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.
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Easing into Assessments During the First Six Weeks of School
Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak have suggestions for integrating observations and assessments of students naturally into reader's workshops during the first six weeks of school.
“I Used to . . . Now I”
Looking for a thoughtful and feel-good icebreaker for a staff meeting or study group? Ruth Shagoury uses the “I Used to…Now I” prompt to get colleagues thinking and talking about changes in their literacy instruction over the years, as well as where they might go next in their teaching.
Books that Invite Student Participation
Franki Sibberson has suggestions for read-alouds that encourage kids to participate.
Characters We Love (BOOKLIST)
Nothing hooks kids on books more than a favorite character. Franki Sibberson presents some series books with intriguing characters that will delight your students.
Multicultural Books for Beginning Readers
“Why isn’t there an African American Henry and Mudge?” asks a teacher. This question leads Shari Frost on a quest to find the best early readers for multicultural students. In this booklist, she highlights her top picks.
Music for Literacy Leaders
Reflective? Rollicking? If you’re trying to set a tone for anything from an assessment team meeting to a one-minute transition in a second-grade classroom, our Music for Literacy Leaders playlist has just the right song for you.
Starting the School Year: A Checklist for Literacy Coaches
With all the checklists for launching the school year available for teachers, isn't it about time someone developed one for literacy coaches? Jan Miller Burkins has done just that – her Launching the Year Checklist is concise, and tackles everything from reformatting computer files to touching base with each teacher.
Letting Students Define and Design My 6th Grade Classroom Library
Katie Doherty's 6th graders take charge of the classroom library, with an activity designed to build an understanding of genre at the same time.
Making Time for Nonfiction Read Alouds
Franki Sibberson considers the issue of selecting nonfiction books for read-aloud time, and in doing so creates one of her popular booklists.
Literary Nonfiction: Models for Writing
Literary nonfiction is emerging as a popular genre. In this booklist, Franki Sibberson shares mentor texts for writing literary nonfiction.
Whatever Happened to Mrs. Wishy Washy?
Shari Frost notices a neglected tub of big books, and goes on the hunt for shared reading practices among teachers and literacy coaches.
Middle School Readers at Mid-Year (SURVEY TEMPLATE)
Katie Doherty finds surveys of student reading habits and preferences are really useful in the winter, after she knows her students and they’ve settled into a routine.
Learning with Intensity: A Study Group Discussion Prompt
"Learning with Intensity" is a study group activity which takes participants back to a time when they became passionately involved with learning. Ruth Shagoury shares the structure of the activity and insights from one group who gave it a test drive.
Creating Structures to Sustain Our Work
Jennifer Allen explains how she enlisted teachers to lead a day-long inservice.
Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two
Shirl McPhillips’ poem “Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two” is designed for paired reading. Shirl also gives advice for celebrating poetry as an oral art in classrooms.
Messengers
This is a lovely poem with a message about how poetry can move us, and why it is essential in classrooms.
Collecting Literacy Stories Icebreaker (PRINT DOWNLOAD)
If you want a terrific activity to nudge colleagues to share more of their successes and failures, you might want to download Cindy Hatt’s question templates and explanation of the collecting stories activity. It’s also a fun strategy for building listening skills and community among teachers and coaches
Assessing Spelling in Writing Workshop Part 2: Noticing Patterns in Individuals, Small Groups and the Whole Group
Katie DiCesare took on the challenge of developing a one-page assessment tool to analyze the spelling needs and abilities of each of her 1st graders. In the second of her three-part series, Katie shows how she translates the findings from individual students into instructional plans.
Reflecting on the First Six Weeks of Word Study
Franki Sibberson explains how she rethought word study during the first six weeks of school, giving manypractical examples of activities and routines with her intermediate students.
Meeting Areas (Design Photo Essay Series)
Design tips from “The Sisters” (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) for beautiful and functional meeting areas.
Teaching Themes Through Keywords
Aimee Buckner presents a simple strategy for helping students look for themes as they read a new text.
Strong Girls (BOOKLIST)
If Nancy Drew was an important literary role model for you when you were a preteen, you might enjoy a peek at the sassy new gals who are influencing our tweens.
Short Units, Big Messages
Those "in-between" writers in grades 3 and 4 present special challenges to teachers. Some are fluent and versatile, writing page after page of drafts. Other students struggle to craft even a sentence. Franki Sibberson explains how short texts and brief genre units can help intermediate writers with a wide range of abilities.
Root Metaphors for Teaching: Learning from Our Passions
Ruth Shagoury finds her passion for bread baking leads to rethinking how she differentiates instruction for students. Her colleagues then come up with their own metaphors in the study group activity.
Tight Spaces Part I: Maximizing Room for Literacy Learning (PHOTO ESSAY)
The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) have some ingenious tips for freeing up traffic paths and clustering literacy work areas.
Wall Displays (PHOTO ESSAY)
The Sisters (Joan Moser and Gail Boushey) contribute a photo essay on design tips for wall displays.
Forming Teams to Help Struggling Readers:A Pilot Project (TEMPLATES)
Andrea Smith shares observation strategies used within a teaching team. The article includes templates developed by the group.
The Rolling Pin: Looking into Things
Celebrating simple, ordinary things – it’s what poetry and learning are all about.
I Believe . . . Some Thoughts on Marathons and Sustained Professional Development in Schools
Jennifer Allen runs her first marathon, and finds the good, bad, ugly, and ultimately inspiring experience is a great metaphor for professional development design that endures.
Connecting Language and Hope: A Study Group Activity
The teaching profession needs an abundance of hope. In this creative study group activity, Andie Cunningham helps young teachers connect language and hope through art.
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