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Quick Sketch Practice

Linda Karamatic uses quick sketches to teach her second graders about sensory images in reading. This is the second installment in a two-part series.

Owning Our Teaching: A Podcast with Vicki Vinton

Vicki Vinton chats with Franki Sibberson about teacher agency, student independence, and the Common Core in this podcast.

The Big Fresh November 17, 2012 Purse Pass

We feature some excellent resources for web-based video to support the Common Core in this week’s Big Fresh.

Evaluating the Literacy Classroom

Jennifer Schwanke remembers the awkward and stressful experience of being evaluated as a young teacher. In her work now as a principal, she’s developed her own criteria for evaluating teachers.

Quick Sketch Sensory Images Read Aloud: Introduction

Linda Karamatic uses quick sketches to teach her second graders about sensory images in reading. This is the first installment in a two-part series.

Common Core Booklist: Writing Personal Narratives

Personal narratives are an important part of the Common Core in 4th grade. Franki Sibberson shares a booklist of some of her favorite mentor texts for teaching narratives in the intermediate grades.

Preschool: Learning in Many Languages

Melissa Kolb explains how she supports many languages in her preschool classroom through the thoughtful use of volunteers and other resources in this three-minute video.

Tracking Thinking While Reading

Melissa Styger confers with a fourth-grade student using a template to help students track thinking and comprehension.

The Big Fresh November 10, 2012 Whimsy

Fostering a more literate show and tell session is the topic of this week’s Big Fresh.

Teaching Revision Through Talk, Routines, and Drawing

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan have some practical advice for using drawing, talk, and routines as ways into understanding writing revision for learners in the primary grades.

Writer’s Launch

How do preschool teachers help their young students seem themselves as writers?  Leslie Woodhouse explains how she works with students early in the year, and provides many samples of starting points for three- and four-year-olds.

Informational Snapshot Writing

Heather Rader finds web video is a powerful tool for scaffolding young writers as they produce informational texts.

Staying Child-Centered When You Work with Adults

Andie Cunningham shares challenges and practical strategies for how literacy leaders can stay child-centered.

Nourishment: Making Time and Space for Little Joys

We can’t forget the importance of being kind to ourselves. Ruth Ayres explains how small pleasures add up to big delights.

Teacher Vulnerability

Julie Johnson writes about renewal and staying centered during tough teaching times.

Mixing Information and Narratives

In this conference from a second-grade classroom, Sean Moore helps Mia flesh out her writing on friendship with examples.

Peer Conferring: The Modeling Phase

Amanda Adrian provides a framework, sample model lesson, and peer conferring guide for students to use as they learn how to respond to their classmates.

The Big Fresh November 3, 2012 Giving Too Much

Resources for teaching opinion and argumentative writing are the focus of this week’s Big Fresh.

Conferring for Conventions (Conventions Series Part 5)

Heather Rader gives examples of convention conferences in this final installment of the conventions series.

The Big Fresh October 27, 2012 Consider It Done

This week’s Big Fresh has a wealth of practical suggestions for working with reluctant writers.

Creating Anchor Charts with Multiple Classes

It’s a dilemma many middle school teachers face. How do you construct anchor charts with multiple groups of students, when only one chart will be hung in the room?  Katherine Sokolowski explains how she ensures all classes have input and a “clean slate” in constructing charts.

Book Matchmaker: Read Aloud Versions of Old Favorites

Franki Sibberson presents some delightful versions of classic tales perfect for read alouds with youngsters.

Aligning the Common Core and Conventions Instruction (Conventions Series Part 4)

Heather Rader works with a team of intermediate teachers as they connect their plans for conventions instruction and the Common Core.

Reading as Reward

Principal Jennifer Schwanke finds herself on a mad dash to buy a baked potato for a struggling reader, and this is the moment that crystallizes for her everything that is wrong with most reading rewards (especially those involving food).

Formative Assessment: Wall Displays and Conversations in First Grade

Formative assessments are always a priority in classrooms. Cathy Mere explains how she uses a classroom wall display and conversations to highlight strong writing and help her first graders learn to assess improvements in their work.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall from the Tree: Nurturing Critical Thinking and Choice with Middle School Writers

Katie Baydo-Reed has to try, try, and try again to get high quality writing and thinking from her eighth graders, but the effort builds independence and reflection.

What Anchor Charts Are Essential?

Katherine Sokolowski considers what anchor charts are essential in her fifth-grade classroom, and where they work best for posting.

Ten Things Every Writer Needs to Know: A Podcast with Jeff Anderson

Jeff Anderson shares some insights from his latest book in this new podcast hosted by Franki Sibberson.

Conferring, Rereading, and Comprehension

Aimee Buckner confers with Brendan, who is rereading Hoot and needs some strategies for holding his thinking.

Make a Really BIG List

Big lists can be intimidating, especially when our to-do lists are long and never quite finished. Ruth Ayres explains the power of big lists in other contexts, especially writing, and how they might actually provide comfort and security when tackling big projects and ideas.

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