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Easing into Writing Poetry

Tara Smith describes how she eases her sixth-grade students into writing poetry through careful selection and analysis of mentor poems.

Beyond the Acrostic Poem

Megan Skogstad finds the right mentor texts can help her fourth graders move beyond acrostic poems.

The Big Fresh March 25, 2017 Amplified

We consider what should come first in the school day and workshops in this week’s Big Fresh.

The Big Fresh March 18, 2017 Small Victories

We consider what should come first in the school day and workshops in this week’s Big Fresh.

A Booklist for Women’s History Month

In honor of National Women’s History Month, Sarah Klim presents a booklist that features biographies of some of the lesser-known women who quietly made history, as well as little-known details from the lives of well-known historical figures.

Supporting Introverts at Any Age

What many school leaders, teachers, and students have in common is that they are introverts. Matt Renwick remembers exhaustion from his first year of teaching because of introversion, and offers suggestions for meeting the needs of introverts in any school community.
 

Good Questions for Group Discussions

Gigi McAllister helps a group of fourth graders evaluate questions for fostering good group discussions.

Supporting Introverts in Fifth Grade

Katherine Sokolowski was that shy child hiding behind a tall classmate in the back of the room when she was a student. As a teacher, she makes sure there are many ways she helps bring out the voices of introverts in her fifth-grade classroom.

The Big Fresh March 11, 2017 First Things First

We consider what should come first in the school day and workshops in this week’s Big Fresh.

Literacy Routines for Applying See-Think-Wonder

Shari Frost finds that the See-Think-Wonder activity is great to use as a “bell-ringer,” as well as throughout the day to promote deeper thinking and engagement.

Starting the Day with Literacy

Bitsy Parks shares how she starts the day with literacy in her first-grade classroom.

Teaching Students to Start at the Right Place

Melanie Meehan uses focus questions for teaching students to start at the right place in their writing, moving them beyond the bed-to-bed stories that plague so many literacy workshops.

Morning Greeters

Katrina Edwards has morning helpers who start each day with a greeting for every child in her first-grade classroom.

The Big Fresh March 4, 2017 LATTE Them

We take a closer look at notetaking in this week’s Big Fresh.

The Ins and Outs of Using a Jot Lot

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills use a jot lot to turn students’ notes on their learning into instructional plans and assessment.

Do I Really Have to Keep Conferring Notes?

Ruth Ayres answers a question from teachers, Do I really have to keep conferring notes? Spoiler alert: The answer is yes.

 

Reminder Notes

Bitsy Parks teaches her first graders to write sticky note reminders throughout the day, and is delighted by the learning and community building that ensues.

Environmental Group Notes

Katherine Sokolowski meets briefly with a group of fifth-grade girls to go through the notes they are taking for their environmental studies project and talk through next steps.

The Big Fresh February 25, 2017 Celebrating Read Alouds

We celebrate read-alouds in this week’s Big Fresh.

Increasing Read Alouds in the Primary Grades

Bitsy Parks describes her process over the years in increasing both the quality and quantity of read alouds in her first-grade classroom.

Poetry Read-Alouds During Transitions

Mandy Robek finds that quick poetry read-alouds are a great way to transition between activities in her second-grade classroom and build a love of poems.

Read-Aloud Gone Awry

Jennifer Schwanke shares her experience of having read-aloud go awry in a middle school classroom.

The Big Fresh February 18, 2017 Totally

We look at word study in this week’s Big Fresh.

Heart Words

Katrina Edwards demonstrates a daily word work activity with her first-grade students, where they use oral and kinesthetic routines to master new words they should “know by heart.”

Student-Generated Vocabulary Discussions

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills find the key to middle school students attending to new vocabulary during read-alouds is to have students choose the words.

The Big Fresh February 11, 2017 Say Yes to Something Else

We consider facts and fiction in this week’s Big Fresh.

Fact or Fiction? Introducing the Task

Christy Rush-Levine has her middle school students complete a fun and sophisticated reading activity using Muse magazine to sort through what might be fact or fiction. The piece includes a video excerpt from the group discussion.

Fact or Fiction? Discussion

Christy Rush-Levine has her middle school students complete a fun and sophisticated reading activity using Muse magazine to sort through what might be fact or fiction. In this second installment of the video series, students discuss the articles they have read.

Getting the Ball Rolling in a Realistic Fiction Unit

Melanie Meehan helps elementary students move from narratives to realistic fiction by beginning with “facts” about their fictional characters.

Free-Range Learning with Nonfiction Part 2: Infographics and Maps

Andrea Smith shares the final installment of her series on the value of free-range learning in helping students explore nonfiction.

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