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
Illustrations in Kindergarten: Conferring with Dalton
Ruth Ayres confers with kindergartner Dalton early in the year, focusing on his illustrations to build storytelling skills.
Finding a Writing Buddy
Beth Lawson helps her fourth graders sort through what makes peer collaboration work during writing buddy time.
Partner Reading Conference in First Grade
Katie DiCesare confers with Jack and Praneel about their partner reading.
Learning from Kidwatching
Quiet kindergartners can be a challenge to understand when they are in the beginning stages of learning social and academic norms. Andie Cunningham uses observation to make sense of five-year-old Sierra’s learning.
The Big Fresh October 26, 2013 PD Overload
We consider gender issues in reading and writing in this week’s Big Fresh.
Strong Girls Book Group
Franki Sibberson shares a range of books that include compelling female characters with a group of fourth-grade girls.
Choice, Content, and Format: Understanding How Boys Write
Katherine Sokolowski is dismayed when many of the boys in her fifth-grade class admit they don’t like to write. She explains how she changed her writing program to meet their needs.
She Wants to Be Katniss for Halloween: Courageous Girls in Books
Shari Frost celebrates a tomboy who finally finds a female character she wants to emulate with a booklist highlighting courageous girls.
Pumpkin Time: Provocations and Stories with Preschoolers
Kelly Petrin reinvents a pumpkin decorating project with her preschoolers to help them build storytelling skills.
The Big Fresh October 19, 2013 Tending the Garden
Flexible grouping is the focus of this week's Big Fresh.
Exploring Explanatory Moves Writers Use
Jeff Anderson explores the difference between informational and explanatory writing, and what that might mean for teaching craft moves to students.
Research Book Clubs for Struggling Readers
Beth Lawson finds that a nonfiction research book club is just the grouping structure needed for a group of struggling readers in her fourth-grade classroom.
Group Conference in First Grade
Katie DiCesare meets with first graders Anna and Brendan to help them learn from each other and prepare to share their rereading strategies with the whole class.
The Big Fresh October 12, 2013 Winning Deal
Communicating with families is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.
Your Opinion Matters—Really
Gretchen Schroeder guides us in getting feedback from students, as well as sharing with students the way their feedback matters to us. In a world where we are constantly asked to fill out feedback forms, it’s good to know when our opinions matter.
Mentor Texts for “Versus” Stories
Shark vs. Train! Fork vs. Spoon! Versus stories are incredibly popular in writing workshops these days. Cathy Mere found herself struggling to teach narrative conventions to students writing versus tales, so she created a booklist of mentor texts.
On the Same Team: Better Parent-Teacher Conferences
Katherine Sokolowski has tips for improving parent conferences by using technology for flexible scheduling and easy follow-up.
Holding Thinking Minilesson with Second Graders
Deb Gaby uses an analogy of animal tracks to introduce the concept of "holding thinking" in reading journals to second graders.
Building Stamina and Book Choice Skills
Franki Sibberson continues a discussion with a small group of students who often abandon books. This is the second installment in a two-part video series.
The Art of the Book Talk
If you want to match students to books, you’ll need to master the art of the book talk. Katherine Sokolowski has practical tips for honing your skills.
The Big Fresh October 5, 2013 No Boundaries
We consider “just-right” books in this week’s Big Fresh.
The Big Fresh September 28, 2013 Teaching the Genes
Logs and notebooks are the focus of this week's Big Fresh.
Creating Your Own Kindergarten Assessment
Max Brand finds standard assessments don’t always give him the information he needs when working with kindergarten English language learners, so he develops his own tool for analyzing book handling skills.
Teaching the Genes
Suzy Kaback rethinks the concept of "managed choice" in writing workshops.
Why Write?
Ruth Ayres answers the question of why writing matters for busy teachers who struggle to find time for their own writing notebooks.
Abandoning Books Discussion
Franki Sibberson works with a small group of fourth graders who often abandon books.
October Literacy Contracts: Fear and Conflict
Megan Ginther and Holly Mueller continue their monthly series on using literacy contracts in middle school. The October literacy contracts have a theme of fear and conflict.
The Big Fresh September 21, 2013 Say Yes
Student research in the age of the Common Core is the topic of this week’s Big Fresh.
Whole-Class Research Planning
Andrea Smith leads her fourth graders through brainstorming for their owl research project.
“We Gather Together”: On Research and Weddings
Ruth Ayres and her colleagues use a marriage analogy to help middle school students and their families understand the research process. The article includes a nifty example of a pamphlet to share with parents.
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