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Letting Go: Nurturing Ownership in Writing
Once a month, a group of teachers from across the district gather to take a deep dive into writing instruction. The teachers, a variety of participants from grades K-5 who’ve...
Releasing the Teaching to Students
I have watched my students grow in many ways since the beginning of the school year. They have picked up various skills, understand the standards and their use more competently,...
Who Owns the Learning?
Author Gary D. Schmidt visited our school this morning. I have known for a long time through books like Okay for Now, What Came from the Stars, and Trouble that...
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...
Getting Started with Strategy Lessons
The district in which Kate coaches has teachers in grades 1-5 who are comfortable with guided reading. Three years into reading workshop, many are ready to try strategy lessons as...
What’s the Temperature?
Recently, one of our coaches was out for an appointment on her building’s data-team day. It was an appointment she couldn’t miss, but scheduling half-day blocks for teams to meet...
Slowing Down
During the rush to retrieve my class after lunch, I saw Olivia crying as she ran to get a spot in line. Her arms were cradling a coat, food containers,...
Don’t Forget to Marvel
“You’re here!” Lora Bieghler said as she bounced into my office. “I’m so glad, because I want you to see this first-grade response to Freckle Juice.” Lora’s arms were full...
Think Small
"Think small" is my new motto. It helps me handle the complicated too-muchness of it all. Maira Kalman (from And the Pursuit of Happiness) This year, when selecting a...
Secret Reader
I stay modest 'bout it, aye, she elaborate it, aye. —Kendrick Lamar, from “Humble” “I have a secret reader in my class,” Betsy told us at a recent professional development...
Poetry Path
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. The sound of the stapler out in the hallway meant that more poems were being shared on the bulletin board outside my classroom. I peeked around the...
Google It!
“Mom, you’re awesome!” Jordan said as he bounded into the house after wrestling practice. Since Jordan is a teenager, I definitely didn’t let his sweet words go to my head....
Rethinking Homework
Paul Janeczko’s poems are some of my favorites to share with students when I am introducing a poetry unit. I am sad that he passed away recently. Publishers Weekly published...
Unadulterated Reading
My son sighed in exasperation and yelled across the table, “Why does my mom have to be a reading teacher?!” There it was. The dreaded phrase that I have come...
Blind Spots
My wife’s text message was not what I wanted to see. “The dryer’s not working. Gives me some weird code.” Weird code = something I probably cannot fix. That the...
Conferences with Parents of English Language Learners
In the past decade, my school population had shifted dramatically. Transiency, shifting attendance lines, and the passage of time has changed our school population such that we have a significant...
A Fresh Take on Persuasive Writing
Can I persuade you to take a fresh look at teaching persuasive writing? This genre has become a pet peeve of mine. It is time to bring it up to...
Reading That Changes Us
This year, inspired by Kelly Gallagher's "Article of the Week" activity, our seventh graders started reading a weekly nonfiction article. This weekly reading has many benefits, including building background knowledge,...
The Power of a Rant
“Teachers work so hard each day. They walk out of school burdened with book bags weighted down with stacks and stacks of student papers to read and respond to at...
What Do We Mean by Coachable?
My youngest son recently tried out for and earned a spot on a travel basketball team. As we mused about what being on the team would entail (how many practices,...
Field Notes: Stories and Courage
When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending. Brene Brown Monon Trail Elementary School built a new...
