Article Content Type: Article
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Reading Mats Build Confidence
There have been times in my life when I haven’t been confident—when I was learning to drive a stick shift, when I started a new job, when I carried my...
Appointment Clocks
Although there are many benefits to using groups in the classroom, sometimes the dynamics can be overwhelming or problematic. An easy alternative, especially when time is a factor, is using...
You Don’t Write? No Worries
“You don’t have to write to teach writers,” the literacy coach said pointedly as we planned to lead a session on using mentor texts to support writers in our classrooms....
It’s All in the Details
Details matter. Look for them. Collect them. Notice repetition. Notice patterns. Ask questions. If an author includes it, it serves a purpose. This is advice we give to our seventh-grade...
Field Notes: When a Coach Models in a Classroom
Jennifer Court is a longtime literacy coach at Aboite Elementary, and she is a favorite host for monthly Think Tanks, meetings for instructional coaches from schools across northern Indiana. Jen...
Writers Make Plans
Before I began writing this piece, I collected what I needed—my laptop, a comfy seat, and a hot cup of tea. I opened my digital sticky note of topic ideas...
Community Timeline Project
In seventh-grade language arts we are constantly looking for ways to bring the community to our students. With our schedule, that is often difficult. One way we manage to accomplish...
When There’s No Time for Debriefing
A new coaching cycle focused on conferring and small groups in reading workshop was starting, and Kate had asked teachers to sign up for a debrief time slot so that...
Reading and Writing for the 100th Day of School
“I don’t believe this!” I mumbled to myself as I left the classroom. I was leaving after a meeting with Allie, who was completing a teaching internship, and her cooperating...
A Little Bit of Clarity
I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better. Maya Angelou I was seated at an appointment desk to be fitted...
Teaching Theme Before the Holidays
Around the holidays last year, we came across several articles about the political incorrectness of the movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other holiday classics of our childhood. We were...
A Quick How-to Writing Unit in First Grade
I love squeezing in a how-to writing unit when I feel like my students need something a little different from our regular book-making writing. Instead of using how-to books as...
Scaffolding Instruction in an Author Study
I bet you can name the author of the following passage: A band that's so good should have someone to hear it, But it's going so fast that it's hard...
Magic Connections: Young Adult Literature in a Social Studies Class
When my students come into my room at the beginning of the year and all of the introductions are done, school supplies for the year are discussed, and general rules...
It’s Not You, It’s Me
My boyfriend and I both like to run. We both like the physical challenge of running, and we both love the mental headspace it gives us. We’re both runners, so...
When Learning Gets Tricky, Go Back to the Pigs
I am in a third-grade classroom, the students gather on the rug, and I say, "I heard you have been learning how to think about the texts you are reading....
Smile File
Smiling makes people feel good and positive, conveying a sense of goodwill, rapport and trust. Dr. T. P. Chia "Everyone needs a smile file!" I heard the radio deejay...
Mentor Text Craft Guides
As a writer, I explore and examine mentor texts all the time for inspiration and understanding about how to improve my own craft. Most of my writing friends do the...
The Freewrite Pause
Sometimes you need to press pause to let everything sink in. Sebastian Vettel In the past, I would deliver a minilesson about a historical event to my seventh-grade social...
Making Time for Reflection
One of the first things I noticed when I began to work with our 14 elementary literacy coaches was the harried pace they kept. They were asked to do a...
Mastering Conventions
“You’re not stepping into the ball,” Kurt said as he hit another tennis ball my way. A hundred other directions marched through my brain as I concentrated on moving my...
