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Lifting the Quality of Hands-Down Conversations
Tammy Mulligan leads us through troubleshooting the difficult parts of launching hands-down conversations. This is the third installment of a three-part series about launching hands-down conversations.
How to Begin a Community Circle
Bitsy Parks gives direction in beginning a community circle with primary learners.
Hands-Down Conversations in the Primary Grades
Tammy Mulligan shares the steps to encouraging hands-down conversations in the first days of the school year. This is the second installment of a three-part series about launching hands-down conversations.
Establishing Independent Reading Is Like Planting Seeds
Lisa Mazinas reminds us of the importance of independent reading and how to set it in motion.
Using Video to Launch Hands-Down Conversations
Tammy Mulligan shares many video options to launch conversation skills in her primary classroom.
Opportunities Offered in Book Shopping
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills remind us of the important opportunities offered during book shopping. Giving yourself permission to slow down and see the opportunities that the routines invite for collaboration and reflection will likely make it feel like you’re maximizing your minutes even more.
Holidays: Where Do They Fit in the Classroom?
Bitsy Parks shares the inspiration and practical ways she celebrates and honors holidays from many cultures in her classroom.
Reading Specialists Can Change the Narrative
Cathy Mere shares ways reading specialists can help teachers get excited about striving readers’ growth by intentionally sharing progress and celebrations.
Setting Up the Intervention Room
Dana Murphy guides reading specialists in setting up intervention rooms to welcome readers.
What Matters More
Dana Murphy shares that by asking “What matters most?” she can make decisions that allow her literacy instruction to be student-centered and authentic.
What I Am Reading the First Week of School
Jen Court plans to fill the first days of first grade with experiences around books. Selecting books carefully to create a sense of community in the classroom from the very beginning is the goal of this first-week booklist.
Creating a Classroom Emotional Intelligence Charter
Mandy Robek outlines the process for creating a class Emotional Intelligence Charter. She includes a booklist to help students expand their vocabulary of different emotions.
Bring Me Something Funny (Booklist)
Cathy Mere offers a booklist in response when a teacher asks her to “Bring me something funny.” These books are sure to fill your classroom with lighthearted laughter.
Using The Proudest Blue in the Classroom
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share three ways using The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad empowers and strengthens readers in all grades.
Creating Thematic Text Sets for Inquiry
Stephanie Affinito guides us to carefully curate text sets so that not only are they suited to students’ interests, but students are guided through the sequence of reading them. There’s no better way to launch students’ curiosity and reading motivation!
Intergenerational Booklist
Bitsy Parks shares the process of building a booklist to deepen the connections and synthesis of culture, family structure, and experiences. Use this booklist of 10 picture books to lead a powerful conversation in your classroom and empower young students to grow in their analysis.
Learning Joy
Bitsy Parks shares the story of a striving student, and pinpoints the elements of a rich workshop classroom that supports finding joy in becoming literate.
Planning for Virtual Literacy Intervention
Stephanie Affinito curated a wise and useful guide to plan virtual literacy intervention. Useful resources are included for those who are teaching remotely or in person.
Be the Teacher
Tammy Mulligan turns to her students for advice on how to make phonics lessons “sticky.” The Be the Teacher Center was created and has become a staple in her primary classroom.
Student-Led Reading Seminars
Tammy Mulligan organizes her second graders to teach reading seminars to their peers. She outlines the steps to make this engaging practice a reality in any classroom.
Picture of the Week
Bitsy Parks shares a Picture of the Week routine that builds real-life literacy skills, and documents and celebrates important moments throughout the school year.
Student-Created Assessments
Ruth Metcalfe releases responsibility to her first-grade class to create formative assessments and take ownership in their learning.
Adding Energy to the Classroom Library
Mandy Robek shares ways to reorganize and revamp your classroom library to energize students as readers.
Making Feedback Visible for Young Writers
Ruth Metcalfe is determined to make teaching points from writing conferences visible for her young multi-language learners. She offers a how-to guide for all teachers to do the same and make the teaching accessible to students even after the conference is over.
Giving Feedback to Energize Writers
Josie Stewart and Hannah Tills ponder the importance of energizing writers with feedback. They offer tips to ensure feedback uplifts writers.
A Three-Part Conferring Kit
Bitsy Parks shares a simple three-part conferring kit that will position anecdotal notes to guide instruction.
Cut-Apart Sentences in Small-Group Reading
Ruth Metcalfe candidly shares the way she tackles the transfer of reading skills with her small group by using cut-apart sentences.
What “Should” Kindergarten Writing Look Like at This Point in the Year?
Melanie Meehan shares insights to emphasize the importance of responding to emergent writers and understanding the progression of young writers.
Tips for Selecting Inclusive Texts
Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart challenge themselves to select more inclusive texts so all students feel as though they belong. They offer six suggestions to help us examine our bookshelves, thinking, and curriculum.
What Is Communication? A Mini-Inquiry Project and Booklist
Bitsy Parks leads her first-grade class in a study about communication to strengthen their socially distanced and muffled-by-masks community. Included is a booklist.
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