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Four Ways to Breathe Life into Classroom Charts
Charts are an incredible resource for developing independence in classrooms. When used effectively, charts document the teaching that has happened in the classroom and allow students to revisit lessons. Sometimes...
Teaching Search Skill Basics to Students
One of the most amazing things about living in the digital age is the fact that information is everywhere. With a few clicks, keystrokes, or taps I can get most...
Raising the Quality of Word Work
Zane carefully wrote the word found on his paper with the blue marker. Then he traced over the word with the red marker, followed by the green marker, and finally...
Webquests with Middle School Students
We recently wrapped up our study of Native Americans in North and South America. It's a tall order to sweep your way through both Americas and hit the major Native...
Using Google Earth to Support Readers
Reading is supposed to take us places we’ve never been and show us things we’ve never seen. But does the image we create in our mind match what the author...
Going Public with Word Work
On our first day back after spring break, I asked my students to think about word work as a math problem. How are the two similar? Puzzled looks were all...
The Power of Written Blind Word Sorts
Automatic pattern knowledge is critical to spelling and understanding how words work. Sorting words is an opportunity to examine words, search for common patterns, and categorize discoveries. Word sorting can...
Three Questions to Ask When a Guided Reading Group Is Stuck
In our work in schools, we often field questions from teachers worried about student progress. The concern goes something like this: “I have this group that is stuck at level...
Small-Group Writing: Steps for Success
“Are we going to write about our reading today?” Christopher, Avery, and Braden beg. I know it’s hard to believe, but they really do. These three readers love to write...
Reframing Questions to Build a Reading Community
On a cold December morning, a group of teachers came together to talk about reading workshop and how we could support our readers as they grow. One question emerged: How do...
Libraries for All: Considering Struggling Readers
Quietly I enter the classroom as reading workshop begins, glancing around the room to locate the readers with whom I plan to confer today. As a primary reading intervention teacher,...
Frog and Toad and Tina and Maya: A Precocious Kindergarten Reading Group
In March, Ms. Kelso invited me into her kindergarten classroom to work with some of her advanced readers. The end of the school year in Honolulu was bearing down on...
Classroom Displays for Nonfiction Learning
We are surrounded by visible reminders in our daily lives: dates marked on calendars, sticky notes left for family members on the refrigerator, or comments made on an article shared...
Blurring Genres and Real-Life Readers
As a teacher who likes to observe reading trends in my classroom, I sometimes start to lump kids into groups when it comes to reading preferences. For example, I have...
Exploring Literary Nonfiction with Middle School Students
Lately, I have noticed that nonfiction is sometimes hard to categorize because of the innovative ways authors are writing it. It seems more creative and literary than it used to...
10 Ways to Publish Student Work
Some time ago I was preparing to give a presentation to teachers about writing in a middle school classroom. In preparing my presentation, I thought about the writing process and...
Letter Writing with High School Students
Author Brian Doyle celebrates letter writing in his essay "Letterature": “To write or read a personal letter is to connect with someone you love or respect; it is affection and...
Using Lord of the Flies to Teach Argument
The Common Core’s push for greater focus on argumentative writing has made me reexamine how and why I use certain texts in the classroom. I have, like many other high...
Coaching Cycles Matter
As a former classroom teacher, I remember the days, weeks, and sometimes months when I felt like I was standing in a wind tunnel with things flying toward me. Those...
Tips for Conducting Demonstration Lessons, or How to Avoid the “Am I Doing This Right?” Question
Teachers spend most of their day alone with their class, and each day they are required to make hundreds of "in-the-moment" instructional decisions. Here are just a few of the...
Student-Centered Coaching: Collaborating with Teachers
A teacher who earlier shared that her team has a focus on nonfiction writing is at the copier. I greet her and say, “I was thinking about your team as...
