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
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.
The Big Fresh November 21, 2015 Moo
We look at stamina and student engagement in this week’s Big Fresh.
Stamina Bubbles
“Why do you always say ‘Happy reading!’ to us?” This question from a first grader leads Katrina Edwards to develop visual support tools for building stamina during reading workshops.
Engaging a Room Full of Third Graders
Melanie Meehan works with a third-grade teacher to rouse interest from a class of compliant students who lack engagement.
Ways into Personal Narratives
Katherine Sokolowski describes some Ways into Personal Narratives that use visual tools to build the home/school connection and stronger prewriting skills.
Invitations for Narrative Writing
Kim Campbell suggests activities and prompts to energize narrative writing with teens.
Conferring with Jeri in Kindergarten
Mandy Robek demonstrates the strategies of teach, prompt, and reinforce when conferring with kindergartner Jeri.
The Big Fresh November 14, 2015 Baseball and Background Knowledge
Visual literacy is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
The Big Fresh November 7, 2015 Little Notebooks
We consider ways to energize writing workshops in this week’s Big Fresh.
The Big Fresh October 31, 2015 Details
We look at refreshing and reconsidering routines in this week’s Big Fresh.
The Morning Story
Shari Frost encourages teachers to reconsider “the morning story” routine, a rote copying activity still prevalent in many primary classrooms. Shari offers some fun and practical alternatives.
Reorganizing the Classroom Library
Gigi McAllister reorganizes her classroom library checkout system, and finds that a little upfront investment in time pays big dividends all year long.
A Thesis Statement: Conferring with Connor
Ruth Ayres confers with sixth grader Connor about constructing a thesis statement.
Back to Basics: Choice
Ruth Ayres explores the boundaries of student options in writing workshops.
Moving Beyond Bed-to-Bed Stories in First Grade
Katrina Edwards moves her first graders from writing "bed-to-bed" stories early in the year with a mentor text and writing activity that promotes self-discipline and a growth mindset.
Resources for Quick-Writes
Katherine Sokolowski shares some of her favorite resources to jumpstart student interest in writing.
Using Webcomics in Classrooms
Katherine Sokolowski explains why she uses webcomics in her literacy workshops, and shares an extensive list of her favorite online sources.
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