5th

Flexible Grouping: When, How, and Why

Max Brand explains how daily student grouping can be both planned and spontaneous.

Minilessons to Start Conversations with Students About Books

In leadership positions, the first conversations with students about who you are and what you believe can set the tone for the year. Franki Sibberson has helpful advice for talking with readers — big and small.

Hooked on Series: Great Series Books for Transitional Readers

Finding the right series for a transitional reader is a gift. Franki Sibberson shares her favorite finds.

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.

Comprehending Graphic Novels: A Primer for Teachers

Mary Lee Hahn provides a quick primer for teachers new to graphic novels, as well as suggestions for using these novels to teach comprehension.

Digging Deep: The Power of Rereading

Max Brand considers how rereading helps students understand and enjoy texts.

Common Core Conversations: Increasing Argumentative Writing

Teachers continue to puzzle over and sort through the terminology in the Common Core related to opinion and persuasive writing. Amanda Adrian and Heather Rader consider terms and teaching strategies.

Whole Class Interviews: Building Community in Writing Workshop (TEMPLATE)

Interviews early in the year are a potent tool for building a class community.

Word Study is More Than Spelling

Franki Sibberson works to expand her views of spelling and word work, redefining routines in her grades 3 and 4 classroom.

A Strategy Lesson for “Drive-Thru” Readers

Who is a “drive-thru” reader? One who zips through the start of a book and discards it before finishing, moving  ever more quickly through random books.  Aimee Buckner has some minilesson suggestions for dealing with those students who can’t or won’t finish any books they start.

Tweeting an Author

Gratitude Week

Gigi McAllister shares the tradition of Gratitude Week. It gives students an authentic writing experience that has a ripple effect of spreading joy and gratitude throughout the school. It also shows them the significant impact that their words can have on others. 

Leading with Empathy in the Classroom

Melissa Quimby offers profound advice for what to do when we notice inattention, excessive questioning, frozen learners, or disruptive behaviors. She recommends letting empathy lead our next steps.

Going Deeper with Math Curricular Materials

Mallory Messenger guides us in taking what our district-adopted math curriculum resources provide and planning small changes by using problem stems and student problem posing to increase the rigor and make mathematical experiences accessible for all students. 

Setting Middle School Readers Up for Success

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share ways to set up middle school readers for a successful independent reading life. Download two reading reflections to help students pause and consider where they are and where they want to go as readers.

Using Fiction Writing to Change Attitudes About Writing

Katherine Sokolowski encourages teachers to take time for students to individualize the writing process and enjoy fiction writing by engaging in National Novel Writing Month. Download the story bible as a place for students to plan their stories.

Managing Independent Projects (SHORTS)

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills continue their series on independent projects with nuts and bolts advice on management.

Writing as an Act of Resistance and a Source of Strength

In this beautiful personal essay, Stella Villalba reminds us that writing is a source of strength, and developing a community of writers is essential in post-pandemic classrooms.

Launching a Classroom Library 

Melissa Styger slows down the launch of the classroom library to ensure it is a valuable resource all year.

Field Experience: Supporting Independent Reading, Choice and Stamina

Helping students learn to choose books and develop stamina are important to developing independent readers. Ruth Ayres designed a field experience with opportunities to see minilessons, small group instruction, team meetings and a share session that support independence in readers.

Using 9/11 Research to Build Community and Writing Process

Katherine Sokolowski gives space for students to research and share their learning about 9/11 in order to build a community of writers, as well as nourish the research and writing process.

Books That Sustain the Linguistic Lives of Multilingual Learners

We need more bilingual books! Stella Villalba explains why these books are essential and provides a booklist to help sustain the linguistic lives of multilingual learners.

Talking Through Characters

Melanie Meehan shares activities that help students talk about their characters before writing about them in a realistic fiction unit.

The Shades of Sadness: Character Feelings and Traits

Melissa Quimby is disappointed with the way her students expressed depth of character traits and feelings. By building on their strengths, Melissa creates a tool for students to use and adapt as they learn to be more specific and intentional about describing characters.

Writing Partner Feedback in Fifth Grade

Fifth-grade writers in Franki Sibberson’s classroom encourage each other and suggest revisions to their opinion-writing drafts in partner teams.

Connecting with Students at Home

Julie Johnson learns some important lessons about connecting with students remotely, and few of them are about technology.

Conferring with Spencer: Writing Notebook Topics

Katherine Sokolowski helps fifth grader Spencer brainstorm topics for his writing notebook.

Forming Groups Using a Planner

Dana Murphy explains how her small-group planner is an essential tool for organizing groups in her fourth-grade classroom.

A Minilesson on Minilessons

Franki Sibberson leads a minilesson in her fifth-grade classroom to help students design their own lessons. Students also assess what goes into a high-quality minilesson.

Overcoming: Helping Students Process Covid Feelings

Julie Cox reminds us that for many students, the loneliness and fear of COVID years clings like smoke, and they don’t always have the language to talk about it. While we have worked hard at helping students reclaim content knowledge, we must also help them express and process feelings they might not know how to recognize.