Self Care
When Choice Literacy was launched in 2006, we never imagined that wellness and balance would be a part of the conversation here. Yet how can anyone take care of students if they don't learn how to take care of themselves? These features are all about being kind to yourself so that you can show grace and compassion to others.
Latest Content
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Recommending Yourself
Suzy Kaback asks her students to write letters of recommendations for themselves, and finds that the activity ripples across the school mentoring community. This exercise is a terrific catalyst for creating personal improvement plans.
More Teaching Metaphors
Ruth Shagoury considers her struggles with "beginner's mind" in yoga and mountain biking, and what they can both teach her about students who are struggling with any new learning.
Swimming and Learning
Mary Lee Hahn uses her experience as a swimmer to take another look at standards.
If Boot Camp Was Standards-Based
Franki Sibberson's article this winter linking her learning from fitness boot camp to working with struggling readers was one of our most popular features ever. Here she provides a follow-up to share new lessons from bootcamp in a standards-based world.
Lessons from My Summer Vacation
Erin Ocon finds it's hard to let go of her planning and perfectionism as she rewrites her goals for the summer. In "Lessons from My Summer Vacation," she discovers the process of changing her summer plans makes her rethink her classroom goals.
Bucking Broncs and Spitting Bulls
Andie Cunningham finds a rodeo reminds her of the opening days of school, and how timed assessments can cloud our vision of students early in the year.
Messengers
This is a lovely poem with a message about how poetry can move us, and why it is essential in classrooms.
The Rolling Pin: Looking into Things
Celebrating simple, ordinary things – it’s what poetry and learning are all about.
How I Flunked Literacy Leadership 101
Jennifer Jones finds she is still learning on the job as a literacy coach, especially when it comes to building relationships through collaborative teaching. Here she shares a breakdown in communication with a colleague, and how she is working to rebuild the relationship.
Helping Aaron Find His Voice as a Writer…and Mine as a Teacher
Erin Ocon tries a new strategy for dealing with a resistant student in her middle school classroom.
Recipe for a Literary Tea
Ruth Shagoury has a recipe for you – a soothing “literary tea” with connections to favorite authors. You can start from her recipe to concoct your own author-themed tea, and we also include links to resources on the web for purchasing the loose tea ingredients.
Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two
Shirl McPhillips’ poem “Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two” is designed for paired reading. Shirl also gives advice for celebrating poetry as an oral art in classrooms.
Root Metaphors for Teaching: Learning from Our Passions
Ruth Shagoury finds her passion for bread baking leads to rethinking how she differentiates instruction for students. Her colleagues then come up with their own metaphors in the study group activity.
Putting Ourselves in Our Teaching
Debbie Miller's wonderful essay is great to read when you're feeling rushed, and want to hit the "pause button" to remind yourself of what really matters in the classroom.
Chance Encounter
Jennifer Jones ventured out to lunch with some former colleagues, and came home with a new perspective on the impact of her teaching after a chance encounter with YuYang, a former student.
Tips from the Pros on Starting Your Own Writer’s Notebook or Teaching Journal
If you asked yourself, “What in this world do I never want to forget?” what might go in your notebook? Brenda Power offers routines and rhythms to write like the pros.
Fake It ‘Til You Make It
Becca Burk tackles the phrase many educators utter—fake it ’til you make it. Becca addresses the reasons why we feel this way, and gives an alternative mindset that is helpful in adopting anchor habits to thrive in today’s classroom.
The Sharpening Stone
Summer is rushing along. Are you feeling restored or refreshed yet for the new year? Suzy Kaback writes about the power of the sharpening stone.
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.
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