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New and Improved Nonfiction
I found little to enjoy about nonfiction when I was a young learner. It’s been a while—three decades or more, if you’re wondering—but back then, I looked at it as...
#articleaday
Recently, I sat in the midst of my classroom's nonfiction library looking at books scattered across the floor. Fiction books were piled onto empty nonfiction shelves. When I looked at...
Tweets in the High School Classroom
Whenever I see a really clever tweet or the perfect hashtag, I am reminded of how there is an art to writing something that expresses so much and yet is...
The Professional Promise of Podcasts
The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent. Alfred Brendal Teachers prize efficiency. If we can organize files while we listen to a colleague talk about a...
Writing for Reflection at the End of the Year
The end of the year is a struggle for me. I worry I haven’t taught enough, talked enough, or shared enough. I want to keep them with me. I know...
Advice for New Literacy Coaches: An Interview with Susan Avis
Susan Avis chats with Brenda Power about the delicate work of honoring the strengths of teachers while still pushing them beyond their comfort zones to improve skills. A transcript is...
Master Class: Mentoring New Coaches
Recently I went to see the play Master Class. The play is based on the life of famous opera singer Maria Callas—specifically, a snippet of her life when she taught...
New-to-Grade-Level Teacher Tool Kit
As the end of the year approaches, a few of the teachers in our district have been notified that they will be changing grade levels in the upcoming year. Part...
Making Plans for Summer Reading
As runners, we know the importance of having a plan when training for a race. We've learned from experience that our training is more effective—we see the most growth in...
Five Steps to Meaningful Formal Celebrations
A formal writing celebration is an event to remember. When planned properly, these events are much more than a party. In fact, they can become a cornerstone in the lives...
End-of-the-Year Reflection
As the school year winds down, I have been encouraging teachers to have their elementary students do some reflective work around their writing lives. I’ve suggested an optional assignment of...
Amazing Race
At the end of the school year, I am always looking for ways to keep my students motivated. Anything that can inject some energy into a lesson, or better yet,...
A Quilters’ Workshop
Somewhere in the middle of a quilt-themed balanced literacy unit years ago, I taught myself to sew. Before you think too much of it, all I could really do was...
Loaf and Invite Your Soul
I loaf and invite my soul, I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. These lines from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself silenced the high...
A Writing Marathon for Teachers
Five of us meet on a beautiful Pacific Northwest Saturday morning at a park that overlooks the falls. After we connect about our summers, I begin with an excerpt from...
Trying on Books for Reading Groups
Stacks of novels cover the top of the table in my classroom. Students come up to the table, grab a novel, and sit down to read. They return again after...
Getting Teens Out of Reading Ruts: The Sampler
The 5th Wave, The Crossover, anything by John Green, The Enemy series. These are the types of books that my students get excited about, the books that I see in...
Three Little Tweaks for More Effective Communication
Sometimes it feels like the amount of information we receive in a single week could fill the Grand Canyon. We live in the information age, and it comes flying at...
Closing the Year Strong: Leveraging Technology When Time Is Short
The last months of the school year can be stressful for teachers. Time becomes the enemy we feel powerless to counter. This is why principals and teacher leaders should leverage...
Graphic Novels for Beginning Readers
“Whoa! Do we get to read this?” asked Malik, holding up a copy of the graphic novel Binky the Space Cat. “No, sweetie,” replied Rochelle. “That book is for the...
Gradual Release of the Library
Years ago, I spent a good amount of August reorganizing my classroom library. I invested in uniform book containers, and relabeled books and book bins. I replaced books that needed...
