Article Content Type: Article
Results
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Accountability for Young Writers
“I don’t remember how to do that!” "We talked about this before. How we can make our characters come alive by adding conversations in our writing? Or using speech bubbles...
Increasing the Stickiness of Minilessons
During a coaching cycle early in the year, a common goal that teachers set for their students is transference of strategies taught during the minilesson to their independent writing time....
Balancing Conferences and Small Groups
Read any professional book on the workshop model, or listen to any literacy consultant, and they will tell you: Students should have 30 minutes to read independently while the teacher...
Navigating the Interpretation Process
“Wait. What’s a symbol?” “I forget. Is the theme what happens in the story?” “Is the setting where the story takes place, or is that the plot?” Let’s face it:...
Student Ownership of Literary Analysis
I am a longtime fan of the reality television competition Project Runway. My favorite part of the show is when the judges critique the fashion designs, sharing their expert opinions...
Rethinking Retelling
First . . . Next . . . Then . . . Last. These popular sequential words are plastered on anchor charts in elementary classrooms and within retelling bookmarks in...
Classroom Library Reflection
I once read an article where the author proclaimed that everyone should read 50 pages of a novel before abandoning it. However, after you turn 50, the writer insisted, you...
Priming the Pump
The morning dew had just started to evaporate as bright summer sunbeams had begun to peek over the trees. A jogger and his dog were making their way down the...
Getting Students in the Learning Zone
Many times when I meet with teachers, our conversations wend their way to the struggle of engaging students in their own learning. “They expect us to unscrew their heads and...
Pausing for Renewal Throughout the Day
Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause. —Cecilia Tran The buzz of everyday school life can easily have us running around without much focus. In my role as a teacher...
Second Chances
In professional conversations, we have a finite amount of time to say what we want to say. Our turn lasts only so long, right? Meetings, conferences, and presentations require back-and-forth...
Dealing with Lists in Style
I love lists: to-do lists, grocery lists, book lists. I make them all the time. Name a type of list and I’ve probably made it. When it comes to writing,...
Studying Craft and Punctuation in Sentences from Read Alouds
As avid readers and literacy teachers, we’re always reading with our eyes wide open, not just to the plot of the stories we read, but to the beautiful work that...
Keeping Parent Communication Open in Middle School
Last year was a mixed year for Tara’s seventh-grade son. He had some successes but some consistent difficulty with focusing in class, leading to an overall difficult year. There were...
Family Literacy Breakfasts
Max arrived at school early and alone this Friday morning. It happened to be a morning we were having a family literacy breakfast, an event that we run a few...
Everyday Celebrations and Traditions
I was working at a table in the hall outside my classroom. I got the treat of not only noticing everyone who walked down the hall as they slowed down...
I’m Done! What’s Next?
If I had to choose one quote to sum up my writing life, it would be Dorothy Parker's words: I hate writing. I love having written. I repeat this quote...
Making Our Writing Public
About 10 years ago I reached out to the Farnum Writing Center at Colby College and asked if they would like to partner with our student writers and respond to...
Observing Skilled Readers
I recently made an interesting observation in my middle school class. My most skilled students, who usually have to read things only once to have a decent grasp of concepts...
Feedback That Fortifies
Feedback that fortifies is a critical part of useful formative assessment. It comes at a time when the learner needs it most to improve performance or product. In the most...
The Feedback Trap
Feedback certainly is a hot topic. It maintains its place in education, business, and medicine. It’s not hard to find books and articles that promise to help you give better...
