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Who Are “They”? Word Choice and Student Learning
Like many of us, I first became a student of words with Peter Johnston’s Choice Words; he taught me how even subtleties in language have powerful effects. More recently, my...
Assessment Refresh
“I don’t know how to do this,” Jenny whined. “Will you help me?” Jenny was an eighth grader who had dealt with major health issues throughout middle school. She had...
Resisting Rubrics
Our two kids, ages 8 and 10, were busily chatting in the backseat as we drove home from church. “What are they talking about?” I asked as I strained to...
Moves for Struggling Writers
When I taught fifth and sixth grade, I remember one student who was a very reluctant writer. He had mastered a variety of ways to avoid putting words down on...
They Don’t Read at Home
The building literacy team gathered around the table as the year came to a close, ready to look at the progress of their students during the school year. I’m geeky...
Tools for Striving Writers
As our district’s writing coordinator, I love working with children who are struggling to write. Yes, I love to work with the gushing writers, but there’s something really rewarding about...
No Substitute for Owning the Learning
I love weekends when I’m not in school because I am able to attend a water aerobics kickboxing class. The instructor is knowledgeable, she keeps the class up-tempo, we focus...
A Yearlong Coaching Calendar
I took a deep breath and positioned my fingers over the keyboard. It was the beginning of November, and it was time. I had just completed two successful coaching cycles...
When Teachers Design the Professional Development Calendar
Sometimes professional development creeps up on us. All of a sudden, we have a three-hour chunk of time with a group of teachers, and we grapple with how to plan...
Coaching in Classrooms with English Language Learners
Dear Stella, I’m struggling to find ways to help ELLs in the classroom. Sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know. I know best literacy practices, but is that...
Purposeful Post-Its
As teachers and literacy coaches, we love sticky notes, but we don’t love seeing them overused with no purpose. For example, we may have what I call “sticky-note queens and...
Do or Die
Don’t be shy about asking for help. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re strong. Last spring, a panic-stricken teacher I have worked with informally entered my office. His...
Getting Emotional
Although I aspire to be a leader who is always strong, stoic, and sensible, I occasionally succumb to the emotional toll of my job. At least once a year, it...
Color-Symbol-Image: A Thinking Routine for Read Alouds
My yearlong exploration of Visible Thinking Routines began with a vision for my students and their learning lives. I wanted students to leave fourth grade prepared to think about and...
Using Read Alouds to Build Fluency
Early in the year, as we’re getting into our routine of setting weekly goals, we’re sure to mention to our fourth-grade students that we find that reading in our head...
More Nonfiction Read Alouds
Every year I plan to read aloud more nonfiction to students. And every year I do—but just a little more. I have worked hard over the last five years to...
Daily Reflection Rubric
“I come to school every day and try to be a good student. I just don’t get why my grades are so bad,” Kaydin complained when he received his first...
Conferring Matters: A Coach’s Perspective
“Do you have time to talk with me about conferring?” a teacher asked me at the end of the day. I smiled because it was the same question I’d been...
Conferring Matters: A Principal’s Perspective
I remember a particular conference I had with a student in which the value of conferring clicked for me. We were in the drafting portion of our personal narrative unit,...
Reading Invasion
Imagine roughly 400 people—staff and students—walking out into the green space on your campus. Now imagine every one of them with a book in hand. Next, they all take...
It’s the Little Things: Small Actions for Building a Healthy Literacy Culture
What is labeled as fluff is more often the stuff of leadership and culture. Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson Lately I have been trying to reflect every day for...
