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Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Reading and Community in Kindergarten

Mandy Robek leads her kindergartners in a shared reading and performance of the classic tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The Big Fresh March 9, 2013 Without Cheating

Strengthening classroom communities is the topic of this week’s Big Fresh.

The Big Fresh March 2, 2013 Notes

Student notetaking is the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Make a Note

Why is Leslie Woodhouse so forgetful? It’s all part of a not-so-devious plot to teach her preschool students the power of creating and leaving notes throughout the classroom.

Introducing Annotation in Eighth Grade

Katie Baydo-Reed introduces the concept of annotating text to her eighth-grade students.

Shared Reading and Annotation in 6th Grade

Gretchen Taylor explains how she uses that old chestnut The Outsiders with her sixth graders for shared reading and to build skills in annotating text. The article includes a video example of a small group.

Sketching Trees in Winter

The seasons are like bulbs, fat and full underground. In their time, they edge up and unfold with meaning. Shirl McPhillips finds inspiration from the darkest days of winter in her latest poetry offering.

Inscribe It! (Home is Where the Books Are Series)

Some of the most treasured notes for many of us are the inscriptions in books that are gifts from others. Meghan Rose shares why inscribed books have lasting value for families.

The Big Fresh February 23, 2013 What’s Your Password?

We focus on word learning at all ages in this week’s Big Fresh.

Weaving Word Study into Writing Workshop in 5th Grade

Maria Caplin describes how she integrates word study with intermediate students in writing workshops.

Highlighting Language in a Writing Conference

Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Nora about her evocative language during writing workshop.

Integrating Vocabulary and Retelling Strategies into Read-Aloud

Stella Villalba scaffolds the language development of her first- and second-grade English language learners during read-aloud by highlighting vocabulary and providing a tool to assist with a partner retelling activity.

Vocabulary and iPhones: A Four-Step Process for Independent Student Word Learning

Bryce Bennett develops a four-step process to help high school students use their smartphones to master difficult vocabulary while reading.

The Big Fresh February 16, 2013 Small Things

Connecting movement, music, and literacy is the topic of this week’s Big Fresh.

Linking Movement, Minds, and Literacy in Kindergarten

Max Brand explains how movement activities in classrooms with young learners can be so much more than a brain break or “getting the wiggles out”: movement can forge potent connections between mind, body, and story. The essay includes two video examples.

Student-Selected Vocabulary in Middle School

Katie Doherty shares many ways to make vocabulary learning fun in middle school, beginning with students working together to select words to study each week.

The Big Fresh February 9, 2013 Add Ons

This week’s Big Fresh is all about conferring.

Curating the Classroom and School Library

As classroom budgets get tighter, teachers rely more and more on school libraries for books. Erin Ocon describes how she has changed the way she matches books and readers in her middle school classroom, depending more on school library resources and helping her middle school students navigate them.

Conferring to Build Stamina in First Grade

Katie DiCesare works with first grader JJ to help him meld decoding and comprehension skills.

Backing Up and the Bossy E

In this conference with second grader TJ from Sean Moore’s classroom, the strategies of backing up and rereading as well as attending to the “bossy e” are discussed.

From “Show Me the Lessons” to Sustainable Planning (Part 4 of the Opinion/Argument Writing Series)

This is the final installment in Heather Rader's series on argument and opinion writing in the intermediate grades.

Movement with First Graders

Katie DiCesare leads her first-grade students through movements and a song, and explains in the debrief why movement activities are valuable for young learners.

The Power of Read-Aloud Notebooks

Karen Terlecky shares the process of launching and sustaining read-aloud notebooks with fifth graders.

Peer Conferring: The Release Phase

Amanda Adrian concludes her series on peer conferring, analyzing the value of students working on their own after instruction and practice.

Looking for the Open Door

Midyear is a wonderful time for taking conferences to the next level, now that you know your students well and they trust you.  Beth Lawson gently challenges a young writer in her fourth-grade classroom to reach his full potential.

Fantasy Reading in Eighth Grade

Katie Baydo-Reed confers with an eighth-grade student who is reading The Hobbit.

Helping Richard Revise

Karen Terlecky coaxes Richard to cut extraneous material from his writing by highlighting the strengths of his writing first in this video from her fifth grade classroom.

The Big Fresh February 2, 2013 Big Lists

We explore graphic novels and comics in this week’s Big Fresh.

My Name Is Not Julie

Ellie Gilbert is deeply moved when her high school student connects to a text in a startling way. It’s one of those magic moments that keeps teachers coming back to classrooms, but is nearly impossible to share with others.

Comic Books and Mini Caped Crusaders for the Youngest Readers (Home is Where the Books Are Series)

Meghan Rose gives a mom’s perspective on comics for young children in this booklist. This is from our new series, Home is Where the Books Are, on literacy in the home from birth to age 5.

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