Choice Lit Topic: Content Literacy
Reading and writing across the curriculum is sparking more interest than ever among teachers and school leaders. Here are the resources you need to build more writing into your math curriculum, more reading and talk into your science program, and especially, how to infuse more nonfiction texts into your teaching throughout the school day.
Results
Infographics and the Common Core: Resources and Standards
Infographics are intentionally selected or designed visual images such as graphs, charts, or diagrams used to represent ideas, information, or data. Using both text and images, well-designed infographics help writers...
First-Grade Math Lesson: Practice and Discussion
Students practice creating equations and using new vocabulary in this second installment of a math lesson in Danielle French's first-grade classroom.
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...
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...
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...
Science Observations in Kindergarten
Mandy Robek introduces a science observation activity to her kindergartners.
Explore: Time for Nonfiction
My desire for intentional time set aside to read nonfiction led to the development of a routine in my class called Explore. I set aside time within our weekly schedule...
Philanthropy and Literacy in Eighth Grade
Beth Honeycutt and Rita Schaeffer introduce a reading and writing activity to their eighth-grade students designed to help them understand philanthropy.
Shorter Research Projects: Rethinking Notetaking Strategies
Research in fifth grade can be mind-numbing. Add notetaking into that equation, and you are in for an exhausting unit. Notetaking in the world of fifth graders is always tricky....
Infusing Informational Texts into Morning Meetings: Fact of the Day and Daily News Routines
Children thrive when they belong to a community that is welcoming, full of new learning, and built around consistent structures and expectations. Classroom rituals and routines reassure each child entering...
Helping Allison Redesign Her Classroom Nonfiction Library
Visiting other teachers’ classrooms during my 28 years of teaching has provided a privileged way to see how classroom design, especially the classroom library’s design, affects children's learning lives. I...
Getting to Know You: Brown Bag Objects
Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me. “Getting to Know You” from The King and I is...
The Information Board: Celebrating Nonfiction Every Day
An anchor display in our room is our Information Board, a place to highlight nonfiction resources and our learning. This display has two purposes: Half of the display shares nonfiction...
Nonfiction Book Blitz
The end of school is nearing, and my sixth graders are thinking of new opportunities awaiting them in a new school next year. Baseball and softball take priority on crisp...
Home and School, Fiction and Nonfiction: Eighth-Grade Conference
Katie Baydo Reed confers with an eighth-grade student, giving advice about which books are appropriate for home reading, and moving between fiction and nonfiction texts.
Nonfiction Graffiti Walls
I love nonfiction. I love learning about new things and broadening my horizons. But when I was a sixth grader, I was singing a different tune. I all but ignored...
Nonfiction and English Language Learners
The Common Core is a part of our teaching lives now. The amount of nonfiction reading our English language learners will be doing nudges all of us to be not...
Conferring About Word Learning
Sean Moore confers with Mikhail about his reading and strategies for highlighting new vocabulary.
Owl Research Word Study
Andrea Smith links vocabulary learning with content study in her owl research unit with fourth graders.
“Article of the Week” Activity in Fourth Grade
Tony Keefer demonstrates how the article-of-the-week activity adapted from the work of Kelly Gallagher is a powerful tool for building skills and community in his fourth-grade classroom.
Penguins Are Amazing!: Informational Writing Comes Alive in Kindergarten
Gathered at the carpet one rainy February day, I said to my kindergartners, “We are going to begin researching penguins today. Do you know what it means to do research?’...
