Choice Lit Topic: Leadership
Do you guide teachers, specialists, and literacy coaches? Here are tools, advice, and strategies school leaders need for their daily work in staff meetings, study groups, and one-on-one discussions with colleagues. If you have a leadership role in coaching teachers and designing professional development, you’ll want an upgraded membership with access to our Leaders Lounge.
Results
If Boot Camp Was Standards-Based
As I move into my fourth month of fitness boot camp, I can't help but reflect on my time there so far. The initial shock to my body is past,...
From “Data Drowning” to “Data Wise”: What Are We Doing Now?
A few years ago we took a course that we loved based on the book Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching And Learning by Kathryn Parker...
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...
Better Discussions in Study Groups
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered. John Ruskin Our study groups just finished reading and discussing When Writing Workshop...
Tips for Saving Time from Literacy Leaders
From many tasks accomplished, we asked our Choice Literacy contributors to share just one -- the way they were able to save time this year. What follows is a compilation...
Moving from Data to Practice
Data is now being used by many different constituencies and for many different reasons. Districts are reporting data to state or federal agencies to meet grant requirements; school committees who...
Music for Literacy Leaders
It's remarkable what music can do to lift the mood in a professional development workshop, get kids happily moving between activities in a classroom, or spark reflection among colleagues. Once...
Aligning Curriculum with Struggling Readers in Mind
Years ago in a workshop, Shelley Harwayne asked us to think about how many books our struggling readers were reading on any given day. When you think about struggling readers,...
Sales Clerks and Literacy Leaders
Shopping for the perfect outfit is always an exhausting task. I seem to always encounter the hovering salesperson. She's the one who shows me the outfits I would never buy, and suggests...
Creating Structures to Sustain Our Work
I wish I could bottle the inspiration I felt after listening to Bruce Morgan, Debbie Miller, and Ellin Keene at a recent NCTE presentation. They spoke about professional learning experiences...
Collecting Literacy Stories Icebreaker (PRINT DOWNLOAD)
I enjoyed Ruth Shagoury's icebreaker activity "Collecting Stories" posted some time ago at Choice Literacy. I decided to adapt it to use with my work with literacy leaders here in New...
I Believe . . . Some Thoughts on Marathons and Sustained Professional Development in Schools
I believe that professional learning communities such as teacher study groups are the key to sustainable instructional change. When teachers are given on-going opportunities over time to explore new ideas...
Team Sharing of Writing Curriculum Innovations (TEMPLATE)
Literacy coaches know that the most successful staff development provides lots of time for colleagues to share their teaching stories, questions, and ideas. Hearing what is happening in the classrooms...
Cartwheels, Backward Rolls, and Literacy Coaching
My six year old daughter takes gymnastics lessons. I have watched in amazement over the last year at how her gymnastics coach breaks down instruction. Before ever beginning a recognizable...
Root Metaphors for Teaching: Learning from Our Passions
Franki Sibberson's recent Choice Literacy essay "Fitness Boot Camp Helps Me Understand Struggling Readers" caught my interest, and I found myself returning to her ideas. While I am (fortunately!) not immersing...
Forming Teams to Help Struggling Readers:A Pilot Project (TEMPLATES)
Teachers are like rock climbers, pushing themselves to take risks and accepting new challenges. Daily life in a classroom is like the thrill of facing a new climb. Teachers approach...
Connecting Language and Hope: A Study Group Activity
For the past three months, a group of teachers and I have been exploring words in our classrooms. To help us clarify how language affects us, some teachers listened to...
Fostering More Curricular Collaboration in Teams: The Meeting Notes Form (TEMPLATE)
This year our school is moving to a teaming model. The 6th grade teachers had already been working as a grade level team, and we felt like we were doing...
Learning with Intensity: A Study Group Discussion Prompt
"I came to our meeting this week dog-tired: preparing for Back to School Night, designing new curriculum, adjusting to changes in our schedule," Lena confided. "But after our discussion tonight,...
How I Flunked Literacy Leadership 101
Year four in my role as a literacy leader, and I thought that by now I might have most of the job figured out. I knew going into this year...
State Assessment Tests: Warm-Ups for Wandering Minds
It's that time of year in Wisconsin. The leaves have all fallen off the trees; the winds have picked up and are whipping and howling. Most homeowners have succumbed to...
