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Poets on Notebooks Quote Collection
Why a journal? Well, I like writing that spills over. I want to live as much as possible at the ends of my fingertips rather than, say, in the capillaries...
On Board with Literacy Leadership
It all started last summer when we read Jennifer Allen's book Becoming a Literacy Leader. We wanted to move from our current roles of reading specialists in the direction of literacy...
Establishing a Routine for Notetaking
Once you decide when you're going to keep more notes, you'll need to find ways to preserve that time. This is no small feat for teachers and literacy coaches. We...
Learning Curves and Dips: Planning and Goal-Setting for Writing Workshop
I am learning how to run. It sounds silly, "learning how to run," but it's true. At first I just started running a minute, walking a minute. Eventually, I ran...
Rethinking Writing Centers
Every classroom has one. The children absolutely love them. The teachers invest considerable thought, effort, and resources into outfitting and organizing them. There was only one problem. No one was...
Two or Three Things I Know for Sure: A Teacher Workshop Activity
"Two or Three Things I Know for Sure" is a writing and discussion activity designed to help teachers write about and explain their bedrock beliefs about teaching or other related...
What Are Reading Centers?
The term "reading centers" is challenging because it may very well suggest many different things to teachers. For this reason, I'll begin by describing what reading centers are NOT. Reading...
Worth a Thousand Words: Teaching with Wordless Picture Books
Wordless picture books are a wonderful instructional tool for teachers to use with students of any age. I remember some time ago when the American Library Association annouched their annual...
The Books We Can’t Live Without in Our Teaching: Resource Round-Up
It was late afternoon one day last spring, almost twilight, that mellow time after children are gone and planning is finished, when conversation rambles among friends in empty classrooms. Jennifer...
The Conversations Inspired by the Questions We Ask
The most effective way to develop a common understanding of classroom practice may be the questions we choose to ask. As literacy leaders it is often difficult to express clear...
Notetaking Series Part III: “Raw” and “Cooked” Notes
Sometimes I learn the most when I am uncomfortable, unsure, and attempting new things. As you use new tools to observe and note events in your classroom, you may gain...
Where Have All the Picture Books Gone?
When my oldest daughter was in first grade, she was in the 20+ basket. This meant that during reading time, she could read books at level 20 and above. This...
Solving Problems Quote Collection
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail. Abraham Maslow Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to...
The Power of Layered Coaching
The new teacher support group is already sliding into spring. My hunch is that no one component of the layered coaching model is responsible for the success of the group....
Evaluation Quotes
There is a comedian on television who jokes about putting together a difficult, five-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle: It was all sky! Too much talk about standards, and not enough of the...
Rethinking Centers
As I started writing this article, I began having flashbacks to middle school when I was assigned to write a persuasive essay of my choice. My objective in writing about...
Books That Touch the Heart
A recent coaches' networking meeting was derailed by an experience shared by one of the coaches. Sandy was helping a group of sixth-grade teachers put together a text set on...
Notetaking Series, Part IV: What Counts and Writing the Unwritable
Most teachers seem to follow that Midwestern principle of better living in their notetaking -- if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. But the most interesting...
Memorable Moments: Two Quick-Write Closure Activities for End-of-the-Year Study Groups and Staff Meetings (TEMPLATES)
Every teacher's path in improving their instruction is paved with individual milestones. In the rush of end of the year activities, it's sometimes hard to take time to notice and...
Got Space?
As a literacy coach in grades 3-5, one of my most important roles is that of a resource provider. I am continually on the hunt for good new reading and...
Helping Struggling Writers
I've found there are two kinds of struggling writers in my classroom, even though any struggling writer has some unique personality traits. At the start of the year, some students...
