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
Letting Students Define and Design My 6th Grade Classroom Library
I started out last fall with all my classroom library books organized alphabetically by author. I figured since the libraries do it that way, it would be great practice for...
A Tornado of Books
Each year, for the last ten years or so, a "tornado of books" has hit my room sometime in the first two weeks of school. It is pure craziness; books...
Eight Tips for Building Relationships: A Tale of Two Literacy Coaches
I stopped by Monroe School to see the literacy coach, Kate, before the school day began. I was in her office for about five minutes when second-grade teacher Leah burst...
Books that Invite Student Participation
When I taught first grade years ago, my students had a rousing good time with text that invited them to join in. Even before they were actually reading the text,...
The Luxury of Extra Reading Time Over the Holidays
I love thinking ahead to holiday reading. The books seem to pile up all fall with hopes that over vacation, I'll find long periods of time to read and to...
Community First: Using Read Alouds to Strengthen Classroom Connections
There's a lot to accomplish at the beginning of the school year: routines to teach, expectations to communicate, communities to build . . . but not necessarily in that order....
Letters in the Middle School Classroom
I began my first year of teaching at a middle school this year. However, although I was trained in a program that focused on secondary education, it was the words...
Inspiration from Author Visits: Tips and Web Resources
The fifth and sixth grade students at my school were fortunate to be visited by author Stacy Hillmer. Stacy is the author of five published stories and one book, An Armadillo...
Read Our Walls: Bridging Professional Development and Student Achievement
How do we connect professional development to student learning? Does it really matter that teachers change instructional practices if we can't demonstrate these questions lead to increased student achievement? These...
Helping Classroom Volunteers Become Better Listeners
In my school, asking students questions when the answer is already known by the questioner was a common practice. Frustrated by these conversations, I decided to see what might happen...
Picture Books About Books: Young Learners and Reading Identity
In the first few weeks of school, I am attempting to understand a whole new class as individual readers (yikes!). I am trying to discover where, when, why, and what...
New Teacher Conversations: Management Stories from the Classroom
Classroom management was on the new teachers' minds at our last meeting of the year when we asked them what they would like from us for resources and discussion the...
Two or Three Things I Know for Sure: A Teacher Workshop Activity
"Two or Three Things I Know for Sure" is a writing and discussion activity designed to help teachers write about and explain their bedrock beliefs about teaching or other related...
Writing Strengths Anchor Chart
When I taught middle school, I liked to have kids display their talents as often as possible. While students usually didn't have trouble sharing their social selves, asking them to...
Organizing Book Bins: Letting Kids Help and Plan
I happily spend my days with first graders . . . I love to guide them as they discover, read, and tell stories. I am curious about kids. What does...
Got Space?
As a literacy coach in grades 3-5, one of my most important roles is that of a resource provider. I am continually on the hunt for good new reading and...
Morning Meeting in Kindergarten
Danielle French leads her kindergarten students in Waterville, Maine, during morning meeting. After the meeting, Danielle talks with "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) about the value of this...
Picking a Partner: Demonstration Lesson and Debrief
In this demonstration lesson from a K-2 classroom, Joan Moser leads students through guided practice in picking a partner. In the debrief with Natalie, Joan talks through issues and...
Organizing for Independence: From Cubbies to Social Groups
In this brief video, Joan Moser talks about how she organizes student materials in "social groups" to avoid the use of desks or cubbies in her classroom.
Weekend Headlines: Introduction
In this first of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth grade students begin the Weekend Headlines activity. Each Monday, students listen to Katie share some of the...
Weekend Headlines: Peer Response
In this second part of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth grade students continue the Weekend Headlines activity. Each Monday, students listen to Katie share some of...
