Choice Lit Topic: Community Building
It’s one of the big paradoxes of literacy instruction – students best learn how to read and write independently when they have a strong community of support in classrooms. How teachers build those thoughtful, kind, and challenging classroom communities is explained in these resources.
Results
Classroom Talk: Three Kinds
I was in the middle of a mini presentation to a small group of teachers. I was sharing how I use my classroom library throughout the day, throughout my classroom...
“I Was Scared”: Manny’s Story
I was sitting next to Manny reading a beginning book with her. As I coached her through the text, she turned to me and said loudly and dramatically, “Mrs. Parks,...
Eight End-of-the-Year Routines
Spring was in the air, and there were whispers in the hallways about how many more Mondays there were in the school year. One morning during our morning meeting a...
Cool Things Happening This Year: Celebrating Greatness from Within
“Something cool is going to happen for you today!” As I gripped the steering wheel on my morning commute, I heard these words echo out from the car speakers. A...
Lessons from a Bird-Watcher: How to Make Space for Students’ Passions
Kate’s sister, Emily, was visiting and they had just dropped Kate’s kids off at a camp on the bay. They planned to spend the time on a long walk, and...
More Than a Self-Portrait
If you were to visit my classroom on any day of the year and ask me the one thing I want you to spend time with, it would be our...
I Am a Listener Who…
Behind the small-group table, he sat on the floor with his legs outstretched. His head rested on the cabinet while tears streamed down his cheeks. Although I had seen him...
Building Trust in Our Classrooms
The beginning of the school year brings many demands: reading and writing assessments, seating charts, and binder setup, to name a few. It can be easy to hit the ground...
Creating a Space
I pulled open one of the heavy double doors and stepped into the library. I marveled that when we returned after the summer break, this would be the place I...
What Would You Do?
Tammy Mulligan uses role-play to help her class process different ways to respond to challenging behavior situations. In this video clip, Tammy shares the rationale behind this practice and gives...
And the Winner Is… Planning and Implementing a Mock Book Award
A screenful of children waited eagerly. An educator walked to the front of the room and announced the title of the book that had won their student-selected book award. The...
Letting Go and Trusting Students
Coming back from break wasn’t really the time I would have chosen for a door-decorating contest, and almost in a last-ditch effort to come up with an easy idea, I...
Say Cheese: Sharing Photos to Increase Family and Student Engagement
I am that mom who literally walks around with a storage-full phone. There is no such thing as too many pictures. When my kids were in day care (and even...
Community Circle
Stay Steady: Classroom Community/Community Circle Jenny quickly spoke out. “What will we do at lunch, because there are only eight spots at each table and we eight fill those spots?”...
Welcome, Everyone!
When Gigi McAllister says the library is a place for everyone, she means everyone! As a child, Gigi did not like reading, so she is passionate about creating a space...
Whole-School Animal Research
“Who was the winner? What’s our animal for next year?” asks a group of fourth graders at the end of the school year. The rising fifth graders have voted on...
Quick Take: A Classroom of Belonging
Tammy Mulligan shares the first steps to help students develop a sense of belonging in the classroom.
Uplifting Independent Reading in the Living Room
Gwen Blumberg offers ways to make the library a welcoming space for readers to settle in with their choice of books. Classroom teachers can consider creating a living room, too.
I’m an Everything Person!
“Mrs. Parks, look what I did last night!” Finley said before she even got to the classroom door. I looked at the scratch piece of paper that she presented. The...
Indoor Walks
“True or false, capybaras eat their own poop?” reads a first grader. “That’s true!” shouts another as they both break out in fits of giggles in the hallway. Suddenly they...
Responding to Dysregulated Behaviors: What About the Other Kids?
This is the third installment of a four-part series chronicling the responses when a student with dysregulated behaviors joins Becca Burk’s kindergarten class mid-year. A new student had entered our...
