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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.

Close Reading and Multiple Layers in Middle School

Christy Rush-Levine uses striking texts that inspire multiple readings by her middle school students.

“Lift a Line” Boys Reading Group

Franki Sibberson gives a group of boys a “lift a line” assignment to build their close reading skills.

Spreading Out the Fun

Why save all the most enjoyable literacy activities for May or June? Gigi McAllister spreads out the fun all year long with literacy events and activities to break up routines.

Using Close Reading to Analyze Propaganda

Propaganda, word clouds, and close reading engage students in Holly Mueller’s sixth-grade class.

The Big Fresh September 20, 2014 Chinese Food

What’s appropriate for students to read is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

What Kenny Taught Me

Jennifer Schwanke has a student who just won’t sit still and behave appropriately in her middle school classroom. She finally gives up. That’s where the learning begins.

Can Books Harm Children? Support and Censorship

Shari Frost asks a provocative question: Can books harm children? She explores practical ways for teachers to walk the fine line between support and censorship in matching books to students.

First-Grade Humor: Conferring with Jude

Katie DiCesare confers with first grader Jude. He is inspired to use humor in his writing by Captain Underpants.

Top 10 Intermediate Books for Boys

Katherine Sokolowski finds many of the boys in her classroom love to read about violence, weapons, and crude humor. She challenges teachers to appreciate boys’ interests and set some of our own criticism aside.

The Big Fresh September 13, 2014 Extra or Unexpected?

We look at how to find writing topics in this week’s Big Fresh.

Getting Traction When There Is Nothing to Write About

Mary Lee Hahn finds herself stuck with nothing to write about at a writing retreat. She explores tools and strategies to get unstuck, and finds they are the same ones that work with writers of any age in classrooms.

Personal Narratives and Memoir: Conferring with Bode

Ruth Ayres confers with Bode about the difference between personal narratives and memoirs, and the value of mining the writing journal for topics.

Rethinking Writing Notebooks

What makes writing notebooks authentic? Katherine Sokolowski ponders the question.

Teacher as Mentor Writer

Tony Keefer takes the leap and commits to sharing more of his writing process with students.

The Big Fresh September 6, 2014 Clark Walking

Reading logs are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Jumping Off the Buzz Wagon: The Value of Reading Logs

Are you ready to ditch your reading logs? Not so fast. Franki Sibberson explains why she still uses them in her third-grade classroom.

Reader Response: Keeping It Real

Cathy Mere finds many authentic ways for her first graders to share reading insights.

Fluency and Comprehension Conference

Aimee Buckner confers with fourth grader Amanda about her reading comprehension and fluency, encouraging her to use a sticky note to track thinking around a focus question.

Reading Passports

Justin Stygles develops reading passports as an alternative to traditional reading logs with his fifth- and sixth-grade students.

The Big Fresh August 30, 2014 The Other Space

Classroom libraries are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Inviting Book Tub Titles: Nonfiction Library Redesign

Andrea Smith discovers the value of more creative nonfiction book tub titles after listening to ideas from her students.

Books for Studying Illustration with First Graders

Katie DiCesare has suggestions for books to support an illustration unit early in the year.

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