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Student-Generated Vocabulary Discussions
While discussing read-alouds with a middle school colleague recently, the topic of vocabulary came up. The question “How do you choose the vocabulary to introduce in your read-alouds?” came up....
Collecting Data on Case Study Students
As part of a yearlong in-depth study of one student, each reading specialist in our district gathered data in a variety of ways about a student who, as a reader,...
Who Keeps You Up at Night?
Beginning a coaching relationship is a bit like a first dance. You have to watch your partner, understand his or her body language, and listen carefully in order to dance...
Free-Range Learning with Nonfiction Part 2: Infographics and Maps
Each extended family, workplace, and classroom has those innovative, creative members who bring a refreshing flair to the scene. Nonfiction’s extended text family is no different. Infographics are those interesting...
Getting the Ball Rolling in a Realistic Fiction Unit
Sometimes I think of the beginning of a writing unit as the beginning of a snowman. You start with a patch of snow, and then you start rolling. You hope...
Learning Through Listening
As we read Marie Clay’s words, we thought about how this quote pertains to coaching too. The more years we work in schools and coach alongside teachers, the less we...
No More Whack-a-Mole Coaching
When I was a kid, one of my favorite games at the arcade was Whack-a-Mole. There was something about having a giant club that seemed empowering. Little plastic moles would...
Rhyming Words and English Language Learners
I don’t understand . . . Luis just can’t rhyme, and we’ve been practicing rhymes for weeks. You would think that he would’ve gotten it by now. Right? What am...
Creating Curiosity with Story
“You can’t stop there. We want to know more!” “It’s like stopping in the middle of a movie!” When I am doing my minilessons before having my students read, I...
Free Range Learning with Nonfiction (Part 1)
I have always been a nonfiction lover. Even in the early 1970s before the children’s book industry embraced informational texts for children, I loved reading about my world. Fact lists...
Life in a Single Breath
the sky shivers in the pond, clouds pass through watery leaves— autumn darkens great silent owl sweeps over the field, moonlight splinters late september woodsmoke and leafpiles— the last of...
Setting Weekly Goals
If you walked into our fourth-grade classroom with our students on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning, you’d see our students unpack, set their reading goal for that night,...
The Daily Record
“Toni always starts our dinner conversation with what she learned in class each day and her opinions on people in American history.” Who doesn’t love to hear this from a...
Tracking Student Goals
It seems that every year I have a brilliant new plan to house, track, use, and reflect on the amazing amount of data that I collect about my students. It’s...
Conferring Questions
When I first jumped into writing workshop, I was nervous about what to say in a conference. I wanted to get it right, and I didn’t want to look ridiculous....
Goal-Setting Ideas for Students
As the New Year approaches, my family begins to think about goals. Even though I’m a big believer in goals, I have never been great at setting them on January...
Voice and Choice in the Goal-Setting Process
Frank Norris said, “I hate writing, but I love having written.” These words ring true for us. We have writing projects, articles, and blog posts that we want to write....
Increasing Student Engagement During Minilessons
It can be challenging to engage children in our minilessons. Sometimes those challenges arise because of behavior issues—there’s the syndrome when as soon as you address one student’s behavior, another...
In Search of Just-Right Reading Spots
Think about your favorite reading spot. Maybe it’s the lounge chair by the window, the recliner in the den, or the rocking chair on the porch. Whatever and wherever it...
Building Better Book Baggies
The sound of giggles distracted me from the guided reading lesson that I was watching. I saw Kimora and Janya, partially shielded from view, huddled together in a corner of...
Growing Writing Stamina
We can remember early in our careers feeling a little panicked those first few days or weeks of writing workshop. Because, you know (we’ll whisper this part to you) our...
