Article Content Type: Newsletter
Results
March 5, 2021: Empower Readers (Part 1)
What are we doing for our students that they could be doing for themselves? —Diana Laufenberg [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] Empowering Readers I...
February 26, 2021: Celebrating Writers
There is an art to enticing writers: we’re looking to challenge and cheer students to keep writing. —Ruth Ayres, Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as...
February 19, 2021: Shared Writing
Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. —William Faulkner [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh...
February 12, 2021: Argument Writing
Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision, and change. —Richard Branson [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] We Are Where We Are...
February 5, 2021: Finding Meaning in Reading
Books are something social—a writer speaking to a reader—so I think making the reading of a book the center of a social event, the meeting of a book club, is...
January 29, 2021: Recognizing Bias
Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care...
January 22, 2021: Meaningful Conversations
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. —Martin Luther King Jr. [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] That Isn’t True for Me In my...
January 15, 2021: Equity
Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it. —Jess Lair [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] Find Ways...
January 8, 2021: Empowering Choice
Recipes tell you nothing. Learning techniques is the key. —Tom Colicchio [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] A Process Open to Possibilities “I finally learned to...
December 18, 2020: Fresh Starts
I love the big fresh starts, the clean slates like birthdays and new years, but I also really like the idea that we can get up every morning and start...
December 11, 2020: Digital Reading
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could…tomorrow is a new day. —Ralph Waldo Emerson [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as...
December 4, 2020: Assessing Writers
No one is born a writer. You must become a writer. In fact, you never cease becoming, because you never stop learning how to write. Even now, I am becoming...
November 20, 2020 Honoring Identity
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. —Roger Caras [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh podcast!] Over the Moon For nearly a year...
November 13, 2020 Are You Sure?
Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here. —Sue Monk Kidd [Now you can listen to...
November 6, 2020 The Magic of Reading Together
When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in...
October 30, 2020 Shark Attack
Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning. —Diane Ackerman “Eeeek! A shark!” Josue points to the page Dianna is working on in writing workshop. Dianna keeps coloring with an...
October 23, 2020 Thank You, Mrs. Schroeder
Everyone looks so much better when they smile. Jimmy Fallon [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh podcast!] “Your Jimmy Fallon–inspired thank-you notes took a turn I wasn’t...
October 16, 2020 Slightly Alive
There are always flowers for those who want to see them. Henry Matisse One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride, and my favorite character in The Princess Bride...
October 9, 2020 Coffee Shop Contemplation
I have measured out my life in coffee spoons. T. S. Eliot My husband and I were sitting in the trendy cafe, enjoying our tea and coffee, savoring the cinnamon roll...
October 2, 2020 The Kind of Teacher Who Cares
It costs you nothing to err on the side of care. Lindy West Not long ago, I noticed my son was uncharacteristically quiet. After some prodding, waiting, and...
September 25, 2020 Pygmalion Syndrome
A makeover is the rebranding of a human being. Mokokoma Mokhonoana I decided that I was going to be one of those elegant, put-together women. I had a department store...
