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Choice Literacy Articles & Videos
The Choice Literacy library contains over 3,000 articles and 900 videos from 150+ contributors. Classic Classroom and Literacy Leadership subscribers have access to the entire library. Content is updated continuously, with five to six new features published each week.
Latest Content
Student Reading Interview: Assessing Ana Part 2
This is the second video in a two-part series. Principal Karen Szymusiak interviewed Ana, a second grader, to learn more about her strengths and needs as a reader. In this week’s installment, Karen will share her findings with Ana’s teacher.
Big Books and Charts Organizer
In this two-minute video, Joan Moser shares a simple tool teachers can create for their classrooms to keep Big Books, charts, and laminated large materials organized.
Watching Teachers Teach: An Observation Form for Literacy Coaches
Being genuine about feedback is essential to educators. Jan Miller Burkins finds a form and process that allows her to be both thoughtful and specific.
Open Book Clubs
Shari Frost shares the nuts and bolts of setting up open book clubs in your school. These clubs are a great way to expand the reading community, as well as connect school libraries and classrooms.
Multicultural Picture Books for Young Children
These books do double duty – building community and understanding of the sounds of language.
Letting Go and Holding On: Evaluating Our Work as Literacy Coaches
It’s hard to know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve come from. Jan Miller Burkins has developed an evaluation form for literacy coaches to give to teachers.
Grade Level Team Meeting: Test Preparation
In this video of a 3rd grade team meeting, literacy coaches Janet Scott and Gail Boushey help third-grade teachers think through what is going well with test preparation, and what might be adapted before the tests begin in a few weeks.
Makeover for the Teacher Desk Area
"The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) work with Sarah Thibault and friends in Maine to makeover the teacher desk area in her 4th grade classroom.
New Teacher Conversations: Management Stories from the Classroom
Ruth Shagoury provides a workshop model for teacher leaders looking to encourage respectful conversation with new teachers on the topics that are near and dear to them.
Quotes about Literacy Leadership and Change
Quotes to inspire teachers who lead.
Giving New Readers a Diet of More Than Leveled Books
Franki Sibberson contemplates which diet plan she’ll try this month, and that leads her to think about what a steady “diet” of leveled books does for young readers.
Chance Encounter
Jennifer Jones ventured out to lunch with some former colleagues, and came home with a new perspective on the impact of her teaching after a chance encounter with YuYang, a former student.
Picking a Partner: Demonstration Lesson and Debrief
In this demonstration lesson from a K-2 classroom, Joan Moser leads students through guided practice in picking a partner.
3rd Grade Meeting Area Makeover
Are your meeting area wall displays too cluttered? "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a 3rd grade teacher rethink her wall displays and meeting area in this ten-minute video.
The Language of Coaching Part I: Word Choices
If you believe it’s challenging but “possible to be tactful without being inauthentic,” Jan Miller Burkins will guide you around the thorniness of the language of coaching.
Favorite Mentoring Quotes
If you're guiding the learning of others, you'll be inspired by these quotes.
Notetaking Series Part V: Getting Out of Notetaking Ruts
It's a quick journey from notetaking routines to notetaking ruts. This installment of the notetaking series focuses on ways to get out of the ruts that emerge naturally whenever any notetaking routine is established.
Memorable Students, Memorable Teachers: A Quick-Write Icebreaker for Teacher Workshops
This is a quick-write workshop activity that is especially suited to the more relaxed pace of summer professional development workshops, or first meetings with colleagues in the fall when everyone is refreshed and reflective.
Teacher/Principal Conferring: Reflecting on Readers’ Notebooks
In this conference, Principal Karen Szymusiak and 5th grade teacher Liz Cramer discuss the ways Liz uses readers’ notebooks in her classroom.
Running and Reading Logs
In this first video in a two-part series, Clare Landrigan meets with a group of fourth graders to talk about reading logs and goals. In this excerpt, Clare uses the analogy of how runners use logs to chart progress and set goals.
How Study Groups Are Like Self-Cleaning Ovens
With a few key elements in place, Brenda Power and Jennifer Allen explain how study groups can almost run themselves and get everyone involved.
Punctuation Quotes
Fun quotes to start discussions about punctuation for learners of any age.
“Hard” Reading Workshop: Understanding How Proficient Readers Comprehend Difficult Text
The Hard Reading Workshop is a terrific professional development activity for launching conversations about text difficulty and strategy instruction.
Literacy Coaching Interview Rubric
This rubric can help anyone interviewing for a literacy coaching position determine if there is a philosophical fit between their beliefs and the goals of the school. The rubric is also helpful for any school in the process of defining responsibilities for literacy coaches
Conferring with Colin
In this reading conference with Colin, Joan Moser (of “The Sisters”) helps him set a goal of working on accuracy.
Running and Reading Logs Part II
In this second video in a two-part series, Clare Landrigan meets with a group of 4th graders to talk about reading logs and goals. In this excerpt, Clare confers with students over their logs and debriefs with their teacher.
The Language of Coaching Part II: The Leading Edge
Jan Miller-Burkins explores the “how” of shifting language so that it is less judgemental in discussions with colleagues.
Notetaking Strategies Part I: “In the Midst” and “After the Fact” Notes
There is a difference between “in the midst” and “after the fact” notes, and different methods might work better in different observation contexts once you know your options.
New Teacher Conversations: Breaking Through Roadblocks and Sustaining Support
The roadblocks activity can easily be adapted for study groups looking at almost any topic.
Mentor Interviews — A Protocol of Questions
This series of over 30 questions for mentors or novice teachers can be used to plan a mentoring program, match mentors and novice teachers, or launch partnerships early in the fall.
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