Pat Johnson has supported both students and teachers as an elementary reading teacher for twenty-five years. Most of her career has been spent in schools with diverse populations in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a Reading Recovery-trained teacher and has served as an adjunct faculty member for George Mason University. Presently, as a literacy consultant, Pat provides staff development for various school districts nationwide and has presented at state and national conferences. She is also the author of One Child at a Time: Making the Most of Your Time with Struggling Readers, K-6 (Stenhouse, 2006).
Pat is available for scheduling professional development and can be contacted by email (patjohnson222@gmail.com), or through Stenhouse Publishers. The topics of her workshops for grades K-6 vary: struggling readers, second language learners, developing reading and writing workshops, storytelling, using poetry in the classroom, literacy assessment for tailoring instruction, and so on. Please refer to the Workshops page for several summaries of those topics and others.
Every elementary teacher works with students who struggle as readers on a daily basis. Each struggling child is complex, and each has a unique history as a learner. In One Child at a Time, Pat provides a framework (here’s what, so what, now what, and then what) that enables teachers to focus carefully on the specific needs of each struggling reader. This framework helps classroom teachers assess and analyze children’s strengths and weaknesses, design targeted instruction, and then assess and refine the teaching in conferences with the students. The framework is by no means an easy answer to a difficult problem, but through its use teachers learn how the reading process works for proficient readers and how to support struggling readers as they construct their own reading process. Pat shows how she uses the framework successfully with a range of learners, including beginning readers, English language learners, and students in the upper grades who are stalled in their literacy progress.
Dear Pat,
I am an ELA Coach for Oakland County Schools in Michigan. My job is to help teachers as they work with reading and writing. Please give the names of the three stories that you tell to the students in lower and upper elementary classes. Also, where might I find these stories, and the titles of some great read-alouds for our students.
I was very interested in all of the work that you have done to help students to achieve success in reading.
Eyvonne -
Just saw your note today. Good luck on your work as an ELA coach in Michigan. Hope the school year goes well for you.
As a storyteller, I love to tell stories to the kids without the book. That way I can move about, move my hands for gestures, and of course change my voice for characters. Some of the stories I tell come from picture books, but most I learn from tapes of other storytellers. Three of the kids’ favorites that I tell that are in pictures book form are:
Heckedy Peg, by Don and Audrey Wood (ages K-3)
Tailypo, by Paul Galdone (but this is better for grades 3-5)
ANd Tinderbox (I’ve heard this is out in picture book form, but I’ve actually not seen it yet.)
Our Read Aloud Chapter in Catching Readers Before They Fall has wonderful ideas for read aloud books. And the appendix has a great list. Most can be found in public libraries or school libraries.
I’ve always had luck in grades 3-4 with “Rough Face Girl,” by Rafe Martin and with “Owl Babies,” by Martin Waddell for K-1, and with “Edward the Emu” and “Edwina the Emu” by Sheena Knowles with grades 1-2. Some great chapter books to read aloud to grades 3-6 are “Shiloh”, by P. R. Naylor or “Because of Winn Dixie,” by K. DiCamillo. There are tons of GREAT books out there. Often it depends on the group of kids and what you personally love. So just keep reading and you’ll find a few of your own favorites I’m sure.
Thanks for writing.
Pat Johnson
Pat,
We are a group of teachers K-2 that are excited to read your book “One Child at a Time” as part of our summer book study. I am wondering if there is a place we could find a study guide (if there is one) to help us break down your book and guide us in our discussions.
Very excited to get started. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Stefanie Taylor
Littleton, Colorado
Stefanie -
I am so sorry that I somehow missed this comment until just now. I’m also sorry that I did not create a study guide for “One Child” as we did for “Catching Readers Before They Fall.” Please feel free to email me questions (patjohnson222@gmail.com) as you are reading with the group. I’d be happy to answer emails.
PJ