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.
Popular children's book author James Preller talks about his series Jigsaw Jones and being an advocate for kids.
It takes a kid at heart to share what young boy readers would take to heart, and Tony Keefer is just the guy for the job. Tony loves whonunits, blood ‘n’ guts, and cliffhangers, and he shares that passion with his tween students in this fiction booklist for boys.
With summaries as an example, Heather Rader uses trends from learners to help make smart instructional decisions about what is presented during whole group, small group and individual time.
Heather Rader gets three nasty emails, and thinks through how to hold on to an attitude of gratitude when dealing with colleagues who are short-tempered or demanding.
 Mary Lee Hahn finds Poetry Fridays are about so much more than poetry, or even a pleasant end to the week. She shares how this activity is a wonderful way to bring together colleagues and students.
Shirley McPhillips draws parallels between a tentative, battered robin in the snow and the fragility of teachers in the spring.
Heather Rader has advice for literacy coaches looking for honest appraisals of their work from colleagues.
Is there a dialogue doctor in the house? If your students’ writing is filled with dull exchanges, you’ll enjoy these lesson suggestions from Heather Rader.
Pat Johnson and Katie Keier share their thoughts on how a comprehensive literacy approach best meets the needs of all learners, especially those students who struggle.
Kathy Cassidy has the tips and tools of the trade for increasing technology in developmentally appropriate way for little ones.
Katie Doherty knows how to pick the right text to move from whole-class conversations to writing.
What does true independence look like among young readers and writers? A chance comment from a visitor to Aimee Buckner's classroom gets her pondering the amount of choice children have during units of study.
Heather Rader writes about "agency" – the challenge of letting students and teachers take charge of their learning. In concrete examples from a third-grade classroom and a professional development scoring session with teachers, Heather shares the subtleties of learning to trust, wait, and celebrate when learners of any age are responsible and independent.
Shari Frost shares literacy activity suggestions and a booklist of her favorite poetry anthologies.
How can teachers promote good independent reading choices for English language learners? Stella Villalba has suggestions.
Andrea Smith watches her young daughter capture fireflies in the twilight of a summer night. The evening reminds her of what’s changed in connecting literacy and life experiences, and what endures for teachers and kids.
When educators have literacy-rich environments at home, it is important to consider students' daily access to reading materials. Ellie Gilbert uses motive, means and opportunity to think about our literacy landscapes.
For teacher leaders who are called upon to do demonstration lessons, here is a “must-have” list of short, potent books.
Coaching cycles look different depending on teachers' needs. Via email and phone, Heather Rader has professional conversations with a teacher as he plans and designs a lesson for observation.
Finding high interest books for English language learners in the upper elementary grades can be a challenge. Franki Sibberson shares some of her favorites.
Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan work with a kindergarten teacher to integrate literacy skill development into this favorite routine of young children.
In this podcast, Sharon Taberski chats with Franki Sibberson about comprehension instruction across the grades.
Are your students stuck on writing poems that rhyme? Franki Sibberson shares some of her favorite mentor texts for lifting the quality of student poems.
Here are some suggestions from Choice Literacy Contributors of the best ways to close out the year, with everything from personal organizing tips to family events.
If you’ve ever experienced that disequilibrium of feeling completely organized in your professional life, and hopelessly scattered during your personal time, you’ll enjoy Melanie Quinn’s reflective essay.
Heather Rader wants to transition to more of a guide-on-the-side role as she coaches colleagues. Here are some simple strategies she uses to move offstage during collaborative scoring workshops.
Shari Frost has a gift for helping us think about purpose and this article is no exception as she turns her attention to the benefits of intentional anchor charts.
Wonderopolis hits the sweet spot so many of us are looking for in web resources for students, delivering free, engaging, high-quality nonfiction text and video in small chunks that can easily be integrated into literacy and science workshops. Andrea Smith explains how she uses Wonderopolis daily with her students.
Patrick Allen talks about the value of conferring, and what he does to build his conferring skills.
Audrey Alexander takes a close look at a couple of the students in her self-contained resource room, and finds the observations renew her flagging energy.
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