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An Individualized Conventions Checklist

Melanie Meehan finds that a flexible conventions checklist that students develop according to their own needs is the best way to ensure conventions are taught in the context of authentic student work.

Deep Reading of Picture Books in Middle School

Christy Rush-Levine shows the power of using picture books with young adolescents to model close reading and deepen comprehension of sophisticated texts.

The Big Fresh April 9, 2016 Slow Swimmer

We look at modeling and mirroring in this week’s Big Fresh.

The Beauty of Imitation

Jennifer Schwanke explains how concerns about plagiarism can get in the way of recognizing the value of mimicking the styles of other writers to find our own.

Temporary Strategies

Clare Landrigan confers with a student and discovers that a tool designed to help the reader is actually hindering her learning. The experience causes her to reflect on the need for flexibility when matching strategy scaffolds to young readers.

The Big Fresh April 2, 2016 Editing with a Writer’s Eyes

Editing is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Supporting Talk Around Writer’s Craft

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills help young writers move away from seeing editing as “adding more details,” and toward developing more specific language for the revision process.

May’s Menu

Maria Caplin gives her students a range of options for closing out a year of literacy learning in style.

Modeling Nonfiction Writing for English Language Learners: Part 3

Stella Villaba models nonfiction writing for her first- and second-grade English language learners, and in the process integrates vocabulary instruction into her lesson. This is the final video in a three-part series.

Strategies for Elaboration in Opinion Writing

Melanie Meehan works with fifth graders who are struggling to elaborate on themes in their opinion writing.

The Big Fresh March 26, 2016 The Mighty Minute

We present the most popular articles from the past year in this spring break edition of the Big Fresh.

The Big Fresh March 19, 2016 Long Day

Poetry is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Weaving in Poetry

Gigi McAllister shares suggestions for infusing poetry throughout classrooms and the literacy curriculum all year long.

The Case for the Sonnet

Gretchen Schroeder makes a case for teaching the sonnet to teenagers in the age of texts and Twitter.

Message from Old Crow

The end of winter is upon us! Shirl McPhillips celebrates with a poem about an old crow and reflections on revising poems over time.

The Big Fresh March 12, 2016 Don’t Settle

We continue to look at word study and vocabulary in this week’s Big Fresh. This is the second installment in a two-part series.

Character Traits Through Word Sorts

Melanie Swider finds word sorts are a great way to help intermediate students master new vocabulary for describing character traits.

Modeling Nonfiction Writing for English Language Learners: Part 2

Stella Villalba models nonfiction writing for her first- and second-grade English language learners, and in the process integrates vocabulary instruction into her lesson. This is the second video in a three-part series.

Building Word Learning Routines

Cathy Mere shares tried-and-true strategies for word learning with struggling young learners.

The Big Fresh March 5, 2016 A Tower of Giraffes

We look at word study and vocabulary in this week’s Big Fresh. This is the first in a two-part series.

Vocabulary Instruction: Where to Start?

Gretchen Schroeder looks for new ways to help high school students learn words.

Modeling Nonfiction Writing for English Language Learners

Stella Villalba models nonfiction writing for her first- and second-grade English language learners, and in the process integrates vocabulary instruction into her lesson. This is the first video in a three-part series.

Holding a Dictionary

Jennifer Schwanke finds dictionaries (the real, not virtual, variety) are still a potent tool for teaching new vocabulary to children.

Learning Vocabulary in Context with English Language Learners

Stella Villalba explores why it is so important to teach vocabulary to English language learners in context.

The Big Fresh February 27, 2016 The Game of Life

We consider how to keep tests in perspective in this week’s Big Fresh.

Student Self-Assessment Strategies

Melanie Meehan works with fifth graders to help them create their own set of indicators of success in a writing unit.

Observations and Test Preparation

Christopher Carlson takes on the role of observer and researcher to analyze his students' needs when it comes to test-taking skills, and enlists students in the process of reflecting on his data to implement new test-taking strategies.

Tests of Time

This vivid new poem from Shirley McPhillips, explores the disconnect between exams and life.

Read Alouds and Standards

Maria Caplin explains how read alouds do double duty in her fifth-grade classroom, as they help build a love for story and help students master key literacy and content area standards.

The Big Fresh February 20, 2016 Act the Way You Want to Feel

Writing conference notes are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

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