Choice Lit Topic: Literacy Coaches
A simple question – who will coach the coaches? If you’re a literacy coach, you already know there is no job more amazing or overwhelming in a school. Our Choice Literacy library includes a small sample of our resources for literacy coaches. If you work as a coach, you’ll want a subscription that includes access to our Leaders Lounge, where there are over 900 resources for coaches, including study group protocols, videos of demonstration lessons, and guides for designing coaching cycles.
Results
Keeping Students Front and Center
The other day I had a phone conference with teachers in a graduate course. They asked insightful and thought provoking questions around the challenges of working as a literacy coach....
Sense of Little Engines
About half of our coaching staff is engaged in a book study of Peter Johnston's Choice Words. We meet once a month before school at a local coffee shop that offers...
A Class with More Boys Than Girls
Hannah was in her second year of teaching when we began our work together. She was interested in "bettering her game" as she put it. "I know I have lots...
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan on Getting the Most Out of Grade-Level Team Meetings (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan, the founders of Teachers for Teachers, talk with Franki Sibberson about how to link grade level team meetings with student achievement, and...
Acquiring Knowledge Two or Three Strategies at a Time
"Hey, Papi! What is that crop growing over there?" My dad responds patiently to repeated requests by my nine-year-old son, Jack, to identify exactly what is growing in the fertile...
What’s Good for the Goslings is Good for the Geese: Parallels Between Scaffolding Student Learning and Scaffolding Staff Development
"So, what are you working on now?" This is a question I seem to get a lot and despite years of practice, it's always a tricky one. You see, I...
Books with Overlooked Potential for Launching the School Year (and Ideas for Using Them with Students)
Editor's Note: Teachers often have cherished favorite books for launching the school year, and it's no wonder. We know how students will respond based on our experiences in previous years, and...
Walk Arounds: Gathering Data to Test Assumptions
As an instructional leader I am subjected to tattling. You are probably assuming I mean tattling on the part of children, but you'd be surprised. I am referring to teachers...
How to Look at Student Work
"And there she goes . . ." My daughter, Ahna, is officially a bike rider. I'm sentimental about it because she's the last Rader kid to learn. What's unique about...
Coaching for the Test
I would encourage anyone nearing testing season to read aloud Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler with colleagues. Simultaneous laughs and groans erupt at this portrayal of our society's relationship with testing....
Favorite Short Mentor Texts for Demonstration Lessons
Teachers and coaches often ask us for a list of mentor texts to teach a particular strategy or genre unit of study. While we certainly have some favorites, we truly...
Coaching Monkey
As a kid, Curious George was my hero. Sometimes I had to cover my eyes when he was about to get into trouble, but I knew in the end he'd...
A Closer Look at Anchor Charts
Peeking into classrooms at the very beginning of this new school year, I was surprised to see that many teachers already had lots of anchor charts (and completed word walls,...
Tips from Literacy Leaders for Closing Out the School Year (ROUND-UP)
Here are some suggestions from Choice Literacy Contributors of the best ways to close out the year, with everything from personal organizing tips to family events. Heather Rader, Instructional Coach...
Lesson Structure: Building a Strong Foundation
The experts will tell you, "Add sand to water, but not water to sand," when building structures on the beach. You must have a strong foundation for a sculpture that...
Writing Drafts and Stamina
It was the beginning of triathlon training season. As I slipped into the pool, I was trying to remind myself of what I knew. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe left. Stroke,...
Whole-Group Share Sessions in Literacy Workshops: Essential Elements
We survey teachers periodically to help us reflect on our professional development sessions, and plan next steps for our coaching. Recently, we have noticed a pattern in the reflections of...
Ubiquitous Venns, Watch Fors, and Leverage Points: Coaching for Depth
Ubiquitous Venns Ubiquitous Venns -- you see them everywhere. Those friendly overlapping circles. Some are hand-drawn and look more elliptical than circular, and the intersection is never large enough for...
Common Core Conversations: The Half ‘n’ Half Shift for Nonfiction Reading and Writing
As teacher leaders in a state that already has rigorous standards, the thought of transitioning from our district standards to new standards is daunting. We can just hear the cry...
Not That Into Me
For the past 11 years during the holiday season my husband and I have watched the movie Trapped in Paradise with my brother. The movie stars Nicholas Cage, Dana Carvey and Jon...
Best Practices All Day Long: Balancing Personal and Professional Success
Eureka! Just the other day I had an epiphany, which I truly believe might change my professional and personal life forever. As a classroom teacher, I had always thought of...
