Teaching Reading
Our contributors lead reading workshops in classrooms with creative flair. Over the past 12 years, we've filled our site with loads of suggestions, tools, and tips for using engaging books throughout the curriculum to hook kids on reading. Here is where you will find many stories of successful and not-so-successful workshop days, and what we learned from them. We bring these stories to life through hundreds of video examples.
Latest Content
Running and Middle School Reading Goals
Gretchen Taylor helps her middle school students analyze their needs as readers and set benchmarks for growth.
Engaging Boy Readers: Beginning with Teacher Behaviors
Tony Keefer considers some of those awkward early conferences with male readers in his classroom, and shares advice on how to get the year off to a comfortable start with minilesson and conferring suggestions.
Reaching Evan with Read Alouds in the Intermediate Grades
Karen Terlecky reflects on the power of read alouds in the intermediate grades for welcoming older students who struggle with reading into the “club” of kids who love books.
Never Say Never: Motivation to Read from an Unlikely Source
Knock knock. Who’s there? A boy who loves sports and has no motivation for reading. Barclay Marcell discovers an unlikely source of engaging text for a child who just doesn’t enjoy books.
Conferring for Engagement: First Steps
Aimee Buckner confers with a fourth grader who is learning how to choose books for independent reading. In this video, she gives advice in the first conference and then returns 10 minutes later for a follow-up meeting.
Conferring About Tracking Characters
In this video from a 4th grade classroom, Aimee Buckner confers with a student who is reading The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson.
One Book, One School: Building Community with Shared Text
"When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." These words from the book Wonder set Katherine Sokolowski on the path of designing a shared reading experience at her school that will build community and empathy across the grades.
Partner Reading: Helping Peers Teach Peers
In this video from Linda Karamatic’s second-grade classroom, two girls meet with Linda to develop tips to share with their classmates on how to partner read successfully.
Summer Planning: Goals and the Finish Line
Teachers always have big plans at the start of summer for reading, reflection, and changing classroom practice. Katherine Sokolowski explains how she translates those plans into action as the summer winds down.
From Rages to Rags: Conferring with Conner
When to let a child guess, and when to give the correct answer in a reading conference? That's the struggle for 2nd grade teacher Sean Moore as he confers with Conner.
Rereading Strategy: Conferring with Emily
Sean Moore confers with 2nd grader Emily about the strategy of rereading for comprehending reading and writing.
Finding a Place for Graphic Novels in My Classroom
Katherine Sokolowski listens to her husband’s sage advice and develops a new relationship with graphic novels that disappear off her classroom shelves.
The Quest for the Perfect First Read Aloud of the Year
Franki Sibberson is on a quest to find the perfect first read aloud of the year, and the search helps her consider the goals and purpose of read alouds during the first days of school.
Focused Independent Reading in Second Grade
Sean Moore demonstrates how he helps students focus their independent reading with preparation and then with discussion after reading.
Rethinking My Nonfiction Library in Response to the Common Core
Franki Sibberson finds a new classroom, the Common Core, and tech considerations are changing the ways she organizes the nonfiction sections of her classroom library.
Lines Written at Lunchtime Above Tintern Abbey
Shirl McPhillips celebrates high summer, friendship, and handwritten notes in this poem and reflection.
Found Poetry in Second Grade
Linda Karamatic teaches a small group of her second graders about found poetry.
Making Thinking Visible
A class blog proves to be a surprisingly successful tool for building academic connections within and across classrooms of Gretchen Taylor’s middle school students.
Inferring Small Group in 5th Grade
Karen Terlecky meets with a small group in her 5th grade class to discuss the strategy of inferring.
Preschool Read Aloud
Melissa Kolb talks about the power of read alouds for preschoolers and shares an example from her classroom in this video.
Guiding Groups in Middle School: Reading Poetry
Katie Doherty works with a small group of sixth graders who need extra support as they read the poem “Aspects of Autumn.”
Worldwide Cinderellas
Erin Ocon discovers that worldwide Cinderella stories are a wonderful tool for building community and cultural awareness in her seventh-grade classroom and with English language learners. Erin describes how she uses a range of Cinderella picture books with students, and provides an extensive booklist for expanding your library.
Middle School Conferring About a Series
In this video from Katie Doherty’s sixth-grade classroom, Katie confers with a student who has returned to a series book she had previously rejected. Katie weaves in talk about strategies, particularly inferring (a focus of whole-class minilessons).
Book Club Meetings in 3rd Grade
Beth Lawson explains how she sets up book clubs in her 3rd grade classroom.
Book Matchmaker: Read Alouds for 1st Grade
Franki Sibberson helps a 1st grade teacher select read alouds for her class in this installment of Book Matchmaker.
What is the Content for Small-Group Instruction? (Part 2 of the Grouping Series)
Heather Rader considers how assessments and observations might be used to create flexible groups.
Accuracy and Comprehension: Conferring in Second Grade
In this video from Sean Moore’s second-grade classroom, Sean confers with a student who comprehends text well but has some issues with accuracy.
An At-Home Summer Reading Camp
Katherine Sokolowski comes up with a novel way to boost kids’ reading and her summer income —hosting a reading camp in her home.
Matching Students to Nonfiction Texts in Grades 3-6 (BOOKLIST)
In this booklist, Mary Lee Hahn offers creative categories for considering readers in new ways.
Next-Read Stack: Conferring for Independence
Franki Sibberson explains the value of "Next-Read Stack" conferences for fostering independence, and includes a video example.
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