Content Literacy
Reading and writing across the curriculum is sparking more interest than ever among teachers and school leaders. Here are the resources you need to build more writing into your math curriculum, more reading and talk into your science program, and especially, how to infuse more nonfiction texts into your teaching throughout the school day.
Latest Content
“We Gather Together”: On Research and Weddings
Ruth Ayres and her colleagues use a marriage analogy to help middle school students and their families understand the research process. The article includes a nifty example of a pamphlet to share with parents.
Limiting and Extending Choice in Student Research Projects
When students are able to pick any research topic, they often will choose something they have already studied extensively. How can teachers allow students to pick topics for research they care passionately about and at the same time ensure there is the potential for rich inquiry? Maria Caplin describes the process she uses in her fifth-grade classroom to help students find and refine research topics for deeper learning.
Owl Research: Whole Class Explanation of Marking Up Text
Students are given a nonfiction text to mark up during a close reading with a partner in this video from Andrea Smith’s fourth-grade classroom.
Literacy in the Music Room: A Sequence of Lessons
Jennifer Schwanke describes the work of a music teacher who integrates literacy learning into her curriculum.
13 Ways to Raise Students Who Hate Research
Chris Lehman has tongue-in-cheek suggestions for helping students learn to hate the research process.
Research IS the Project (Primary Research Series)
Heather Rader blurs the line between research and presentation in the final installment of the primary research series.
The “Tys” of Student Research: Safety and Credibility (Primary Research Series Part 2)
Heather Rader shares the second installment in our primary research series.
Literacy in Content Areas: A Podcast with Penny Kittle
Penny Kittle talks with Franki Sibberson about how to help students grow as readers and writers throughout the curriculum.
From Reading to Writing Informational Texts
Aimee Buckner makes some surprising discoveries about what types of texts support writers working in nonfiction genres.
Unpacking the Kindergarten Common Core Standards
Mandy Robek shares five tips that can help teachers at any grade level develop strategies for tackling the Common Core.
Supporting Young Writers with Opinion Texts
Katie DiCesare considers how different texts at the primary level can support student understanding of standards for opinion and argumentative writing.
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.
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.
Connecting Read Alouds and the Literacy Curriculum at the Start of the School Year
Here are some ways to link read alouds with learning across the curriculum at the start of the year, suggested by Choice Literacy readers.
Listen In: Writing in Math
Heather Rader confers with 2nd grader Maya about her math writing as Linda Karamatic listens in.
Frogs as Learning Ambassadors Part 1: Literary Nonfiction in 4th Grade
Andrea Smith gets creative in teaching literary nonfiction to her 4th graders in this video series.
Nonfiction Read Aloud
Sean Moore reads nonfiction aloud to his 2nd grade students. This is the first video in a two-part series.
Nonfiction Read Aloud – Part 2
Here are some more tips for nonfiction read-alouds, based on Sean Moore's reading of Plants That Eat Animals.
Essay Writing: Teacher Modeling
Beth Lawson works with her fourth graders to develop essays with strong thesis statements and supporting details, using a folder organization system to highlight different thesis statements for each child. This is the second video in a series.
Book Matchmaker: Picture Book Biographies
Franki Sibberson shares some of her favorite picture book biographies in the latest installment of Book Matchmaker.
The Sponge Summary Lesson Part 5
In this sequence of videos, Heather teaches a 4th grade class, using the analogy of a sponge to explain how summaries work. In this fifth video, Heather and students shift from “I do” to “we do” as students try test their summary writing skills with partners
The Sponge Summary Lesson Part 6
In this sequence of videos, Heather teaches a 4th grade class, using the analogy of a sponge to explain how summaries work. In this final video, Heather and students debrief and capture their learning in writing.
Book Matchmaker: Global Citizenship and Social Responsibility
Here are some newer books for teaching students about social responsibility and what it means to be a citizen of the world.
Digging Into Literary Nonfiction
Andrea Smith and her 4th grade students use an article from National Geographic for Kids to chart literary nonfiction elements.
Standards and Magic: Digging Deep and Being Spontaneous with Infographics
If you’ve ever had 15 minutes or less to plan for a session with kids, you can appreciate the blend of panic and improvisation the experience inspires. Mary Lee Hahn devises an activity with an infographic for the 4th and 5th grade environmental science club at the last minute, and finds students exhibit many surprising literacy skills during the session.
Setting the Stage for Historical Fiction
In this demonstration lesson from a fifth-grade classroom, Aimee Buckner works with students to construct an anchor chart for understanding the genre of historical fiction.
Frogs as Learning Ambassadors Part 2: Literary Nonfiction in 4th Grade
Andrea Smith explains how the classroom environment influences instruction in the second installment of this video series.
The Sponge Summary Lesson Part 1
In this sequence of videos, Heather teaches a fourth-grade class, using the analogy of a sponge to explain how summaries work. In this first video excerpt, Heather reviews the work the class has already done on understanding the attributes of good summaries.
The Sponge Summary Lesson Part 2
In this sequence of videos, Heather teaches a fourth-grade class, using the analogy of a sponge to explain how summaries work. In this second video, Heather presents the powerful analogy of a sponge for summarizing.
The Sponge Summary Lesson Part 3
In this sequence of videos, Heather teaches a 4th grade class, using the analogy of a sponge to explain how summaries work. In this third video, Heather and students cull down a text into the important points needed for a summary.
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