Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.
―Ralph Waldo Emerson
Watch as Readers Reach New Understandings
I am in awe of this week’s collection of articles. First, the craft is incredible. We get dropped into classrooms from different grades and parts of the country to experience an invitation to elevate readers’ thinking. We get to watch stories unfold as readers reach new understandings.
Dana Murphy shows us how to explicitly teach students to self-monitor. She models the way she pays attention to her own reading and then sketches a stick figure on the edge of an anchor chart that she returns to in upcoming days to make the learning stick. It’s gritty and genuine instruction straight to the point of need.
Melissa Quimby wrestles with discovering structures that will help elevate conversations so students will have a deeper understanding of the text. She highlights conversations and notes from students as they try out three different structures for conversations. Melissa encourages us to listen to students and support them in taking the next steps to more meaningful understandings of theme.
Gretchen Schroeder shares her commitment to including anti-bias education in our curriculum. She sees the study of the book Of Mice and Men as a perfect opportunity to engage students in a discussion of power and privilege. No matter your grade level, you’ll be able to follow Gretchen’s lead by printing character images and asking students to create a power continuum. You can see what her students created in her article.
I’m struck by the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote at the top of this week’s newsletter. Don’t make the mistake of walking through the meadows of these articles and missing the flowers. It’s not by chance that the students we meet are elevating their thinking. There are practical tools and moves we can use to help students discover new ideas because they linger in text and conversations.
This week, slow down and see the flowers that are just waiting to be discovered in your corner of the world.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Jodie Bailey provides a structure to give students more time to think through ideas and problems. By using this practice, students gain ownership for their learning. This is a Choice Numeracy article.
Jen Vincent scaffolds conversations to help students discuss their independent reading books in small groups…even when everyone is reading a different book! Download and print a copy of the guide to support students in their small-group conversations.
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills find that struggling readers in the early grades benefit from scaffolds and repeated practice in small groups. They share some of their favorite tools, including key ring prompts and anchor charts.
If you are an instructional coach, you don’t want to miss the Coach-to-Coach network that meets once a month for a cams-on, high-energy, good vibes dose of positivity and practicality. Join FREE by registering on our sister site, The Lead Learners. The next meeting is Tuesday, May 21, from noon to 12:35 p.m. (EDT).
Do you wish you had more time to share new books with your students? We know you don’t need fluff or pretty activities. Instead we get to the heart of what you need to thoughtfully share new books in your classroom.
NEW! Our book guides are created and vetted by in-the-field educators. They hold true to the tenets of giving students choice and voice in their reading lives, while empowering a teacher to expand the representation of books shared with students. Click here to see all of our new book guides.
How To, written and illustrated by Julie Morstad, is a collection of invitations to do a variety of things that, when paired with the illustrations, offer a unique perspective on some otherwise ordinary actions.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Melissa Quimby offers structures to help elevate readers’ thinking through book club conversations. You’ll love putting these practical ideas into play in your own classroom—and be awed by the depth of your readers’ understandings.
Gretchen Schroeder leads her students to consider the power and privilege in the texts they read. By creating a power continuum, students become more aware of issues of power and oppression in society. Once this happens, they can move to discussion of how to take action for positive social change.
In this encore video, Dana Murphy leads a minilesson on book club conversations, using a fishbowl strategy and building blocks to support more sophisticated discussions.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Changing one’s mind in today’s educational world can feel risky. We fear looking incompetent or like we don’t know what we believe. Matt Renwick learned firsthand that when leaders share how their thinking and beliefs around literacy instruction have changed, it increases the level of respect from others.
Special education teacher Julianne Houser and fourth-grade teacher Heidi discuss how they can work together to support specific students, assessing needs and strategies to meet them.
Stella Villalba shares her process for developing plans with teachers for intervening and supporting individual students. Stella works with multilingual learners, and the principles are applicable to any child.
Quote It:
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
—African Proverb
That’s all for this week!
