3rd
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Curating a Nonfiction Classroom Library
Franki Sibberson writes about how her thinking about nonfiction is changing her classroom library in this first installment of a four-part series.
Powerful Conferences
Ruth Ayres explains how deciding the purpose of conferring in advance can lead to more powerful conferences.
Two Lessons for Teaching Theme
Franki Sibberson writes about how she chooses books for theme instruction and shares two lessons.
Finding a Writing Buddy
Beth Lawson helps her fourth graders sort through what makes peer collaboration work during writing buddy time.
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.
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.
Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet
Julie Johnson provides helpful tips and a letter for parents to help keep students safe on the Internet.
Using Pinterest for Professional Development
Franki Sibberson finds Pinterest is a useful tool for professional development.
Using Technology to Connect Young Readers and Writers
Julie Johnson reflects on how technology is changing her own reading community, and builds on this knowledge to connect readers and writers in her classroom with others through the Internet.
Rethinking the Assessment Binder
Franki Sibberson’s dilemma? How to file every evaluation so it is organized and accessible (since she never knows when someone might ask for it), while still finding a way to keep the assessments she needs every day at her fingertips.
Daily Routines: Finding Time for What Matters
Ann Marie Corgill provides some guiding questions to help teachers figure out priorities in their schedules for daily routines.
Whole Group Writing Share
Franki Sibberson’s fourth graders use the whole-class writing share time to discuss writing series they are working on (including blog interviews and book reviews), with an eye toward collaborating with classmates.
Grateful Journals
Beth Lawson began her own gratitude journal as a troubled teen, and finds that the daily routine of Grateful Journals is a powerful tool for reflection and building community in the intermediate grades.
Literacy in the Music Room: A Sequence of Lessons
Jennifer Schwanke describes the work of a music teacher who integrates literacy learning into her curriculum.
Conferring with Pierce
Franki Sibberson demonstrates how much ground can be covered in a three-minute conference with a student. She helps fourth grader Pierce think through the audience for his writing, how to add visuals to blog posts, and enlists him to teach others new skills as he acquires them.
Death in Books: Finding Our Way After Loss
Books can help children deal with the toughest challenges in life. In a new booklist, Andie Cunningham shares her top picks for stories about characters grappling with the death of a loved one.
Grouping Struggling Students for Word Study: A Case Study
Shari Frost considers the “go-to” instructional strategy for struggling readers, word study, and explores how to make it work well in a case study of a third-grade group.
Subheading Literacy: Nothing “Sub” About It
Heather Rader discovers subheadings are a neglected but useful tool for teaching students about key topics in their writing.
The Lunch Lady and Gender in Reading
Franki Sibberson has her students read a blog post about books written for boys and girls, which begins a fascinating discussion with the class about gender in reading choices.
Keeping Track of Questions
Andie Cunningham observes a third-grade teacher as she systematically improves the quality and depth of student questioning over time.
Shared Reading in the Intermediate Grades
Shari Frost explains why shared reading is valuable for older students, with examples of the practice in the intermediate grades.
Understanding the Middle East Through Children’s Literature (BOOKLIST)
Sheiks, harems, and terrorists — the stereotypes of the middle east from popular culture may not be realistic, but they sure are pervasive. Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham find authentic alternative views to present to children in their new booklist.
Research IS the Project (Primary Research Series)
Heather Rader blurs the line between research and presentation in the final installment of the primary research series.
Embracing the Growth Mindset with Audiobooks
Jennifer Vincent explains how recorded texts were a potent tool for reaching a struggling fourth-grade reader.
KLWL: Ordering Research (Primary Research Series Part 3)
Heather Rader looks at the importance of frontloading information for young learners in the third installment of the primary research series.
March Book Madness
Basketball’s March Madness has many possibilities in schools. Tony Keefer tries a similar format with brackets and voting for March Book Madness.
The “Tys” of Student Research: Safety and Credibility (Primary Research Series Part 2)
Heather Rader shares the second installment in our primary research series.
Beyond Text Features in Nonfiction Instruction
Franki Sibberson considers how the demands of the Common Core and the complex mix of online and offline nonfiction texts are changing the skills she teaches students.
Putting the Search Back in Research
Heather Rader launches a new four-part series on teaching research skills in the primary grades. This first installment highlights search techniques for children.
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