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Latest Content
Our Favorite Online Reading and Writing Tools Round-Up (Part 2)
Choice Literacy contributors share favorite online tools. This is the second installment in a two-part series.
Subheading Literacy: Nothing “Sub” About It
Heather Rader discovers subheadings are a neglected but useful tool for teaching students about key topics in their writing.
They Can Sing and Define It, But Can They Use It?
Melissa Styger rethinks the way she teaches reading strategies, emphasizing putting them to use over defining them.
Our Favorite Online Reading and Writing Tools Round-Up (Part 1)
Choice Literacy contributors share their favorite online reading and writing tools. This is the first installment in a two-part series.
Do You Have Any Questions? Conferring with Families
We've all experienced that moment in a parent conference. You finish your spiel, which includes assessment data, charts, and an anecdote or two about the child. And when you're finished, the parent asks, "But how is my child doing?" Melissa Kolb explores the reasons why there can be a mismatch between our sense of useful information in parent conferences and a parent's expectations.
Cooking Up Interest in Words with Fifth Graders
Maria Caplin continues her series on sparking vocabulary learning, this time highlighting fun activities.
Slice of Life: Challenging Student Writers
Katherine Sokolowski brings the popular web “slice of life” challenge to her fifth-grade classroom.
Keeping Track of Questions
Andie Cunningham observes a third-grade teacher as she systematically improves the quality and depth of student questioning over time.
Three Ways to Build Purpose in a Preschool Reading Workshop
Melissa Kolb finds her three- and four-year-old students are ready for more focus during reading time.
Shared Reading in the Intermediate Grades
Shari Frost explains why shared reading is valuable for older students, with examples of the practice in the intermediate grades.
Symbiosis: Choice and Structure in Writing Workshops
Ruth Ayres and Heather Rader draw on their work as literacy coaches and teachers to explore the complex connections between choice and structure in writing workshops.
Between the Brain and Page: Working with Gifted Student Writers
Michelle Kelly explains how gifted student writers have needs that vary greatly. "Carolyn the Voice," "Alan the Verbose," and "Bailey the Perfectionist" are all gifted writers who need different workshop structures and guidance to do their best work.
Assessing Learning During Student-Led Book Clubs
When middle school students have choice and independence in book clubs they lead themselves, how do you assess their learning and thinking? Katie Doherty provides a variety of question prompts she uses with groups to spark reflection on learning.
10 Principles for Planning Reading Minilessons
Franki Sibberson shares 10 principles for minilesson planning. This is an excerpt from her new book, The Joy of Planning.
Understanding the Middle East Through Children’s Literature (BOOKLIST)
Sheiks, harems, and terrorists — the stereotypes of the middle east from popular culture may not be realistic, but they sure are pervasive. Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham find authentic alternative views to present to children in their new booklist.
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.
Embracing the Growth Mindset with Audiobooks
Jennifer Vincent explains how recorded texts were a potent tool for reaching a struggling fourth-grade reader.
Audioboo, QR Codes, and Authentic Reading Response
Katherine Sokolowski uses audio recordings and other tech resources to build her fifth-grade reading community.
Tips for Effective Family Communication from “The Mouse”
Jennifer Vincent details strategies and shares survey templates she uses in reaching out to families.
KLWL: Ordering Research (Primary Research Series Part 3)
Heather Rader looks at the importance of frontloading information for young learners in the third installment of the primary research series.
Family Literacy Night
Family Literacy Nights have become popular in many schools. Principal Jennifer Schwanke describes the format for a successful event, including a sample program and tips.
A Literary Taste of Home (Home is Where the Books Are Series)
Meghan Rose may live in Los Angeles, but the home of her heart will always be New England. In this booklist, she shares her favorite picture books about everything from the Red Sox to Maine blueberries to give her children a sense of where she grew up.
Hindsight: What I Wish I’d Known Before My School Burned Down
Melanie Quinn shares lessons from the fire that burned down her school.
Just-Right Poetry and Individualizing Instruction
Shari Frost describes how a sixth-grade teacher provides a range of poetry options to meet the needs of all students.
The “Tys” of Student Research: Safety and Credibility (Primary Research Series Part 2)
Heather Rader shares the second installment in our primary research series.
March Book Madness
Basketball’s March Madness has many possibilities in schools. Tony Keefer tries a similar format with brackets and voting for March Book Madness.
Beyond Text Features in Nonfiction Instruction
Franki Sibberson considers how the demands of the Common Core and the complex mix of online and offline nonfiction texts are changing the skills she teaches students.
Putting the Search Back in Research
Heather Rader launches a new four-part series on teaching research skills in the primary grades. This first installment highlights search techniques for children.
Supporting the Transition to Middle School: An Elementary Teacher’s Perspective
Maria Caplin shares how and why she began to collaborate with Gretchen Taylor, a sixth-grade teacher who would soon be the middle school teacher for some of her students.
What Information Is Good Information? Smooth and Effective Transitions to Middle School
Gretchen Taylor explains her role in observing Maria’s fifth-grade classroom, and then building a relationship with students and their families.
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