Welcome to Carl's Corner! My name is Cherry Carl, and I retired in June, 2003, after 35 years as a teacher and Language Arts Specialist in Santee, California.  However, I am continuing my role as an instructor at the University of California, San Diego, in the Reading Specialist Certification Program.   I wasn't ready to retire. Teaching is in my blood! (My mother always reminded me that when I was little, I dragged the neighborhood kids in to play school whether they wanted to or not!) I still have the strong desire to make a difference for teachers, parents, and students. I'm passionate about the joy of knowing how to read and write and want every child to have the experience of closing a book with a sigh, "Wow, that was a good book!" The only way they can do that is by having the necessary skills and strategies to become independent readers. Teachers and parents need to be aware of the all-important instructional tools and "promising practices."  This website has been created to provide resources and materials for classroom teachers, reading and resource specialists, speech therapists, parents and students in the area of language arts. Please feel free to download and print anything that catches your eye, but please make sure to leave my name on the poetry and worksheets! If you have specific needs or suggestions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm always open to new ideas and requests. That's how the site continues to grow. You can email me at carl1404@msn.com. What's on This Site? To save time, you may want to visit my Power Point presentation that gives an overview of this web site. It might help you decide which buttons you'd like to push! I'll have to update it soon since I have added so many new things! Most pages have a page index to help you navigate and you can always do a topic search at Search City. What's New? I realized that Alphabet Alley and Word Way needed more activities since I have had multiple requests for more from teachers. I decided to modify them for differentiated instruction in order to meet the diverse needs and skills within a classroom. For instance, some of the alphabet pages have pictures for the phonemic awareness piece, and the ones that are designated with "more" include printing practice. I have just begun to create these, so be patient with me!  I will work on the rest as I have time or as people make requests. Let me know what you think. A second grade teacher from Romeoville, Il, Beth Gonzalez, suggested that I add word cards for each of the word families. She wants to put them on her word wall. Mission accomplished, thanks to her excellent description! I don't know why I didn't think of it before! These will be great for second language learners, alphabetizing in a literacy center and many other hands-on activities. Take a look! Thanks, Beth! Here's a sample:      Another teacher suggested that I make pocket chart activities and homework sheets  to go with the little readers and I love the way they came out. As a matter of fact, I showed my 16 year old niece, Kylie, how to design and put a packet together for her high school child development class assignment. Her efforts can be seen below. All of these will be located on the Readers page.                    reader                       pocket chart pics            pocket chart sentences                 reading homework   Dear Mama Dear Mama is a special button to the left. I decided to add the text of a book I wrote in 1983 and published in 1986. My husband says it's a tear jerker, but I believe it is one that most people in this world will be able to relate to. After all, we have all had a mother at some point in our lives. Enjoy! If you decide to copy it, please make sure that my name is on it. If you use it on the web, link it to this site as well. I'm willing to share.  Lucy Lane A special button to the left is Lucy Lane. The author of this page is Lucy Jensen, a wonderful writer, marvelous musician and fabulous friend. She and I worked together several years ago for San Diego State University and collaborated on assorted projects and songs. She has generously given permission to include her work on this site. Children love it and you will, too! It will take some time to gather and type all of her poems and songs, but I will continue to work at it.

 

*You'll notice as you peruse the pages that I'm a poet at heart, and so I dedicate this one to those of you who tend a "garden of life and learning."         The Keepers The keeper of the garden builds an everlasting environment that is filled with beauty and peace. In the middle of that garden is a haven . . . a birdhouse, a safe place for fledglings to grow and flourish before taking off on their own. The gardener provides nourishment to feed his feathered friends, to make them grow strong and healthy. He protects them from predators, watching from afar, not interfering with the balance of nature. They flutter and fly and sing their sweet songs from the safety of their home in the garden, and then, one day, they are gone. The keeper of the garden experiences a moment of sadness at the loss, but he knows that he has done well. We are, you and I, the keepers of the garden of life and learning, protecting the sanctity and serenity of the "schoolhouse." We build an educational environment that is filled with opportunity and experience. We provide nourishment to feed our cherished children, to make their minds grow strong and healthy. We protect them from outside forces and influence, watching them from afar, letting them try out their wonderful wings of independence. They sing their sweet songs of newfound knowledge and then one day, they are gone. We, too, experience a moment of sadness at the loss, but we know that we have done well as keepers of the garden of life.