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Partnering with Families on Reading
Back-to-school night in my district is a scheduling house of cards. Families try to follow their child’s complete “A Day” school schedule in roughly one hour, often dividing and conquering...
Teacher Book Club
Teachers read all the time: assignments, professional books, student writing, all the emails. In the hectic nature of school days, it’s easy to forget when we last made time to...
Let’s Write Together: The Importance of Class Books
Years ago my classroom was filled with first-grade students. Children with smiles of missing teeth had pencil boxes filled with crayons and pencils, and a few lucky ones even had...
Know Your Teachers
Teaching is about building relationships with students. Donald Graves, in his book A Sea of Faces, reminds us that we must know 10 things about each of our students before...
How Long Does This Have to Be?
I once had a student named Wyatt who, whenever he was asked to write something in my class, never failed to ask, "How long does this have to be?" And...
Everyone Wants to Write?
One week, I was home with my family fighting COVID. I missed five straight days of school, and my kindergartners had four different people in charge of them in five...
Back-to-School Coaching Reflection Survey
We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience. —John Dewey I vividly remember the last day of school during my first year of teaching. I had...
Crafting a Vision of Teaching and Learning Rooted in the Strength of Multilingual Learners (Part II)
In part 1 of this article, which can be found here, I wrote about spending time as educators thinking and reflecting on the following questions regarding teaching and learning with...
Putting Together the Pieces of a Classroom (Classroom Organization)
My dad helped me move classrooms on a hot July day. A veteran class mover, he made me clean out my desk and declutter instead of rolling it as-is down...
From a Blank Canvas to a Community Space
For my first teaching job, I was hired three days before the beginning of school. With boundless enthusiasm, I eagerly purchased decorations at the local teacher store and spent the...
Crafting a Vision of Teaching and Learning Rooted in the Strength of Multilingual Learners (Part I)
Sandra and I sat together to read the book My Two Border Towns by David Bowles. As soon as I finished reading the title of the book, she said with...
Creating Learning Progressions with Students
It’s November, and routines have been established in reading workshop. Teachers have spent time getting to know their students as readers and supporting their readers during book shopping to ensure...
Getting Ready to Read
“Okay and lastly, what genre is this book?” I ask. If you have administered an oral reading assessment to kids in your class or school, you too have asked this...
Making the Most Out of Teacher-Librarian Partnerships
“Can I help you find something?” I ask as a classroom teacher pokes around the biography section in the school library. “Our kids are going to be doing a big...
Emoji Book Talks
Throughout the year, I do book talks and my middle school students share book talks with the whole class. On Friday, my middle school classes visit our school library, where...
Middle School Reading Routines
“Open your writer’s notebook to the back page. We’re going to set up a page that will be important to keeping our independent reading life active—our Books on Deck list.”...
Managing Your Students’ Independent Work During Guided Reading
“I know how to teach guided reading,” a second-grade veteran teacher commented to me. “It’s keeping the other students occupied that gets in the way.” We all know the numerous...
Small-Group Conversations About Independent Reading
Before the pandemic and before I had my own classroom, I worked as an instructional coach. I worked with and admired a fabulous teacher who made hot chocolate for students...
The True Test of Leadership
Please note: Tornado drill changes don't belong on the Instructional Leadership Team agenda. I left this comment on the Google Doc teacher leaders were using to discuss instruction. As principal,...
Picture It: Literacy Leaders and a Classroom Observation
It is a luxury in professional learning to experience a shared observation. This is especially true for literacy leaders. As the director of a network of instructional influencers, I aim...
The Language Spoken at Home Is Always a Gift
A statement that I make often and loudly is that I welcome questions. One of my goals is for the teachers I work with to feel comfortable asking questions. I...
