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Morning Message 2: Routine and Community

Ruth Metcalfe reminds us of the power of routines and shows how over the course of time, morning message is an anchor in her first-grade classroom community.

Step Into Poetry: Building a Poetry-Conscious Classroom

Joanne Emery has curated a fabulous list of resources and ideas to build a poetry-conscious classroom community.

Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

Gretchen Schroeder incorporates poetry into her high school classroom as much as possible, and in April she makes a plan to go big! Gretchen shares a variety of ways to create memorable and fun experiences around poetry no matter your grade level.

Weaving Words Throughout the School Year

Joanne Emery rounds up several ideas for embedding vocabulary routines in the school day. She also shares many rich vocabulary resources.

Empowering Students Through Thinking Routines

Jodie Bailey shares practical ways to nourish students’ thinking routines in her math classroom. She is inspired by Peter Liljedahl’s book Building Thinking Classrooms.

Morning Message Series: When and How

It’s not always easy to hold on to effective instructional routines and find ways to embrace new initiatives and mandates. In the first installment of a morning message series, Ruth Metcalfe addresses the issue of time. 

Developing Reader Identities: It Is More Than Magic

Becca Burk reminds us of the importance of building a reading identity within all students so they can become stronger readers.

Using Drama Games to Approach Difficult Conversations

Gretchen Schroeder is committed to having conversations about race and racism with her high school students. Sometimes it’s difficult to engage students, so Gretchen used drama games as a means to think about concepts metaphorically, then ground them within the text, and, finally, have students apply them to their own lives and the world.

Big, Loud, and Slow: Six Strategies for Better Public Speaking

Matt Renwick worked with a speech therapist after having a stroke. Through this process, he realized powerful teaching points to help students become stronger public speakers.

When Reading Practices Drift

When Leigh Anne Eck noticed her students’ reading practices weren’t as robust as she expected, she realized she was the one who had drifted away from key instructional practices. Leigh Anne offers several ways to support students in their independent reading lives.

Kintsugi

Given an assignment to break a china bowl and rebuild it allowed Gretchen Schroeder to engage in the Japanese art of kintsugi. What surprised her were the lessons she learned about growth and innovation in her teaching practice.

Reclaiming Our Time

Vivian Chen gives four steps to adjusting a lesson from the teacher’s guide to reclaim your time and make the lesson more meaningful and engaging to students.

Increasing Engagement During Online Practice Opportunities

Mallory Messenger is intentional about monitoring and supporting cognitive engagement while students use online practice tools. Use her tips so your students are engaged too!

Bet You Didn’t Know: Chicken Eggs and Research

Mandy Robek encourages young writers to collect information about a topic. She provides whole-class and individual structures for students to learn that their understanding can change, as well as to be able to access information when they are ready to draft. Don’t miss Mrs. Robek’s digital class book.

Color Coding: An Organizational Strategy

Leigh Anne Eck gives advice to her middle school writers for collecting research notes.

Poetry Friday Stretches Into Poetry Slam

Mandy Robek shares an update to her Poetry Friday routine inspired by the professional book Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading by Chase Young, David Page, and Timothy V. Rasinski. You, too, will want to incorporate this poetry routine into your week.

Poetry Strategies for Partners and Groups

Gretchen Schroeder offers three ideas for partners or small groups to engage with poetry. Not only will they get creativity flowing, but they will also lift writers’ energy.

Stay Curious

Inspired by Ted Lasso’s mantra, “Stay curious, not judgmental,” Julie Cox provides three questions she asks herself and students to remain innovative.

Sparking Curiosity: Developing Ownership of Learning Through “What If” Questions

Jodie Bailey encourages us to use “What if” questions in all content areas to give students the space to use their innate curiosity to engage in meaningful learning.

Detours: A Reminder of the Humanity of Students

Gretchen Schroeder reminds us of the importance of checking in with students and gauging how they are feeling—and then responding with authenticity and joy.

Minilessons and Writing Instruction

Katie Linder reminds us of the importance of writing lessons to be predictable, efficient, and student-centered.

Plagued by Plagiarism

Plagiarism is an age-old issue, but with the emergence of AI tools, it’s plaguing our classrooms again. Vivian Chen offers three practical (and essential) approaches when working with writers.

Dealing with Overwhelm

Julie Cox offers three actionable ideas to fight frustration and take small steps to beat overwhelm.

Three Archetypes as Advocates for the Science of Reading

Matt Renwick defines three archetypes of personalities he has observed who have incomplete understandings about the science of reading. Matt offers approaches to each person, and notes that no one person neatly fits into a simple archetype.

Creating a Teacher Notetaking System

Dana Murphy, a reading specialist, guides all teachers in ways to develop a notetaking system that works perfectly because it is personalized.

Anchor Charts: A Tool for Every Classroom

Leigh Anne Eck reflects on the importance of anchor charts and the way they help students be more independent.

Using Self-Portraits as an Assessment Tool for Early Writers

Becca Burk guides us in using self-portraits as an assessment tool for early writers. Becca shares a rubric, self-portrait samples, and practical next steps for her kindergarten writers.

Fostering Math Identities with Picture Books

Mandy Robek uses picture books to help her students build their identities as mathematicians. Mandy shares the process and a book list.

Developing and Listening to Your Inner Voice During Minilessons

Katie Linder reminds us of the importance of listening to (or ignoring) our own inner voices when delivering whole-group instruction. Katie guides us in using our inner voices to make in-the-moment decisions that sharpen lessons.

The Art of Noticing: Have Your Students Played with Language Today?

Stella Villalba noticed her students were so busy writing quickly, they were not paying attention to crafting language. A student, Gabriela, turns to a book and asks for help to make her writing sound like the book. Stella uses this moment to slow down the class and create space to be inspired to write in beautiful ways.

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