Articles
Here is where you’ll find all the latest print features from our contributors. If you’d like to browse specifically by grade level, topic, or contributor, you can use the links in the right sidebar.
Latest Content
Letting Go After Holding on Tight: Reflecting on the Last Days of School
Andrea Smith writes about how our instincts as parents and teachers merge to make it so hard to say goodbye at the end of the school year.
Kelly Gallagher on Readicide (PODCAST)
High school teacher and best-selling author Kelly Gallagher talks about "readicide" – what teachers and schools do to systematically kill a love of reading in students.
Acquiring Knowledge Two or Three Strategies at a Time
Amanda Adrian knows that a teachers learning new skills need accurate and timely identification of what's next as support.
Organizing a Classroom Nonfiction Library with Students
Organizing nonfiction so that kids will gobble it up is an art. Andrea Smith knows how important it is to include students in this process.
Getting Started With Twitter
Intrigue, frustration, instruction at the point of need…Franki Sibberson cycles through many common learning stages as she builds Twitter into her daily routine.
A Poetry Cafe Celebration
Stella Villalba explains how her poetry cafe program brings families together for a festive event, and helps English language learners develop reading and fluency skills at the same time. This is the first installment in a two-part series.
Born Wonders: Tapping Student Interest in Animals, Babies, and Books
Cute Alert – what’s more adorable than babies or animals? Perhaps baby animals! Andrea Smith shares an addictive web resource that will instantly hook students of any age. It’s zoo postings of newborn animals from around the world, with many literacy connections.
Spring Reading Interviews (TEMPLATE)
Kindergartners may be too young for reading interviews early in the fall, but Mandy Robek finds spring reading interviews are an excellent bridge to families and summer reading suggestions.
Ubiquitous Venns, Watch Fors, and Leverage Points: Coaching for Depth
Heather Rader examines the use of Venn diagrams as a catalyst for thinking about how to coach for more depth in classrooms.
Mentor Texts to Help Students Monitor Their Actions
Mandy Robek has a delightful list of books that help students reflect upon and monitor their behavior in the classroom.
Knowing Students Beyond Test Data with Kathy Collins (PODCAST)
Yes, test data can tell us about students. And yes, there is much, much more. Kathy Collins emphasizes pulling back and getting a wider angle on students in this podcast.
No More Excuses: Reading Workshops in Nontraditional Middle and High School Settings
Think you don’t have enough time for reader’s workshop in your classroom? Worried that you don’t have enough books to go around? Feel like you just don’t have the space for it? What if you had students, but no classroom, no books, and no set class times? Ellie Gilbert faced down all these challenges in her nontraditional high school reading workshop.
An ESL Poetry Cafe Celebration (Part II)
Stella Villalba explains how her Poetry Cafe program brings families together for a festive event, and helps English language learners develop reading and fluency skills at the same time. This is the second installment in a two-part series.
Walk Arounds: Gathering Data to Test Assumptions
Do you have a tattler in your midst? Not a child, but a teacher complaining about the work habits of a colleague? Jennifer Jones explains her proactive use of walk-arounds to gather data and confront misconceptions.
Closing Out the Year Round-Up (PART 1)
Here are some fresh and fun ideas for Closing Out the School Year from Choice Literacy Contributors Aimee Buckner, Trish Prentice, Karen Terlecky, and Stella Villalba.
What Matters Most: A Conversation with Samantha Bennett (PODCAST)
Samantha Bennett is the author of That Workshop Book: New Systems and Structures for Classrooms That Read, Write, and Think
It May Be a Mess, But It’s Our Mess: Creating a Student-Organized Classroom Library
Jennifer McDonough explains why it’s important for her to share the sorting, categorizing, and labeling of texts with her students early in the year while organizing the classroom library.
Books with Overlooked Potential for Launching the School Year (and Ideas for Using Them with Students)
You know those books that cause us to say, “Aww…I love that book.” Well, the team at Literacyhead has us thinking about using old favorites in new ways.
The Power of Linking Words and Perceptions
Melanie Quinn relays a powerful practice for staff members to reframe language and perceptions while putting common labels for students in a whole new light.
Strawberries, Fun, and Student Blogging
Andrea Smith evaluates the success of her new student blogging program.
Sharon Taberski on Book Choice (PODCAST)
Sharon Taberski talks about the teacher’s role in helping students make smart and thoughtful book choices.
Coaching Reluctant Writers
Heather Rader describes how to use "wows and wonders" to reach students who say they hate to write.
From Hearing to Listening
Jennifer Jones finds there is a world of difference between hearing and genuinely listening to the teachers who come to her for support. She shares some simple questions she uses at the start of professional conversations to ensure she is providing the right kind of response.
Using Animated Short Films to Teach Inference
Here’s a problem many teachers share – students are far too literal when it comes to inferring while reading. Ellie Gilbert finds animated short films readily available on the web are a terrific tool for helping students move beyond literal interpretations of text.
Virtual Book Clubs for Teachers
It’s virtually possible to get together around a book without getting together at all. Shari Frost shows us how.
Books for Launching the School Year (and Ideas for Using Them with Students)
We all want students starting school with intention, confidence, community and more. These books from the team at Literacyhead can help.
Aimee Buckner on Nonfiction in Student Notebooks (PODCAST)
Aimee Buckner always has notebooks on her mind and we’re glad because she’s upping the nonfiction and modifying for specific learners’ needs. She’ll tell you more in this podcast.
Rethinking Mentor Texts
Shari Frost writes about the ways our perfectly organized bins may limit the teaching possibilities for many books. She takes readers step by step through her process of determining ways to use a sample mentor text to teach a multitude of lessons and strategies.
A Bad Case of the Never-Ending Januaries
With a tough winter and tougher budget prospects, many schools will be dealing with the Januaries straight through March. Our contributors have suggestions for dealing with stress, fatigue, and depression to help renew and re-energize your work.
Prewriting is a Party!
Sometimes the most important work for writers takes place before any actual drafting. Heather Rader shows how a simple metaphor can help students understand the importance of planning and organizing drafts.
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