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The Tension of Perfect Conventions
“My key takeaway is that we are going to continue to celebrate mediocrity in student writing.” This was declared as a bold proclamation during a workshop I led about using...
Hosting School-Wide World Read Aloud Day Author Visits
Students were all sitting, glued to the large whiteboard screen as author Lynn Plourde read to them through Skype. When she was finished, the students turned and talked to one...
Now What? We Went on a Field Trip
Field trip. Those two words can get very opposite reactions when brought up in a conversation with teachers. There are teachers who love going on field trips and those who...
Uplifting Independent Reading in the Living Room
Gwen Blumberg offers ways to make the library a welcoming space for readers to settle in with their choice of books. Classroom teachers can consider creating a living room, too.
Mentor Texts Elevate Readers and Writers
Reading workshop was ending, and my students were packing up their take-home book bags. I mingled around the room, assisting as necessary and gathering my materials for our writing workshop...
The Confident Coach: Seven Competencies to Empower Your Practice
As a systems coach for a regional education agency, my primary role is to help school districts develop the processes and practices that support more equitable outcomes for students. My...
Writing About Reading: A Search for Authenticity
I have a love/hate relationship with writing about reading. I have tried different ways to introduce and teach it to my students. But honestly, it always felt fake to me....
Quick and Easy Reading Responses
I look up during our first 10 minutes and see Andrew returning his very recently borrowed copy of They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. “Wow, Andrew, you finished that...
Sketchnoting in the Library
Drawing is putting a line [a]round an idea. ~ Henri Matisse “Can we sketchnote?” Ella asks as I am about to start a read aloud during library class. “Of course”...
Fostering Classroom Dialogue
Sometimes you get a class that just clicks when it comes to discussions. That was my third-period AP Literature class last year. A combination of factors, such as class size,...
Book Rationales for Building Trust and Guiding Decision-Making
"Have you read Nightjohn?" The fifth-grade teacher held up a paperback as I was walking by her classroom. "I'm a fan of Gary Paulsen, but I haven't read this one....
Meaning Makers
A preschooler picks up a book new to her, Pizza for Pia. The book was intended for her older sister. She looks at the cover as I read the title....
Zooming In and Stepping Back
Whether you call it close reading, passage analysis, or something else, zooming in on a scene in a larger work is a staple of instruction in many language arts classes,...
The Digital Declutter: Developing a Life Beyond Distractions
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is...
I Was Wrong About…
When I’m planning an argumentative writing assignment, I like to look for articles to show students how arguments look “in the wild,” or, in other words, how real writers construct...
Alternatives to a Literary Essay: Two-Voice Perspective Poems
In our seventh-grade classroom, our last unit of the year places students in partnerships reading books in verse, with bi-weekly meetings to discuss some aspect of the books together. Books...
Slide Decking: Getting Writing Started
The scariest moment is always just before you start. —Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft The Idea In fall 2023, I was deep into a weekly "accountability"...
Seven Simple Steps to Happier Teachers
For the past couple of years, I have been searching for ways to support teachers and the hard work they do. As a learning support coordinator, my focus is usually...
Scaffolding: The Key to Tackling Big Projects
In the heart of my house stands a two-story staircase open from the floor of the bottom level to the ceiling of the second. The wallpaper is dated and faded,...
Delving Deeper Through Inquiry-Based Learning
One March 14, a day affectionately known by many math teachers as Pi Day, Brooke strode into the classroom and proudly announced, “I can name the first 100 digits of...
Girls’ Sports Books
I stare at the shelves of my classroom library, considering my next book talk, and run my finger across the spines, scanning the titles. I stop at The Crossover by...
