Community Building
It's one of the big paradoxes of literacy instruction - students best learn how to read and write independently when they have a strong community of support in classrooms. How teachers build those thoughtful, kind, and challenging classroom communities is explained in these resources.
Latest Content
Easing into Assessments During the First Six Weeks of School
Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak have suggestions for integrating observations and assessments of students naturally into reader's workshops during the first six weeks of school.
Supporting Readers During Workshops: The First Few Weeks
Katie DiCesare ponders the different ways students need to be supported in her primary classroom during the early days of the school year.
Letting Students Define and Design My 6th Grade Classroom Library
Katie Doherty's 6th graders take charge of the classroom library, with an activity designed to build an understanding of genre at the same time.
A Tornado of Books
By upending the classroom library and asking students to sort and reorganize it, Karen Terlecky gets insight every year into the ways students categorize texts, as well as their emerging understanding of genre.
Helping Classroom Volunteers Become Better Listeners
Helping volunteers understand the importance of listening to young learners is one of Andie Cunningham’s goals. Here she gives tips for preparing volunteers to confer with children.
Picture Books About Books: Young Learners and Reading Identity
Katie DiCesare gathers picture books to talk with her first graders about everything from reading identity to the proper care of books in the classroom library.
Got Space?
Jennifer Allen gets creative with space for displays in her literacy coaching work.
Morning Meeting in Kindergarten
Danielle French leads her kindergarten students in Waterville, Maine, during morning meeting. After the meeting, Danielle talks with “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) about the value of this daily routine.
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.
Organizing for Independence: From Cubbies to Social Groups
In this brief video, Joan Moser talks about how she organizes student materials in "social groups" to avoid the use of desks or cubbies in her classroom.
Weekend Headlines: Introduction
In this first of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth grade students begin the Weekend Headlines activity. Each Monday, students listen to Katie share some of the headlines from the local newspaper and then share their "headlines" from the weekend.
Weekend Headlines: Peer Response
In this second part of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth grade students continue the Weekend Headlines activity. In this installment, Katie sets up a peer response procedure.
Weekend Headlines: Whole Class Share
In this final installment of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth-grade students continue the Weekend Headlines activity. In this installment, students share their writing with the whole class and respond.
Many Languages, Many Texts: Book Time in Preschool
In this brief video, Melissa Kolb explains "Book Time" in her preschool class. It's a time when many volunteers read books informally to small groups of children in their home languages.
January New Teacher Group Update: When Life Happens
Preparing for a forced sick day with her daughter, Jennifer Allen is reminded that the culture of professional development in her school is something she can depend on.
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.
Two or Three Things I Know for Sure: A Teacher Workshop Activity
"Two or Three Things I Know for Sure" is a terrific short workshop activity for study groups or faculty meetings, and it also can be used in partnership discussions with mentors, literacy coaches, and colleagues. The activity gets everyone to explore their bedrock beliefs about teaching – as well as what it takes to change them.
Writing Strengths Anchor Chart
Suzy Kaback's anchor chart activity builds a sense of community and peer editing connections in her middle school classroom.
Organizing Book Bins: Letting Kids Help and Plan
Katie DiCesare writes about how children can be enlisted to help in creating and organizing book bins in libraries. But in Katie's classroom, the process of matching books to children begins with "My Stack" – her pile of books that changes daily, linking individual children and texts of interest.
Tiger Teams: Mixed Age Student Groups
In this video, Karen Szymusiak (the principal at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio) explains how “Tiger Teams” work. Tiger Teams are mixed age groups of K-5 students who meet regularly to talk about their learning and the school community.
The “All About Us” Board: Linking Literacy and Community Building All Year Long
Suzy Kaback has terrific tips for an ever-evolving “All About Us” bulletin board to use from the first day of school to the last.
Opinion Exchange (E-GUIDE)
How can quotes lead educators to awareness and acceptance of the diversity of opinions in a group? Discover what this format for discussion has to offer your study group or staff.
The Read-Around: Raising Writers
If there was a centerpiece to teaching writing that also brought students closer together, wouldn't you want to know about it? Read on about the Read-Around.
Mix It Up: Helping Young Writers Learn to Confer with Peers and Teachers
Ruth Shagoury models her own writing as a way to introduce the concept of conferring to young learners.
Poetry Friday! Poetry Books That Are Fun to Read Aloud
What do doughnuts and talk-filled mornings have in common? Learn about this Poetry Friday ritual that impacts independent reading time as well.
Family Dichos: Bringing the Language of Home into the Classroom
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham use dichos (sayings or proverbs) in many languages and cultures to build bridges between school and home.
Creative Literacy Events for Families
Brenda Power suggests formats for events that build stronger home-school connections.
Inviting Students to Organize Books and Materials
Debbie Miller advocates for involving children in the organization of materials for readers and writers in the classroom.
Room for Beliefs: Linking Classroom Design and What We Value
Debbie Miller questions what our classrooms say about our beliefs and practices, and suggests how to bring our designs into closer alignment with our values.
Letters from Home: Letting Families and Friends Teach Us
Brenda Power and Ruth Shagoury use letters from home to learn about students and build community.
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