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Here is where you’ll find all the latest print features from our contributors. If you’d like to browse specifically by grade level, topic, or contributor, you can use the links in the right sidebar.
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In Defense of Dictation
Leslie Woodhouse finds dictation is a critical tool for understanding young writers and their sense of story.
What Data Will You Be Collecting?
Tony Keefer explains why attitudinal survey data is important to collect early in the year, and shares different reading surveys he uses with students to understand their needs in the first six weeks of school.
Rethinking the Assessment Binder
Franki Sibberson’s dilemma? How to file every evaluation so it is organized and accessible (since she never knows when someone might ask for it), while still finding a way to keep the assessments she needs every day at her fingertips.
“My Ideal Bookshelf”: Books that Educate Us
Ellie Gilbert shares an activity that is a terrific way to get to know your new students. Although Ellie works with high school students, this activity can be adapted for the younger grades.
Routines to Build Independence Early in the School Year
Katie DiCesare explores how to develop routines early in the year, and includes advice to give to parents to build the home/school connection around expectations for independence.
Daily Routines: Finding Time for What Matters
Ann Marie Corgill provides some guiding questions to help teachers figure out priorities in their schedules for daily routines.
First Read Alouds (ROUND-UP)
Choice Literacy contributors share their picks for the first read aloud of the year.
New Teachers: The Power of Inexperience
Sometimes a lack of experience is a gift worth embracing. Michelle Kelly considers all the strengths new teachers bring to schools, from their comfort with technology to genuine enthusiasm.
Planning a Read Aloud Sequence to Launch the School Year
Tony Keefer shares the three essential questions that guide his process of selecting first read alouds.
Fireflies and Background Knowledge
Karen Terlecky writes about the importance of building understanding before more complex read alouds.
A Summer Reading Camp for Middle School Students
Katherine Sokolowski has tips for a "book club" summer reading camp for middle school students.
Are You Excited About Next Year?
Kelly Petrin finds a bare classroom at the end of the year leads her to improvise with stuffed animals and literacy with her preschool students. The mix of play and reading is so successful that it changes her planning for the fall.
Using Instagram to Sell Summer Reading Options
Tony Keefer taps into the Instagram craze among his students, and finds it is an ingenious tool for encouraging summer reading while kids are on vacation.
Grateful Journals
Beth Lawson began her own gratitude journal as a troubled teen, and finds that the daily routine of Grateful Journals is a powerful tool for reflection and building community in the intermediate grades.
Teacher Resume
Even if you have no plans to apply for a new job anytime soon, creating a resume can be a wonderful catalyst for defining who you are and what you value. It’s also a great document to share with parents and new students. Amanda Adrian explains its creative uses.
SPREAD: Teaching and a Balanced Life
Are you spread too thin? Kelly Petrin uses the acronym SPREAD to remind herself regularly of what she needs to lead a balanced and joyful professional and personal life.
Word Nerds
What words are worthy of study? Amanda Adrian and Heather Rader explore that question with colleagues.
Books and Organization of the Classroom Library (Classroom Design Series Part 4)
Ann Marie Corgill’s classroom design series concludes with ideas for organizing classroom libraries and a self-reflection tool for thinking through your classroom design.
Recommendations for Summer Reading Fun: Early Reader Chapter Books for Boys
Meghan Rose and Ruth Shagoury finish their summer fun for early readers series with a booklist for boys interested in chapter books.
Reflecting All Year Long
Katherine Sokolowski finds the impulse for reflection is strong at the start of summer, but reflection works best when it’s built into routines all year long.
Recommendations for Summer Reading Fun: Comics and Graphic Novels for Early Readers
Early readers love comic books and graphic novels. Meghan Rose and Ruth Shagoury give their top picks in their latest summer fun for early readers booklist.
Values and Design (Classroom Design Series Part 2)
Ann Marie Corgill continues her design series, considering the connection between classroom design and values.
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.
Recommendations for Summer Reading Fun: Classic Books for Early Readers
Meghan Rose and Ruth Shagoury have written a series of booklists for early readers, perfect for sharing with parents looking for suggestions. The first installment tackles the classic books many of us cherish from our own childhood days.
Starting with Why (Classroom Design Series Part 1)
Ann Marie Corgill's classroom design series takes you through her process of redesigning a classroom. In the first installment, Ann Marie explains how her designs have become less cutesy and more student-centered over time.
The Cure for Senioritis? Poetry!
There may be a group of students somewhere less eager to learn than a class of high school seniors during the last weeks of school, but that group would be as tough to find as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Gretchen Schroeder discovers a surprising cure for senioritis —modern poetry.
Staying Connected with Students All Summer Long
Cathy Mere explains how she uses technology to stay in touch with students and families over the summer.
Summer Reading Round-Up (Part 2)
Here is the second installment of our round-up of summer reading choices by contributors.
13 Ways to Raise Students Who Hate Research
Chris Lehman has tongue-in-cheek suggestions for helping students learn to hate the research process.
Launching a Fiction Writing Unit with Fifth Graders
Katherine Sokolowski finds late in the year is the perfect time for launching a fiction writing unit with her fifth graders.
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