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Showcasing the Vision
A family portrait hanging on the gallery wall in your house. A photo block of your child’s first birthday front and center on the fireplace mantel. A matted and framed...
Aligning Commercial Practices with Excellent Literacy Instruction
“So, what are you guys using for literacy?” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked that as a school principal. It’s not a bad question or something...
Hidden Treasures
Bruce Howdle was an unofficial ambassador for our small city of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. A local artist and university instructor, he was often seen walking up and down our main...
The Third (or More) Time Is the Charm
Remember the Where’s Waldo? books you used to look at as a kid? Do you think you’d be able to find Waldo—let alone take in all the other details—if you...
Being a Teacher Writer Is More Than Being a Teacher Who Writes
I began writing alongside students so I could experience the work as a writer. I was doing the writing work because I needed it for the thing I cared about...
Pick a Poem
“Hey, look at the next page! It’s about a tiger!” Robert, whom many referred to as all boy or by some initialism that gets tossed around to explain student listlessness,...
The 15-Minute Meeting
In The 30-Day Productivity Plan, Damon Zahariades makes the assertion that meetings last as long as they are scheduled for. If we want to increase our productivity, he believes, we...
Meeting with Building Leaders
“I want to meet again every month,” Maggie said. “Just like last year.” Maggie is the principal of one of our five elementary schools, and last year, we committed to...
Readers’ Guides: Helping Students Think About Informational Text
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.5With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Teachers are often waging a small...
The Lion Unit
In my first year of coaching, my staff and I spent the fall focused on math instruction. We finally had an opportunity during the last three weeks before break to...
Tips for Planning with Teachers
“So here’s what I’m planning for next week.” Michele, a third-grade teacher, held up her planbook for me to see. She had written her teaching points in pen across the...
Hunting for Textual Evidence
“Do we have to put quotes in this essay?!” “What page is that quote about repeating the past on in Gatsby?” Finding textual evidence can be hard for students. Arming...
Shoulders-Down Spaces
In certain people, places, and events, we hear the tune of our own bones. Laurie Patton Last February, I found myself walking under the famous Dragon’s Gate and onto...
The Literacy Master Document
Paper copies here. Paper copies there. Paper copies everywhere. Whether it be the district curriculum maps, reading units, or lesson planning sheets, these important paper documents remain a window into...
The Right to Be Seen
I would often ask myself: What’s the kind thing to do? What is the right thing to do? —Jacqueline Woodson How can anyone forget the face of a child that...
Three Questions to Open Coaching Conversations
The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge. Thomas Berger In an early blog post sharing her ideas for student-centered coaching, Diane Sweeney writes,...
The Hole in Your Swing
I am a baseball fan. I played the sport through high school, spent a couple of years riding a bench in college, and now enjoy it mostly from the confines...
Teaching Tone: Deal Me In
Supply List for AP Literature: Sticky Notes Binder Composition Notebook Deck of Cards I’m sure that many of my students were surprised to see a deck of cards on their...
Retelling and English Language Learners
Have you ever taught a group of first graders how to retell stories? If you have, then you know it is one of those units of study that requires patience...
Word Walls in Preschool? Yes, You Can!
“What’s wrong?” I asked, spying Mona’s long face. She launched into a tirade. “They are insisting that I put up a word wall. They have a rule that all classrooms...
Becoming More Strategic in Coaching Stressed Teachers
Suddenly, I’m a momma to big kids. It caught me off guard and I’m still wondering how it happened, because I'm sure I didn’t blink. In addition to looking up...
