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Pedagogical Clarity in a Time of Changes
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. —James Baldwin Many songs, phrases, and quotes have been written on the subject...
The Shades of Sadness: Character Feelings and Traits
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions). Considering my...
Choice Literacy Writing Guidelines
Choice Literacy readers are looking for the "how" of literacy leadership written by smart, funny, passionate educators. We publish writing with fresh ideas and strong craft -- the type of...
Personal Touches Early in the Year – Classroom Design Photo Essay Series
Early in the year, many of the walls in our classroom are bare, as we wait to fill them up with our learning - our new words, books we've...
Hope
Hope is not an emotion; it’s a way of thinking or a cognitive process. —Brené Brown What is hope? This word is woven into my day-to-day conversation: “I hope you...
I Think, I Wonder, I Understand: Making Sense of the Work of Literacy Coaches
The "I Think I Wonder I Understand" (TWU) chart was designed collaboratively with colleagues who are preparing to become literacy coaches -- Molly Ayer, Leslie Barrett-Jones, Susan Kiningham, Darcie St....
Unlocking Student Thinking: The Power of Problem Posing in Story Problem Contexts
As I watched my 16-month-old twins play at a local playground, I was struck by how they navigated this open area. It was fenced in, of course. Having two toddlers...
Picture Books for Naming Emotions
I wrote in the first installment in this series about my daughter’s diagnosis with emotion dysregulation. Through our family's journey of learning how to help her, we discovered the importance...
Activities Linking Books and Visual Learners for Early in the Year
By late August I wake two or three times every night, thinking about that first day of school. I love the early days of school. I love meeting new students...
Writer’s Workshop: Planning for “Dips”
I'm training for a half marathon. I need to keep to a training schedule if I'm going to be ready. In the past, I tend to run from January through...
Connecting with Students at Home
Our first three days of remote learning were a whirlwind. I created lessons for my third-grade students and posted them for the students to access and complete. Students did the...
Benefits and Challenges of Using AI as a Coach
When our dog, Millie, was young, we enrolled her in puppy school. She was one of two golden retrievers in this doggy behavior class. The two dogs' "retriever-ness" came out...
Forming Groups Using a Planner
It was late October, and I was feeling great about my one-on-one reading conferences. I was listening more than I was talking, taking succinct but valuable notes, and feeling like...
Building on Success and Maintaining Momentum
It’s somewhat known what happens when a school is deemed as failing. After posting dismal test scores, the state department of education comes in and provides more resources along with...
The 4 Fs of Assessment
Assessment is driving my students crazy. The constant need to collect numbers for determining curriculum gaps or monitoring progress detracts from developing readers. Buried in the obsession to collect data...
Discussion and Summary As a Prelude to Fiction Writing
With the spotlight on the teaching of writing being directed toward expository, opinion, and persuasive writing, fiction writing has been reduced in many classrooms. As the time for the fiction...
Haiku Writing
Writing workshop had been humming along all year. We were listening to lots of mentor texts. We were drafting stories. Some students had folders bursting at the seams with drafts,...
Helping Kids Lead Every Day: Changing Who “Owns” Small Groups in the Classroom
One Sunday evening, while planning for my small-group instruction in reading, I paused. Why was I thinking about these groups as my small groups? They are the kids’ small groups,...
When Coaching Fails: How to Help Educators Who Resist Help
It’s year five in my tenure as principal at a previous school, and a teacher continues to use worksheet packets for literacy instruction. This, in spite of the fact that...
Student-Led Conferences from Many Perspectives
In Ohio, teaching third grade has become particularly challenging, as it is sometimes difficult not to be consumed with test scores and test results. We have an Ohio law called...
Overcoming: Helping Students Process Covid Feelings
My son Ryan and I were in his room, playing basketball with the hoop on his closet door. I was sitting high on his loft bed and shooting “threes;” he...
