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Planning for a Year of Author Studies (TEMPLATE)
I plan author studies for my students at the start of the year. I think about the range of authors we might study, what authors work best at different times...
Conferring in the Zone: Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Writing Conferences
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept developed by the Russian language researcher Lev Vygotsky nearly a century ago. The theory simply stated is there is a learning...
Literacy Coach Confidential: What Can I Do About Poor Attendance at My Study Group?
I lead a study group once a month for interested colleagues after school, and attendance is pathetic. What am I doing wrong? Answer: There may be many reasons why you're...
Room for Beliefs: Linking Classroom Design and What We Value
Step outside your classroom door and look back in, as if for the first time. What do you see? Do you want to come back inside? Or do you want...
Just Because They Can Doesn’t Mean They Should: Choosing Age-Appropriate Books for Literature Circles
"Whatever you are doing tomorrow, cancel it! You have got to come and see Jan's literature circles." That was the message that Patty, a literacy coach, left on my voicemail....
Hooked on Series: Great Series Books for Transitional Readers
Most of us have memories of a series that we loved. When I was a child, I was hooked on Nancy Drew mysteries. My grandmother had every one of the...
Boosting Attendance at Study Groups
Many study group leaders find themselves facing two demographic challenges in coordinating study groups that meet before or after school. Middle-aged faculty are often in the "sandwich" generation, caring for...
Letters from Home: Letting Families and Friends Teach Us
To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart. Phyllis Theroux We've found one of the most enjoyable ways to...
Honor Books: Helping Children and Families Build Bridges Between Home and School
The students I teach come from home environments of limited resources, but their years of family and life experiences are rich. Many of these families only recently immigrated to America,...
Collaborative Teaching: Finding Common Ground First
The questions on this checklist are designed to be used by teachers, coaches, or mentors working as partners in co-teaching or demonstration teaching situations. Ideally, the partners should get together...
Literacy Coach Confidential: Teachers Resent Me – What Can I Do?
I am the new literacy coach at our school, and the teachers resent me. I was hired at a time when budgets are down. Class size is up, money for...
Night Terrors: Let the Coaching Begin!
It's mid-July and I received an email from Jessica, one of our newly hired 4th grade teachers. I can sense her energy through the cable line. Jess has just finished...
Anchor Books for Modeling Writer’s Craft in Workshops
My students often come in excited about continuing their fiction writing. When given the choice, it becomes clear that many intermediate students will use their free choice writing time to...
Opinion Exchange: A Workshop Activity for Study Groups
What do new teachers need to keep them going that difficult first year? In our first session with new teachers in October, our room was filled with the stories of...
Professional Development Needs Assessment Inventory
Fall arrives and the school is busy with the activity of putting rooms together, team meetings to plan the first few days of school and set goals, and staff meetings...
Playing with Word Work: Inviting Students to See Playful Language in Books (BOOKLIST)
In a recent discussion about a Time for Kids article, my fifth-grade students brought up the fact that many common sayings in books and magazines don't make sense to them. In this...
The Curricular Support Menu: A Collaborative Tool for Assisting Colleagues
We work as curricular support teachers in the Dublin, Ohio school district. We share a classroom, and each of us spends half the day supporting our colleagues throughout the building....
Planning for K-3 Author Studies (eGUIDE)
"Planning for K-3 Author Studies" is an eGuide designed for use by teachers working alone or with partners. The guide includes grids for monthly and year-long plans, suggested authors and...
Flexible Grouping: When, How, and Why
The topic of grouping for literacy, especially any grouping that involves sorting children according to their abilities, is charged politically and can polarize teaching communities. The key in my classroom...
Tips from the Pros on Starting Your Own Writer’s Notebook or Teaching Journal
Your writer's notebook gives you a safe place to ask: What really matters? What haunts me? What in my life, in this world, do I never want to forget? Your...
Reflective Observation: Helping Teachers Observe, Analyze, and Guide (TEMPLATE)
Our new teacher support group includes monthly observations of peers, with time scheduled following the observations for group discussion and analysis of what everyone saw. I wanted to develop some...
