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Capturing Student Learning with Evernote
Sometimes it amazes me to think I have been teaching for over 20 years. I would have thought that at this point I'd have this profession down to a science....
Professional Development Openers and Icebreakers (ROUND-UP)
Experts on presentations once said that you had 30 seconds to capture the attention of your audience. Other experts now say you have the attention of the audience in the...
Common Core Conversations: Text Complexity
When you hear the word "complex" what comes to mind? Complicated? Difficult? Many parts? More challenging? We had these associations as we began our inquiry into the Common Core shift...
What’s On Your Summer Pleasure Reading List? (Round-Up)
A lazy day, a cool drink, and a great book -- that's the perfect summer day for many literacy teachers. We don't get nearly as many days off in the...
11/11/11: We Are One Celebration with Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Brenda Power and Shelly Hafford from Choice Literacy had the pleasure of joining our friends Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("The Sisters") at the "We Are One" flash mob gathering...
Same Old Love Song — A Cento
Like a honky tonk angel, notes right on the downbeat, you hoax me on wings of a dove in all the tender places right through the night, confusing love with...
Exit Slips Open Doors
"It doesn't have to end here." So claims the Powerpoint slide at the end of my professional development classes in the past. With this statement, along with my contact information...
Literacy Groundings
One thing I find educators cannot talk enough about is their personal literacy histories, that fundamental grounding of how they became literate. What happened in their lives that impacted who...
Write Today
Too many irons in the fire. This is a phrase I've heard most of my life. I started hearing it as a child, and today, decades later, my mom's voice stays...
Grouping: Who? How Big? How Often?
One of the more vexing dilemmas for teachers is how to group for instruction. No matter how teachers group students, they often wonder if there might be a better way....
If You Like Goosebumps . . .
Matching books to children is one of the things I enjoy most about my job as a librarian. It is fun to dig in and think about books a specific...
Learning to Write Engaging Nonfiction: A Middle School Partner Writing Study
This year I attempted to do something I had never tried before in my teaching career . . . planning and following through with a partner writing study, a study...
Unpacking the Common Core Standards: First Grade Information Texts
The Common Core Standards have students working with complex nonfiction texts at all grade levels. For primary teachers, including more nonfiction texts may seem like a challenge. But students of...
“School” Writing at the End of the Year
For the past few years, I had the opportunity to loop with seventh and eighth graders. As last year's eighth graders prepared to leave the school, I wondered what it...
Common Core Conversations: Using Evidence From Text
"I suggest the crime was committed in the lounge by Mr. Green with the wrench." Can you prove the suggestion false? Ah-ha, you happen to have a Clue card representing...
Respond, Reflect, Rejoice: The 3 Rs of Writing Celebrations
Almost two years ago I started a writing group. I knew if I wanted to keep writing, then I needed a group of other writers to hold me accountable. I...
Common Core Conversations: Vocabulary
What do you remember about vocabulary instruction and assessment as a student? We remember weekly lists of words and definitions, especially in high school. Sometimes we'd memorize 20 or even...
Preparing Students for Summer Reading (ROUND-UP)
As the end of the school year draws near, many teachers are thinking about ways to support summer reading. We know that reading over the summer is important for all...
When It’s Time to Abandon Your Writing
One of the teachers in a class I was facilitating recently made this comment about writing and thinking. She said, "I know how we do metacognition in reading because reading...
Perspective as a Component of Text Complexity: A Common Core Booklist
Text complexity has been a big topic of conversation since the Common Core Standards were released. Reading complex texts is an expectation for readers across grade levels. In Appendix A...
Helping Young Readers Become Independent
Primary grade children must develop the strategies they will need to learn how words work, to read for understanding, and to make sense of different text structures and genres. Finding...
