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Explaining a Workshop Model to Parents (Part 2)

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.

The Big Fresh May 13, 2017 Illiterate?

We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.

Monday Headlines

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.

Brainstorming Writing Topics with Drew

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.

Literary Analysis: Counterclaims

Christy Rush-Levine shares how to present counterclaims, as well as a video example of a small group exploring counterclaims.

Explaining a Workshop Model to Parents

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.

The Big Fresh May 6, 2017 Mentors Who Matter

We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.

Mentor Texts and Important Reminders

Melanie Meehan shares four important tips for using mentor texts effectively with students of any age.

Using If I Stay to Model Literary Analysis

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.

First-Grade Minilesson: Reading Like Writers

Bitsy Parks teaches her first graders early in the year how to read like writers, highlighting examples from favorite mentor texts.

Building Relationships with Authors

Katie DiCesare is helping her students move from mentor texts to seeing authors as mentors through their websites and other digital resources.

The Big Fresh April 29, 2017 Teacher Voice

We look at classroom talk in this week’s Big Fresh.

Lunchtime Talk Practice

Katrina Edwards preps her students for lunchtime chats with classmates to foster more social and conversation skills.

Supporting Student Agency with Questioning Strategies

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.

Small Solutions for Big Problems with Classroom Discussions

Gretchen Schroeder shares some conversation fixes for when talk goes awry in her high school classroom.

The Big Fresh April 22, 2017 The Final Push

We look at literacy special events in this week’s Big Fresh.

Reading Ambassadors

Cathy Mere finds that a Reading Ambassadors program pays big dividends in building confident and conversant young readers.

Hosting Reading and Writing Events

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.

Building Excitement for Book Awards

Bitsy Parks finds building excitement for book awards works in tandem with generating enthusiasm for reading in her first-grade classroom.

The Ocean Research Project: From Launch to Celebration in 10 Days

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.

Planning a Family Literacy Night

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.

Author Visit: Small as an Elephant

Jennifer Richard Jacobson answers questions from a fourth-grade class that has just finished a read-aloud of her book Small as an Elephant.

The Big Fresh April 15, 2017 Teachers Writing

We look at the value of teachers writing in this week’s Big Fresh.

Minilesson: Writing a Mentor Text

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.

Get in the Pool: Teachers Who Write

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.

Teachers Who Write

Melanie Meehan explains why your own writing, however imperfect it is, might enhance your teaching tremendously.

The Riskiest Writing

Mary Lee Hahn tackles the riskiest writing of all — in front of students and improvised with no advance drafting or planning.

The Big Fresh April 8, 2017 Form, Distance, and Speed

We look at teaching with picture books in this week’s Big Fresh.

Exploring Goals in Fiction

Gigi McAllister meets briefly with a group of fourth graders who are all exploring theme in picture books.

The Power of Picture Book Conversations

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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