Article Content Type: Article
Results
Tests of Time
The night before the exam, we scrawl The Late Unpleasantness across the blackboard from Sumter to Appomattox, and tack up dates like tattered flags. I dish up Ramen noodles...
Observations and Test Preparation
As I navigated the test-taking arrangement of desks in my fifth-grade classroom while handing out copies of Foul Flora, I knew that students would receive this sample state examination selection,...
The Leading Edge
Learning curves come in all varieties, don’t they? Sometimes, the path to learning is straight and quick. Other times, the learning curve is long and steep. The steepest learning journey...
From Coaching Logs to Coaching Reports
In all of my interactions with administrators, I’m mindful of the confidentiality of and delicate trust in my relationships with teachers. That said, I also have the responsibility to reflect...
Student Self-Assessment Strategies
Over the course of the year, I have watched my daughter’s level of engagement rise in the work she does for her high school English class. In her AP English...
Read Alouds and Standards
“Oh, man, you missed the best part yesterday!” “I couldn’t believe I never saw that happening.” “My prediction was all wrong, and I totally had to revise it.” Read-aloud is...
On Being Coached
My daughter Maddie does not properly pronounce her L sound. She uses a W or Y sound instead. She “yikes” the color pink, she “yuvs” her “wittle” sister. Cute, but...
Bounce-Back Spirit
In the 2008 Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track 600-meter race, Heather Dorniden was favored. The runners ran closely, in a pack for the first two-thirds of the race. If you...
The Importance of Encouragement
Like many school districts around the country, we have been cultivating a learning culture, and instructional coaches are playing an increasingly important role. In our district, instructional coaches make up...
Setting the Stage for Meaningful Peer Feedback
Peer-to-peer feedback is something we value in our classroom. We expect that the feedback that peers give to one another can lead to meaningful revision, just like the feedback we...
The Students Behind the Numbers
Data is everywhere. From the digital speed displays as we drive our vehicles, to the number of calories for each option at a restaurant, we are immersed in information. This...
What’s a Great Workshop Day?
I used to think that for a literacy workshop to be a success, the whole workshop had to run smoothly, from minilesson to share time. Now I know that success...
The Evolution of Data Meetings
Years ago as a reading specialist in one building, I began the data-wall journey with a giant data wall made out of pegboard with hooks and different-colored shapes for each...
Shared Reading in the Digital Age
For the past decade, it has been my pleasure to work directly with literacy coaches, teachers, and children in K–3 classrooms. Most of the teachers and coaches with whom I’ve...
From Worksheets to Workshops
At the beginning of my time at Miami Elementary School, I sent my teachers an email with my calendar and a list of ways I could support them. One item...
Coaching Collaboration: Visual Note Taking in First Grade
Entering a new coaching cycle with teachers is an exciting time. Teachers bring eagerness and a willingness to try novel ways of teaching skills and strategies, and collaboration is at...
SITO: Self-Imposed Time-Out
Last school year was my most challenging in terms of classroom management. I was faced with more students who had greater emotional needs than ever before—students neglected by absentee parents,...
Slow Down
It’s easy for me to get caught up in a rush, both personally and professionally. There’s always something to check off my to-do list: another standard to cover, another appointment...
Planning and the Tuesday Effect
I used to hate Tuesdays. I began hating them when I was a brand-new teacher. I would spend all weekend crafting a week’s worth of the most perfect lesson plans....
Getting Creative with Writing Celebrations
During my years of being involved in writing workshop, end-of-unit celebrations have typically consisted of students reading one of their finished pieces to an audience. I love to be invited...
Helping with Management Challenges in First Grade
One of the first-grade classrooms I have been working in is particularly challenging because of the students' overall attention span. It's one of those classrooms where it's hard to complete...
