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Digging Deeper with Rereading
In this video from Katie DiCesare’s first-grade classroom, Katie uses the strategy of rereading to help students look more closely at words—in this case, words that rhyme.
Parent Contributions Beyond Instructional Support
Parents want to contribute, but not all contributions are welcome or even helpful when it comes to teaching children how to read and write. Trish Prentice has suggestions for making the most of family skills and willingness to help.
Book Matchmaker: Texts to Inspire Our Youngest Readers and Writers
In this installment of the Book Matchmaker series with Franki Sibberson, Franki helps first-grade teacher Danielle think through what books might spark better writing in her young students who are mostly interested in toys and video games.
Redesigning a Classroom: Putting Students First (and Technology in Its Place)
Mandy Robek faces the challenge of creating a warm and inviting classroom environment that still includes some cold, hard computers for student use.
Quick Takes: Advice on Book Hogs
In this quick take video, Franki Sibberson gives advice for dealing with "book hogs" — those students who try to grab any new book when it appears in the classroom library.
Conferring in First Grade
This nine-minute video from Katie DiCesare’s first-grade classroom demonstrates a range of conferring in the midst of writing workshop.
Assessment Conferences: Listening to and Learning from Our Students
Research, decide, and teach – Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan use Lucy Calkins’ wise advice in assessment conferences with children.
Family History Inquiry Project: Integrating Technology with Social Studies in First Grade
Julie Johnson explains how a family history inquiry project in her 1st grade classroom built technology, literacy, and research skills as students explored many cultures.
Read Alouds for the Last Days of School
Choice Literacy readers share some of their favorite read alouds for the last days of school.
The Nuts and Bolts of the Family Inquiry Project
Julie Johnson explains how a family history inquiry project in her first-grade classroom builds technology, literacy, and research skills as students explored many cultures. This article is the second in a two-part series.
Literacy Keepsakes to Carry Home at the End of the School Year
Choice Literacy readers share their favorite gifts for students to make and take home at the end of the year.
More Literacy Keepsakes to Carry Home at the End of the School Year
Choice Literacy readers share more of their favorite end-of-year gifts for students to make and take home.
Beginning with the End in Mind: Planning Ahead for Closing Activities
Choice Literacy readers share their favorite end-of-year activities that circle back to events from the start of the school year.
Pencil Plans
The care and use of the lowly pencil in classrooms says a lot about what we value and our relationships with students.
Read Alouds for the First Day of School
Choice Literacy readers share their favorite read alouds for the start of the year.
Primary Series Study
Katie DiCesare describes the primary series study unit she completes with her 1st and 2nd graders, combining reading, writing, and community building.
Assessment Beyond Levels: The Reading Grid
Is there a great divide in your classroom between numerical data from assessments and your anecdotal notes? Cathy Mere bridges the gap with her class reading grid, a nifty tool for recording and analyzing a whole classroom’s worth of student assessment data on one page. A template is included.
Bilingual (English/Spanish) Books that Celebrate Language, Family and Culture
Stella Villalba shares her favorite bilingual (English/Spanish) books for helping young English language learners feel at home in new classrooms early in the year.
Understanding Students in Intervention Programs
Using data to make wise decisions about students who are struggling is one of the most important tasks in schools. In this series, Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan take you through the process of linking data to instruction plans in intervention programs.
Mentor Texts for Urban Students
What texts work best for students with urban backgrounds? Shari Frost has suggestions for teachers.
Books That Invite Thoughtful Conversation in Grades K-2
Nothing beats an engaging and fun text to spark conversations among young children. Here are some suggestions of terrific read-alouds to get the chatter started in classrooms.
Picture Books for Shared Reading
Shared reading builds skills and community in Katie DiCesare's 1st grade classroom.
Book Basket Idea: Cars and Trucks
Katie DiCesare remembers books that were fought over among the boys in her 1st grade classroom, and this leads to creating a new basket for the fall on cars and trucks. She shares a booklist of fun titles in the basket.
Challenging Advanced Young Readers: Harder Texts Aren’t Always the Answer
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan discuss the concept of “challenge” in considering what texts are the best fit for advanced young readers who might be able to decode any text but don’t yet have the experiences needed to tackle sophisticated concepts.
Choosing New Books for Comprehension Strategy Studies with Young Children
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham share a wealth of books appropriate for comprehension study with young children. The booklist is especially useful for work with English language learners.
Assessment in Writing Workshops: Considering Students
What does formative assessment look like in practice? Katie DiCesare shares her assessment insights in these brief case studies of two first-grade students.
How Do We Talk with Parents About What It Means to Be Challenged in Reading?
Discussions with parents of precocious young readers can be tricky. Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan have some tips for these conferences.
Sarcasm Is a Useful Teaching Tool — NOT
How does sarcasm hurt students? Heather Rader counts the ways.
Getting and Giving Student Feedback
How can we help students be more reflective in our classrooms, giving us the feedback we need to make them better places for learning? Heather Rader has suggestions.
Books for Strategy Studies
Andie Cunningham has some thoughtful recommendations for books to use in strategy studies.
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