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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
From Questions to Drafts
Aimee Buckner shares the mentor text Could You? Would You? with her 4th grade students. Aimee explains how questions are a springboard to interesting writing topics, and models connections she makes to the text.
Conferring Close-Up: Test-Taking Strategies Part II
Andrea Smith confers with two 4th graders in her classroom as part of test preparation.
4th Grade Room Tour
In this video tour of her 4th grade classroom, Aimee Buckner highlights how she arranges books, charts, and other resources to support the reading and writing of her students.
Writing Comics: Introducing the Activity
In this lesson from a fourth-grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with mentor texts.
Test-Taking Strategies Part III: Whole Class Debrief
Andrea Smith’s 4th graders debrief together after a test preparation workshop.
5th Grade Sentence Observation
Karen Terlecky explains the sentence observation routine in her 5th grade classroom, and provides a video example of students in action analyzing sentences.
Managing Book Boxes
In this first video in our “Organizing Book Boxes” series, Joan Moser (of “The Sisters”) explains three strategies she uses to help students pick books for their book boxes.
Learning from Graphica: Conferring with Students
In this lesson series from a 4th grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with graphica. In this installment, Sarah confers with students during writer's workshop as they brainstorm character traits. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and multiple reading and writing activities.
Inferring Read Aloud Part I
Katie Doherty demonstrates how she uses picture books to teach inferring strategies to her sixth graders in this video series. Part I is a presentation of the book to students.
Conferring with Leonela: A Two-Day Progression
Leonela is a six-year-old student whose first language is Spanish. In these videos of conferences with Ruth Shagoury filmed over two days, she makes connections between her drawing, writing, and experiences at home and in Mexico.
Collaborative Team Meeting: Assessing and Planning Together
Gail Boushey leads a collaborative planning meeting between 4th grade teachers, literacy coaches, and the principal early in the year.
Desk Area Reorganization
In this brief time-lapse video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help Carrie reorganize her desk and rug area for better access to literacy materials and teaching supplies.
A Literacy “Playground”: Cheryl Cole’s Second Grade Classroom
Aimee Buckner hosts this video tour of Cheryl Cole’s second grade classroom at Brookwood Elementary School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Cheryl shares the many strategies she uses to promote literacy learning in a warm, friendly environment.
Student Storage Areas: Tips for Reorganizing
“The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) talk with Kelly about strategies for reorganizing student storage areas, considering access, group supplies, and how the materials are used.
Rule of 3: Writer’s Craft Whole-Class Lesson
Aimee Buckner teaches her fourth-grade students about the “Rule of 3” in writing.
Decluttering a Storage Area
In this time-lapse video, “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help second-year teacher Carrie declutter a storage area in May, talking through decisions about what to keep and what to throw away, and simple tricks for dressing up shelves.
Rule of 3: Mini-Group After Whole-Class Lesson
In this second video of a three-part series showing a teaching progression for the Rule of 3, Aimee Buckner has asked students who might want a little more information or help after the whole-class lesson to stay for a small group.
Narrative Nonfiction in Fifth Grade, Part 1
In this lesson from a fifth-grade classroom, Aimee Buckner guides students in a notetaking process to help them understand the qualities of nonfiction narrative writing.
Organizing Reading Area Supplies
In this time-lapse video, “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help Kelly reorganize the area of the classroom where she has small-group reading instruction. In the process, they talk through how to label and organize sets of books that are shared across grade levels.
Rule of 3: Conferring
In this final video of a three-part series showing a teaching progression for “Rule of 3,” Aimee Buckner confers with individual students during writing workshop, checking in to see how they are applying the concept to their writing.
Crafting Characters in Writer’s Workshop
If you are looking for a “peppery” heroine, Mary from The Secret Garden is one for the ages. In this video of a lesson in writer’s workshop, Franki Sibberson shows how shared text can be used to help young writers understand character traits and development.
Middle School Classroom Makeover Part III
In this third installment of a three-part video series, “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help 7th grade teacher Erin declutter and rearrange her classroom. This installment focuses on the challenges of classrooms with very little storage space.
Meeting Area Makeover
“The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help first-year teacher Christine reorganize her meeting area so that it is less cluttered and easier for students to access the materials they need . . . without disrupting lessons.
Tips for Displaying Student Work
In this six-minute video, “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a colleague dress up her displays of student work.
Middle School Classroom Makeover Part II
In this second of a three-part video series, “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help seventh-grade teacher Erin declutter and rearrange the media area of the classroom, creating a cozy library space.
Preparing Walls for Displays
In this four-minute video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a new teacher “frame up” an area of the room for future displays of student work, in a way that draws attention away from book bags and other clutter.
Conferring with Eddie
Eddie is a six-year-old student who speaks Cantonese as his first language. In this conference with Ruth Shagoury, little English is spoken, and yet there is much communication through gestures and shared history.
From Cross Checking and Retelling to Main Ideas: Helping Advanced Readers Develop Skills
In this five-minute video, Gail Boushey confers with Amanda, a second-grade student reading at a fourth-grade level early in the school year.
Moving into “Big Fat Chapter Books”: Conferring with Elyse
In this conference with seven-year-old Elyse, Joan Moser helps her set a reading goal that will help her move into “big fat chapter books.”
Book Matchmaker: Texts for “Outdoorsy” Boys
Those “outdoorsy” boys who love to fish and four-wheel all summer long can be a challenge to hook with books when they return to classrooms in the fall. This Book Matchmaker feature presents a video preview of new titles to entice these intermediate readers, as well as a print supplement of additional suggestions.
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