-sensory method for teaching not just students with dyslexia or might find reading a challenge, but any student. What I love about the method is the way it breaks the decoding process down into manageable steps.
I am always interested in finding new activities and experiences that will help my students to grow in their reading and learning. I am still trying to find the answer to why some kids have difficulty learning to read. My students teach me more every day.
Sandy McCray Dragonfly Academy 301 W. Church St. Cissna Park, IL 60924 [email protected]
The dragonfly symbolizes wisdom, change, transformation, light and adaptability in life. It shows up in people's lives to remind them that they need to bring a lightness and joy to their life.