FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 23, 1999
For more information contact:
Kathleen Carpenter, Director of Promotions
Teachers.Net http://teachers.net/
SAN DIEGO, CA -- Teachers.Net will host a live chat session with Four Blocks creator Patricia Cunnigham Tuesday, September 7 at 9pm Eastern time, in the Teachers.Net Chatroom. Ms. Cunningham is the noted author and literacy instruction expert from Wake Forest University, North Carolina. Ms. Cunningham is well known to educators because of her work with early literacy instruction, and she has written numerous books and articles, including many for Reading Today, a journal of the International Reading Association.
Pat Cunningham's Four Blocks Model was developed in collaboration with classroom teachers in an effort to accommodate the differing "learning personalities" of children. The Four Blocks represent four different approaches to teaching children how to read: Writing, Self Selected Reading, Words, and Guided Reading. The model is described as a "multimethod, multilevel framework" that includes mixed ability grouping and daily instruction in each of the Four Blocks.
The Four Blocks method pioneered by Cunningham is widely implemented in the U.S. and is drawing excited praise from elementary educators everywhere. Over 800 teachers participate on the Four Blocks Mailring hosted on Teachers.Net. The Four Blocks Literacy chatboard and the new Building Blocks (K) Chatboard are also continuous sources of support and ideas for educators using the Four Blocks approach.
For more information about the Four Blocks approach to literacy, visit The Four Blocks Center or Building Blocks Center on Teachers.Net (http://teachers.net ).