Latest Content
Making Memories Stick: Tutoring Kirk

Max Brand tutors a struggling fourth grader who produces very little writing.

Infographics and the Common Core: Resources and Standards

Andrea Smith explains why infographics are more useful than ever in the age of the Common Core, and provides many links to free infographic resources on the web.

Teaching Search Skill Basics to Students

Bill Bass has advice for teaching web-based search skills to students.

The Power of Written Blind Word Sorts

Max Brand uses written blind word sorts to build student word learning skills.

Classroom Displays for Nonfiction Learning

Andrea Smith shares some of her favorite nonfiction classroom displays.

Blurring Genres and Real-Life Readers

The line between fiction and nonfiction can be fuzzy, but Tony Keefer finds what matters most is finding texts that captivate readers.

Picture Books or Beginning Readers?

Many beloved characters from picture books are showing up in beginning readers, and in the process can lose a lot of their appeal. Shari Frost provides teachers with criteria for choosing between picture books or beginning readers.

Explore: Time for Nonfiction

Andrea Smith uses Explore Time with her fourth graders to build interest in nonfiction.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Message

Julie Johnson has advice on classroom uses of tech resources.

Shallow Books? Learning from a Reading Celebration

Franki Sibberson discovers we allow students to assess what reading matters most to them, we can learn a remarkable amount.

Learning to Observe: Inviting a Parent to a Tutoring Session

Max Brand brings a mother into the assessment process and teaches her what to observe as her child reads.

Infusing Informational Texts into Morning Meetings: Fact of the Day and Daily News Routines

Andrea Smith explains two routines, Daily News and Fact of the Day, which are key components of her morning meetings.

Word Work Basics

Max Brand explains the basics of word work, including a list of reflective questions teachers can ask themselves and students.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Conferring About Illustrations

Ruth Ayres encourages a young writer to emulate a favorite illustrator.

Reader Response in the Digital Age

Franki Sibberson has suggestions for moving to more digital response options with students.

Digital Boards for Formative Assessment

Katharine Hale has moved much of her reading response to digital boards, which are also a useful tool for formative assessment.
 

Community Board: Invitations to Independence

Students transition between home and school with the Community Board in Andrea Smith’s classroom. It’s a lively bulletin board that is updated and discussed daily in her fourth-grade classroom.

Independence in Writing Workshop

Beth Lawson uses an LCD, whiteboard, and magnetic clips in a clever way during the transition from minilessons to independent writing in writing workshop. Students tag whether they will be working on drafts or conferring with peers as Beth completes her status of the class on the board.

A Classroom for Elementary English Language Learners

Stella Villalba gives a tour of her classroom library and publishing corner designed to support the grades 1-5 English language learners she works with daily.

Helping Allison Redesign Her Classroom Nonfiction Library

Andrea Smith shares her best advice for library design that celebrates nonfiction as much as fiction.

A Strong Foundation: Books and Media for Launching Literacy Workshops

Help students transition back to school with minilessons that give children a strong sense of the purpose of literacy workshops.

Effective Organization

 Ruth Ayres has tips for organizing desks, tables, chairs, and materials to support literacy learning.

“I Used To, and Now I”: An Early Year Minilesson

Franki Sibberson finds an “I Used to and Now I” format helps her third-grade students understand how technology is changing reading habits.

Launching a Sort

Launching a sort with primary students early in the year begins not with words, but with leaves for Max Brand.

Using Summer Reading as Bookends for the School Year

Karen Terlecky has advice for using summer reading for launching and closing the school year to build community and enduring connections with students.

The Rapid Reader: Tutoring Esther

Max works with Esther, a third grader who takes pride in being a rapid reader and rarely pauses to make sense of the text.

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