Article Content Type: Article
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Assessing Instruction in the Midst
I began to teach my nephew the game of Hearts a few nights ago. He understood the basic principles quickly. I could tell because he knew to pass me the...
Explaining a Workshop Model to Parents (Part 2)
A friend recently went with her mother to an important medical appointment. When she spoke to the physician, she found herself confused and unsure: “He was using words I didn’t...
Building Community and Family Connections
We’re sure you’d agree that setting up positive relationships with your students and their families at the beginning of the year is a crucial part of having a successful year....
Literary Analysis: Tone and Scholarly Writing
Nadia was a social being. I would teasingly reproach her by saying, “Wherever Nadia is, talking is happening,” and it was invariably true. So it was only natural that her...
Dealing with Side Conversations
It happens almost every time. Someone (maybe it's you?) is leading a professional development session for teachers, and a side conversation is happening at one of the tables. The presenter...
Explaining a Workshop Model to Parents
I frequently sit in on parent-teacher conferences, most often when a student is struggling in class or when a parent is particularly concerned about a child’s progress. In doing so,...
Monday Headlines
A few years into our teaching career, we came across the idea of using time on Monday mornings to have our students tell stories from their weekend. The idea was...
Literary Analysis: Counterclaims
We were in the thick of a writing unit of study, and my teacher heart did not want to admit that literary analysis essays are argumentative. My eighth graders were...
The Thin Line Between Mentoring and Coaching
The teacher came in to see me, disappointed in his midyear results. “My students aren’t progressing like I thought they would.” His goal: provide more authentic literacy instruction so students...
Rocking the Boat
When I was in high school, I attended ARC camp. The acronym stood for Advanced River Challenge. It was a weeklong canoeing adventure camp. I had never canoed before. It...
Choice Professional Development Sessions
Back in August, our district offered K-3 teachers a selection of workshops. The language arts consultants, reading specialists, and I (the writing coordinator) put together a collection of offerings that...
Improving Professional Learning for All
In my early days as a school leader, I could count on one hand the number of times a staff member personally told me how much they enjoyed the professional...
Mentor Texts and Important Reminders
Sometimes when I am working with students, we delve into a mentor text and find so many elements to admire that it becomes overwhelming instead of inspiring. As with so...
Using If I Stay to Model Literary Analysis
It was nearing the end of the school year, and I was asking my eighth-grade students to pour all of their energy into scholarly literary analysis essays. So it's no...
Building Relationships with Authors
The whole concept of mentorship is based on people and the learning relationships between them, so the only authentic way to approach the idea of mentorship with children is to...
Supporting Student Agency with Questioning Strategies
One fall morning I walked into Mrs. Olson’s third-grade classroom. Scanning the room, I saw Devin crunching on his snack while deeply engrossed in his recent I Survived . ....
Small Solutions for Big Problems with Classroom Discussions
If I walk out of my classroom during class changes, the hallways is abuzz with chatter and conversation. I observe intimate powwows in front of lockers and hasty discussions down...
Looking Back and Planning Forward
When I was a classroom teacher, I had two things on my mind when the calendar turned to spring: a strong finish with my students and the changes I wanted...
Building Self-Evaluation Skills: What’s Your Signature Move?
Flowers are blooming, temperatures are rising, and school calendars are ticking toward closure. Although this means many things for schools, it also means one significantly noneducational thing in particular: it’s...
Reading Ambassadors
This year I decided to try something new. I thought there was a need for students to hear their peers talk about reading. I had noticed that students would read...
Hosting Reading and Writing Events
“Is it true that we get a copy of the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book next year?” an incoming fourth grader askd on step-up day. He was referring...
