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We Are All Writers with Louise Borden (PODCAST)
Louise Borden is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including The Journey That Saved Curious George, Sea Clocks, and His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg. In this podcast with...
Wonder in Classrooms with Georgia Heard (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Franki Sibberson chats with Georgia Heard about the importance of a sense of wonder and "pondering time" in classrooms. Georgia is a poet and teaching consultant. Her...
Ralph Fletcher on Mentor Texts (PODCAST)
Ralph Fletcher's status as a writer and teacher is legendary in elementary schools. He is the author of many books for teachers and children. In this podcast, Ralph and Franki...
Cris Tovani on Reading Workshops with High School Students (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Franki Sibberson chats with Cris Tovani about using a reading workshop model with high school students. A full transcript of the podcast is available below the player....
Donalyn Miller on Modeling Literate Lives (PODCAST)
Donalyn Miller, author of the acclaimed bestseller The Book Whisperer, chats with Franki Sibberson about the importance of teachers modeling their literate lives for students. You can visit Donalyn's blog at:...
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
The other night, I watched the final episode of Mad Men, and even though the characters came out with mostly happy endings, I cried. I cried because I had been...
The Power of Charts in the Classroom
I love creating charts with students each year during read-alouds, minilessons, and discussions. In my classroom, you will never see charts that are laminated, store-bought, or faded from previous years....
An Open Apology
To: Parents of Students I Taught From: A Teacher Who Now Knows Better Hello, Parents— Your child was just twelve years old when he or she was in my class....
Seizing a Coaching Opportunity
As one of the adults in the building who clips a walkie-talkie to my waistband, I smugly expected a class of fifth graders to listen to me. That bubble was...
Note Taking for Research
In our fifth-grade classroom research isn’t confined to one unit in the school year, but instead we do small units all year long. Small research projects often are listed among...
Student-Created Text Sets
My students are readers. For at least the two years they are in my classroom for seventh and eighth grade, a time in adolescence when research shows a decrease in...
Advocating for English Language Learners
I recently worked with a team of teachers on a committee to interview candidates for an open position working with English language learners. We all gathered around a large conference...
Hiring Teachers for English Language Learners
As our schools become more and more diverse, educators have had to prioritize the needs of students who have limited skills with speaking, reading, and writing in English. As a...
Choices for Paragraphs
Over the last month, I have been working with a third-grade teacher to help her students understand the concept of paragraphing. They have been working within an opinion unit, so...
Closing Out the Year with “Where I’m From”
For nine of the ten years I’ve been teaching, I’ve been in a classroom with eighth graders. Part of what I love so much about this age group is that...
Coaching New Teachers
Coaching is an opportunity to be a "thought partner" in a challenging and rewarding profession. The majority of educators with whom I connect on a daily basis understand my role...
Back-to-School PowerPoints
I remember my husband gently grabbing my arm as I started to raise my hand to ask a question at my daughter’s Back-to-School Night. We had clearly been instructed that...
Closing the Year and Making Space to Remember
Last summer, Kim moved from Long Island to Wellington, Florida. Although the move was an exciting and celebrated adventure for her family, leaving her dear home where both of her...
Video for Last Days of School
Last week, Christine Holley, a Teachers College Reading and Writing Project staff developer, worked with our primary teachers on improving talk in classrooms. In the classroom, she showed first-grade students...
Best Part of Me
A few weeks ago, I was hustling down the hallway to a classroom to do a teacher evaluation. I was late—I am perpetually late this time of year—but I saw...
Developing Coaching Skills Together
We have a small group of literacy coaches in my district. There are four of us, and we have become a rather tight-knit group. We meet together monthly to discuss...
