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
Slow Thinkers
Gigi McAllister realizes she is a slow thinker, and this makes her reconsider some of her classroom practices to support children who need more time to respond.
Making Space: Entering Lessons Mindfully
Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris explain how to slow down and enter lessons more mindfully. This is the first installment in a three-part series on mindfulness in classrooms.
Dictation in Fourth Grade: Conferring with Donovan
Beth Lawson helps fourth grader Donovan focus his many ideas for writing through some dictation in a writing conference.
The Silent Period
Do you have English language learners in the silent period in your school? Stella Villalba has tips for teachers working with them.
The Big Fresh November 1, 2014 Short and Smart
We explore how to teaching using short nonfiction texts in this week’s Big Fresh.
Inform, Inspire, Instruct: Essays as Mentor Texts in High School
Kim Campbell shares her favorite nonfiction short texts to use with adolescents.
Shorter Research Projects: Rethinking Notetaking Strategies
Katherine Sokolowski is assigning shorter research projects in her fifth-grade classroom as a way to help students acquire notetaking skills and understand the boundaries of plagiarism.
Second-Grade Nonfiction Writing Share
Sean Moore leads his second graders in a whole-class discussion of nonfiction writing, including a partner share.
Infusing Informational Texts into Morning Meetings: Fact of the Day and Daily News Routines
Andrea Smith explains two routines, Daily News and Fact of the Day, which are key components of her morning meetings.
Visualizing Plot Points: The Roller Coaster Conference
Beth Lawson helps a child visualize a mystery story he is writing as a roller coaster with ups and downs, and twists and turns.
The Big Fresh October 25, 2014 Learning Spaces
Peer support is explored in this week’s Big Fresh.
The Weight of Stories
Some of our students lead such hard lives. Christy Rush-Levine explores how teachers can keep from being dragged into the undertow of the most difficult situations children face.
Whole Class Partner Share Session in First Grade
Katie DiCesare leads her first graders in a reading share session during a character traits unit.
Peer Evaluation of Student Writing
Megan Ginther found she was spending too much time responding to student writing, and just as important, taking on too much of the responsibility for improvement. She tackled the issue by developing a new program for peer evaluation of student writing.
Rethinking Technology: The Power of Student Experts
It’s impossible to master all the new technology resources available in classrooms, and fortunately we don’t have to. Katherine Sokolowski enlists peers as tech experts in her fifth-grade classroom.
The Big Fresh October 18, 2014 Grief Bacon
Conventions and spelling are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
Using Writing Notebooks Authentically with My Fifth-Grade Students
Katherine Sokolowski reflects on a key component of her writing workshop, and finds ways for using writing notebooks more authentically.
My Middle Schoolers Still Can’t Spell!: Focusing on Individual Students
Gretchen Taylor concludes her two-part series on spelling instruction in middle school. In this installment, Gretchen visits a colleague in the primary grades to get advice and practical insight.
Rethinking Grammar Instruction in High School
What conventions can be taught in a way that sticks with older adolescents? Gretchen Schroeder slows down and focuses to improve her instruction.
The Big Fresh October 11, 2014 What We Take Away
We consider homework and home/school connections in this week’s Big Fresh.
Conferring About the Author
Beth Lawson confers with a fourth grader about her “about the author” blurb, a great chance to learn more about students’ home passions.
Writing Homework
If your students are already comfortable with an unstructured requirement of 20-30 minutes of reading each night, you may find adding 10 minutes of writing at home works wonders in fostering writing skills. Katherine Sokolowski explains how the assignment works in her classroom.
The Power of Reading Habits
Gretchen Taylor’s overscheduled middle school students have almost no time for reading outside the classroom. She finds that some reflective inquiry helps them build reading habits at home.
Helping Parents Talk with Students
Helping parents learn to talk with their children about what’s going on in the classroom may be more valuable than any homework teachers assign. Max Brand shares some practical tips and prompts he gives to families to launch conversations at the dinner table or in the car.
The Big Fresh October 4, 2014 Duct Tape Magic
Word work in the early grades is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
Word Work Basics
Max Brand explains the basics of word work, including a list of reflective questions teachers can ask themselves and students.
My Middle Schoolers Can’t Spell!
Gretchen Taylor has a common teacher's lament about spelling, so she decides to do something about it. This is the first installment in a two-part series.
Student-Generated Blends Chart in First Grade
Katie DiCesare’s first graders add to a blends chart during reading transition time.
Introducing Onomatopoeia Minilesson
Christi Overman teaches her second graders about onomatopoeia in a brief minilesson.
The Big Fresh September 27, 2014 Walk and Talk
We consider close reading with teens and tweens in this week’s Big Fresh.
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