Teaching Reading
Our contributors lead reading workshops in classrooms with creative flair. Over the past 12 years, we've filled our site with loads of suggestions, tools, and tips for using engaging books throughout the curriculum to hook kids on reading. Here is where you will find many stories of successful and not-so-successful workshop days, and what we learned from them. We bring these stories to life through hundreds of video examples.
Latest Content
Energizing Early Readers: The Classroom Library as a Co-Teacher (Booklist)
Ruth Metcalfe shares a fun-loving and inspiring early reader booklist to help boost reading energy in her classroom library.
Five Ways to Teach Fluency
Dana Murphy reminds us of five ways to teach fluency…especially when reading seems laborious.
Validating Students
When an excited young reader interrupts the quiet hum of reading workshop, Becca Burk analyzes the important unseen choices students make as learners, and the powerful messages teachers’ responses send.
Rural Matters: Revealing Perceptions and Celebrating Roots
Gretchen Schroeder addresses the negative and positive perceptions of rural people with her high school students through readings, discussions, and analytical writing. Download a guide for Critical Rural Perspective Analysis to use with your students.
Assessing High School Readers
Secondary instructional coach Holly Wenning shares ways to assess high school readers.
Assessment in Classroom Book Clubs
In this third installment about classroom book clubs, Leigh Anne Eck shares options for robust assessment as well as answers to some frequently asked questions.
Identifying Story Elements
Dana Murphy shares a whole class conversation about identifying the climax of the plot. She reminds us that defining story elements is not always clear-cut.
Implementing Classroom Book Clubs (Part Two)
In this second installment about book clubs, Leigh Anne Eck shares procedures for book club meetings, as well as discusses the importance of standards and instruction. Download a discussion guide.
Teaching Readers Rather Than Teaching Books
Secondary instructional coach Holly Wenning shares her own paradigm shift of teaching readers rather than teaching books, and encourages all teachers to consider the importance of putting students before books when planning literacy instruction.
Getting Started with Classroom Book Clubs (Part 1)
In the first installment of a three-part series, Leigh Anne Eck clearly lays out how to get started with book clubs. Included is an editable planning bookmark to give students more ownership of their reading schedules.
Less Is More: Using Novels in Verse in the Classroom
Gretchen Schroeder explains the reason why she believes requiring high school students to read novels in verse during independent reading time is worthwhile for their reading identity and developing more sophisticated understandings of literary analysis.
Expanding the Definition of “Text”
Holly Wenning helps us expand the definition of “text” when considering mentor texts and reading assessments.
The Importance of the Workshop Model in High School
Instructional coach Holly Wenning shares the importance of the workshop model, and especially work time, for high school students. See the transition from minilesson to work time in a 10th-grade English class.
The Power of an Anchor Chart in a Digital World
Dana Murphy reminds us of the power of an anchor chart in a digital world.
Spoiler Alert: You Can Start Big to Go Small (Macbeth in One Class Period)
Gretchen Schroeder confesses her fast-paced approach to sharing Macbeth with her high school students. Starting with the big picture of the story and then drilling down into specific scenes for skill practice not only accomplished the goals for the unit, but also freed up more time and space for other curriculum needs.
Engaging Kids in Reading Intervention
Dana Murphy shares ways to make reading intervention a high-interest time for students.
Questions to Ask When Reading the Morning Message
Tammy Mulligan guides teachers in a progression to help students identify tricky words, move deeper into word analysis, and develop inferential thinking. Included is a helpful progression chart to guide teachers in helping all students understand that readers encounter problems and can solve the tricky words.
Building a Classroom Library with Students (and Navigating the Tricky Parts)
Tammy Mulligan leads us through the process of giving primary students the reins for building and organizing the classroom library . . . and offers tips for navigating the tricky parts.
Spontaneous Text Sets
Bitsy Parks wanted to create an intentional read aloud routine that responded to student interests and needs as readers. She shares the way her responsive selection of books led to spontaneous (and powerful) text sets.
Knowing Genres
Mandy Robek reflects on the importance of knowing genres and empowering students to be part of the organization process of the classroom library.
Establishing Independent Reading Is Like Planting Seeds
Lisa Mazinas reminds us of the importance of independent reading and how to set it in motion.
Reading Threads
Christy Rush-Levine guides us to make reading recommendations based on what students enjoy most about a book they recently read. Christy used to make recommendations based on the genre or topic, but she has learned to listen to students to discover the reason they loved a recent read and use this information for recommendations.
Opportunities Offered in Book Shopping
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills remind us of the important opportunities offered during book shopping. Giving yourself permission to slow down and see the opportunities that the routines invite for collaboration and reflection will likely make it feel like you’re maximizing your minutes even more.
Reading Specialists Can Change the Narrative
Cathy Mere shares ways reading specialists can help teachers get excited about striving readers’ growth by intentionally sharing progress and celebrations.
Using The Proudest Blue in the Classroom
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share three ways using The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad empowers and strengthens readers in all grades.
Studying Character in Intermediate Grades
Dana Murphy leads us in a step-by-step process to take tried-and-true reading strategies to a more sophisticated level to support students as they grow in interpretation.
Interpreting Figurative Language
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills step us through an intentional process to help students understand and interpret figurative language. Using Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds as a mentor text, Tara and Kate give students the skills and confidence to find deep meaning in texts. Download an Interpreting Figurative Language chart to support your students in learning to interpret figurative language.
Creating Thematic Text Sets for Inquiry
Stephanie Affinito guides us to carefully curate text sets so that not only are they suited to students’ interests, but students are guided through the sequence of reading them. There’s no better way to launch students’ curiosity and reading motivation!
Understanding Literary Language
Tammy Mulligan leads us through a mini-unit of study designed to help young readers notice, explore, and understand literary language.
The Big Screen: Reimagining Read Aloud
Ruth Metcalfe leverages pandemic adjustments into making the read aloud experience bigger and better for her students. The simple act of projecting the read aloud book leads to significant adjustments to meet the needs of young readers.
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