Library
Choice Literacy Articles & Videos
The Choice Literacy library contains over 3,000 articles and 900 videos from 150+ contributors. Classic Classroom and Literacy Leadership subscribers have access to the entire library. Content is updated continuously, with five to six new features published each week.
Latest Content
Building Stamina in Middle School Writers
Carly Ullmer finds herself wasting a lot of time because of interruptions during student conferences, so she makes building stamina in her middle school students a priority.
The Big Fresh January 16, 2016 Must Be Present to Win
We look at the writing process (and processes) in this week’s Big Fresh.
The Big Fresh January 9, 2016 Secret Messages
Content literacy is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
“Giving Ourselves Hard Problems”: Rethinking Math Workshop
Mary Lee Hahn rethinks her math workshop structure to more closely align with the choice and problem solving in her reading and writing workshops.
The Intersection of Social Studies and Language Arts
Melanie Meehan writes about how teachers in her state are dealing with the time-crunch issue in social studies instruction by naturally integrating more social studies into the language arts program.
Extended Inquiry with Article of the Week
Gretchen Schroeder finds the article of the week activity is an excellent vehicle for learning about content literacy gaps in student background knowledge and how to fill them.
Risk and All
Tom Romano meets with Kacie, a student writing about an experience that shames her. He ponders the importance of facing the darkest parts of our experiences when we write. This is an exclusive excerpt from Tom's new book, Write What Matters.
The Big Fresh December 19, 2015 Unexpected
English language learners are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
Debating How to Begin Stories
Melanie Meehan shares a minilesson using student writing as a model for experimenting with leads.
Conferring Over “Finished” Writing
Ruth Ayres challenges Grant to add paragraphs to his “finished” piece.
Exploring the Writing Process
Dana Murphy considers the differences between authentic writing processes and what we teach in schools.
Modifications for English Language Learners
Stella Villalba shares some modifications that can help English language learners demonstrate skills and knowledge.
Knowing Ami: Silent Communication with an English Language Learner
Katie DiCesare finds patience and observation are the keys to helping a first-grade English language learner who is in the silent period.
Owl Research Brainstorming: Partner Work
Andrea Smith’s fourth graders are working on an Owl Research project that integrates reading, writing, talking, listening, and content literacy.
Understanding Character Traits: Part 3
Jason DiCarlo completes his lesson on character traits in third grade. This is the final installment in a three-part series.
The Big Fresh December 12, 2015 Easy
We explore mentor texts in this week’s Big Fresh.
Teaching Inference Through Picture Books
Katherine Sokolowski explains why picture books are useful for teaching inference to intermediate students, and shares some of her favorites.
Getting Mentor Texts in Students’ Hands
Jillian Heise discovers that her students need more access to the mentor texts she reads aloud, so she develops strategies to get them to students.
Understanding Character Traits: Part 2
Jason DiCarlo continues his third-grade reading workshop lesson on character traits with a mentor text. This is the second video in a three-part series.
Mentor Texts and Memoir Writing
Gretchen Schroeder finds one mentor text has many uses as her high school students explore memoir writing.
What I Learned About Teaching Writing from My Trainer
Jodi Mahoney applies principles from one process to another in comparing writing and working out with a trainer.
The Big Fresh December 5, 2015 Just-Right Tech
We consider useful tech resources for literacy in this week’s Big Fresh.
Jumping into Just-Right Apps
We spend a lot of time in elementary classrooms matching students to “just-right” books. Katrina Edwards uses similar principles to help her first-grade students pick just-right apps. The essay includes a downloadable chart of appropriate literacy apps for young learners.
Tech Anchor Charts
A daunting task for teachers is to help students learn to use new tech tools, as well as understand community standards for each one. Katherine Sokolowski finds tech anchor charts are a great way to provide ongoing support to students as they navigate new software and apps.
Student Writing, Filters, and Social Media
Ruth Ayres explains why filtering is one of the most important concepts writers need to understand in this social media age, and she shares a simple lesson and chart for teaching students how filtering works.
Understanding Character Traits Lesson
Jason DiCarlo leads a lesson in third grade on character traits. This is the first video in a three-part series.
The Big Fresh November 28, 2015 Giving and Receiving
We look at home/school connections in this week’s Big Fresh.
Alternatives to Home/School Reading Logs
There may be few literacy homework assignments more despised by families than the dreaded reading log. Gigi McAllister proposes some alternatives, and explains how she keeps families in the loop on reading progress.
Bringing Writers’ Voices Home with QR Codes
Bitsy Parks has her first-grade students record their writing as part of a regular workshop and assessment routine, and then uses QR codes to share the recordings with families and the larger community.
Making Home Connections While Conferring
Ruth Ayres meets with Zoey, a quiet writer who is drawn into the conversation through family stories and a mentor text with vivid illustrations.
Browse Content By
Type
Category
- Assessment Tools
- Big Fresh Archives
- Booklists
- Choice Numeracy
- Classroom Design
- Common Core
- Community Building
- Conferring
- Content Literacy
- Digital Literacy
- English Language Learners
- Equity
- Family Relations
- Free Samples
- Guiding Groups
- Leadership
- Literacy Coaches
- Mentor Texts
- Minilessons
- New Teacher Mentors
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Quote Collections
- Reading Strategies
- Self Care
- Struggling and Striving Learners
- Talking and Listening
- Teacher Study Groups
- Teaching Reading
- Teaching Writing
- Word Study and Vocabulary
Author
- Melissa Quimby
- Nawal Qarooni
- Gwen Blumberg
- Julie Cox
- The Lead Learners
- Hannah Tills
- Josie Stewart
- Ruth Metcalfe
- Mallory Messenger
- Becca Burk
- Jodie Bailey
- Vivian Chen
- Mary Brower
- Stephanie Affinito
- Ruth Ayres
- Leigh Anne Eck
- Heather Fisher
- Shari Frost
- Julie Johnson
- Suzy Kaback
- Gigi McAllister
- Shirl McPhillips
- Melanie Meehan
- Cathy Mere
- Debbie Miller
- Tara Barnett and Kate Mills
- Tammy Mulligan
- Dana Murphy
- Bitsy Parks
- David Pittman
- Brenda Power
- Heather Rader
- Matt Renwick
- Mandy Robek
- Christy Rush-Levine
- Gretchen Schroeder
- Jen Schwanke
- Brian Sepe
- Katherine Sokolowski
- Stella Villalba
- Jennifer Vincent
Grade Level
Choice Literacy Membership
Articles
Get full access to all Choice Literacy article content
Videos
Get full access to all Choice Literacy video content
Courses
Access Choice Literacy course curriculum and training
