Keeping it short, relevant, and meaningful is the challenge when it comes to designing lessons. Here is where you'll find practical advice and dozens of video examples of master teachers in action.
Max Brand describes how word observations can work as powerful minilessons in elementary classrooms.
Deb Gaby uses a bridge metaphor in a comprehension minilesson for second graders.
Tony Keefer finds that the article-of-the-week activity (adapted from Kelly Gallagher's work) is a good way to integrate short shared texts into his fourth-grade literacy workshop.
Linda Karamatic uses texts her second graders already know to build their inferring skills as they construct a chart together.
Ruth Ayres develops a word chart in this brief minilesson with second graders.
Linda Karamatic uses a read aloud to launch a group activity to build understanding of inferring.
This video from Katie Baydo-Reed’s eighth-grade classroom is the second part of a series on teaching annotation skills in middle school. A catch-up link to the first video in the series is provided.
Ruth Ayres presents a minilesson on capital letters to a second-grade class.
Sean Moore shares the importance of using a writer’s notebook to discover topics in this minilesson with his second-grade students from early in the year.
Karen Terlecky explains how she designs instruction and uses mentor texts to teach theme, and includes a video example of a minilesson.
Franki Sibberson writes about how she chooses books for theme instruction and shares two lessons.
If you want to match students to books, you’ll need to master the art of the book talk. Katherine Sokolowski has practical tips for honing your skills.
Andrea Smith leads her fourth graders through brainstorming for their owl research project.
A writing lead is a door — readers will either want to walk through it or shut it and move on to something else. That's the analogy Karen Terlecky uses in this video of a fifth-grade writing workshop minilesson.
Franki Sibberson shares some tips and strategies with her fourth graders from the web for focusing and organizing their writing.
Katherine Sokolowski finds late in the year is the perfect time for launching a fiction writing unit with her fifth graders.
Shari Frost explains the power of shared writing in intermediate classrooms, especially for struggling learners.
Heather Rader discovers subheadings are a neglected but useful tool for teaching students about key topics in their writing.
Andie Cunningham observes a third-grade teacher as she systematically improves the quality and depth of student questioning over time.
Shari Frost explains why shared reading is valuable for older students, with examples of the practice in the intermediate grades.
Franki Sibberson shares 10 principles for minilesson planning. This is an excerpt from her new book, The Joy of Planning.
It’s never too early to help students learn to make wise choices for independent reading. Mandy Robek reviews the I-Pick strategy for choosing appropriate books with her kindergarten students.
Beth Lawson models her process as a writer for her fourth-grade students, describing her emotions as well as creating a draft.
Sean Moore uses the poem “The Busy Ant” for partner work and discussion of fluency and vocabulary with his second graders.
Franki Sibberson considers how the demands of the Common Core and the complex mix of online and offline nonfiction texts are changing the skills she teaches students.
If you tell students transitions are like underwear, they sit up and pay attention. Heather Rader uses the analogy to help students analyze and improve the transitions in their writing.
When students take a stand in writing, they will almost inevitably bring up touchy topics. Heather Rader considers the challenge in part 3 of her opinion/argumentative writing series.
Katherine Sokolowski designs a graphic novels unit for her fifth graders, and is surprised by how much the genre delights them.
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan provide previewing how-to advice for grades K-2 teachers.
Franki Sibberson's goal is to provide her students with more tools for previewing books independently and making wise selections. In this lesson, she makes full use of technology to set up sites and resources for students to browse at school or home.
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