Choice Literacy Articles & Videos
The Choice Literacy library contains over 3,000 articles and 900 videos from 150+ contributors. Classic Classroom and Literacy Leadership subscribers have access to the entire library. Content is updated continuously, with five to six new features published each week.
ennifer Schwanke explains how jargon can trip up communication with parents, and lists which terms are worth defining. This is the final installment of her series on talking about literacy workshops with families.
We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills use Monday Headlines to energize students after the weekend, and get a peek into what’s going on at home.
Katherine Sokolowski confers with Drew about writing at home, brainstorming possible topics. In the process she shows how much she knows about Drew's life outside of school.
Christy Rush-Levine shares how to present counterclaims, as well as a video example of a small group exploring counterclaims.
Jennifer Schwanke explains why parent-teacher conferences can be bewildering for families, and offers advice for better ways to explain a literacy workshop model to them.
We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.
Melanie Meehan shares four important tips for using mentor texts effectively with students of any age.
Christy Rush-Levine uses the mentor text If I Stay to model literary analysis, building on her middle school students’ interest in the recent movie.
Bitsy Parks teaches her first graders early in the year how to read like writers, highlighting examples from favorite mentor texts.
Katie DiCesare is helping her students move from mentor texts to seeing authors as mentors through their websites and other digital resources.
We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.
Katrina Edwards preps her students for lunchtime chats with classmates to foster more social and conversation skills.
Katrina Simkins-Moore explains why becoming more intentional in questioning during reading conferences can help build student independence, as well as consistency among the teaching community.
Gretchen Schroeder shares some conversation fixes for when talk goes awry in her high school classroom.
We look at literacy special events in this week’s Big Fresh.
Cathy Mere finds that a Reading Ambassadors program pays big dividends in building confident and conversant young readers.
Gigi McAllister explains why you have to be a bit choosy about reading and writing events since there are so many possibilities. Here are some she values in her fourth-grade classroom.
Bitsy Parks finds building excitement for book awards works in tandem with generating enthusiasm for reading in her first-grade classroom.
Ten days from the launch of student research projects to a celebration with families? Katherine Sokolowski shares how a tight time frame that concludes with an evening event can bring energy and high student interest to the research process.
Heather Fisher and Kathy Provost work with a group of reading specialists to plan a family literacy night. This video is cross-posted at Lead Literacy.
Jennifer Richard Jacobson answers questions from a fourth-grade class that has just finished a read-aloud of her book Small as an Elephant.
We look at the value of teachers writing in this week’s Big Fresh.
In this week’s video, Gigi McAllister models writing in front of her fourth-grade class. She takes advice from students as she develops the characters in her story.
Ruth Ayres shares how she was always someone who wrote—until she became a teacher. Getting back into writing was all about motivating her reluctant students.
Melanie Meehan explains why your own writing, however imperfect it is, might enhance your teaching tremendously.
Mary Lee Hahn tackles the riskiest writing of all — in front of students and improvised with no advance drafting or planning.
We look at teaching with picture books in this week’s Big Fresh.
Gigi McAllister meets briefly with a group of fourth graders who are all exploring theme in picture books.
Katie DiCesare uses conversations around picture books to build communication, community, and reading skills in her first-grade classroom. Late in the school year she reflects with students about why these conversations are so powerful.
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