Andrea Smith writes about how she uses wonder questions in her science curiculum.
Franki Sibberson provides focus questions and a template to help choose books with students for independent reading.
We’ve all had the experience of reading a professional book and disagreeing with some of the ideas from the author. It’s just a little more surreal when you wrote the book! Aimee Buckner participates in her school’s study group reading of Notebook Know-How, and finds some of her thinking about notebooks has changed over the past few years.
Heather Rader shares a concrete analogy that students (and teachers) love for understanding how summaries work.
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.
A character study unit is a terrific choice early in the school year, since it taps into students' reading histories and favorites from years past. Franki Sibberson has suggestions of books and questions for use in read-alouds.
Carol Wilcox prepares her struggling intermediate readers for state exams, and finally experiences a breakthrough in linking vocabulary learning to authentic reading.
What texts work best for students with urban backgrounds? Shari Frost has suggestions for teachers.
Letter writing isn't a lost art in Mary Lee Hahn's 4th grade classroom. This unit has timeless appeal for students of all ages.
Teachers can accomplish plenty in a minute if they want to add more nonfiction to their day. Learn how from Andrea Smith.
Expedition Mondays launch every week in Andrea Smith's classroom with a healthy dose of nonfiction.
How does sarcasm hurt students? Heather Rader counts the ways.
We're teachers and we have a tendency to talk too much. Heather Rader explains how she coaches a teacher through the problem.
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.
If you’re looking for routines that meld community building and learning essential skills, you might enjoy Andrea Smith’s “Our Daily Question” activity with her 3rd and 4th grade students. Classmates share interests and build data gathering and analysis skills together.
When and how should you launch writers' notebooks in your classroom? According to Aimee Bucker, it depends on if you are a "wader" or a "diver." She shares some of the ways she has slowly and quickly moved students into their notebooks in years past.
Living Words is a quick routine from Andrea Smith that helps students see the power of rich vocabulary for describing the natural world around them.
Word Storms help students see the power of rich vocabulary for describing the natural world around them. While Andrea Smith is working with 4th graders, the activities can be adapted for older or younger students.
Andrea Smith explains how she launches a unit on science writing with logs, writing samples from scientists, and mentor texts.
Nothing hooks kids on books more than a favorite character. Franki Sibberson presents some series books with intriguing characters that will delight your students.
Franki Sibberson reflects on her nonfiction writing unit, and realizes she emphasizes research skills at the expense of the craft of nonfiction writing.
Mary Lee Hahn shares how she uses Free Rice in her classroom, as well as other online vocabulary learning tools.
Franki Sibberson finds preparing students for summer reading is a little different this year, now that she has moved from classroom teaching to work in the school library. Here are some terrific books to get students excited about summer.
if you're moving from thinking about read alouds for the first days of school, to plotting out a plan for read alouds all year long, you might want to read Franki Sibberson's booklist of read-alouds used for the entire year with her 3rd and 4th grade students.
Franki Sibberson provides a booklist of "novels in verse" – a genre intermediate readers enjoy, especially those who struggle with longer texts.
Franki Sibberson writes about her evolution in choosing books for transitional readers in grades 2-4. Franki includes a handy list of criteria for evaluating whether new short chapter books are appropriate for young readers.
Cheerleader? Shepherd? Rock Star? Coach? Andrea Smith considers her changing reading “roles” early in the school year as she tries to build a classroom community that shares her passion for literacy.
Franki Sibberson uses a knitting analogy to reflect upon alternatives to guided reading in the intermediate grades that promote more student independence.
When a student is struggling, language barriers can make it even harder for teachers to connect. Andrea Smith finds webbing during conferring is an excellent strategy for assisting a young English language learner in her writer's workshop.
Recently there has been less interest in retelling of classic tales by children’s book authors. Franki Sibberson’s booklist highlights some of the best new twists on favorite children’s stories.
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