Choice Lit Topic: Talking and Listening
Listening and speaking—it’s the art at the heart of literacy workshops. But there is also a science to how these skills are taught and learned. These resources will show you how to build communication skills in your classroom and school communities.
Results
Whole-Class Conversations for Read Aloud Closure
About 10 years ago, I began the ritual of having a whole-class conversation each time we finish a chapter book read aloud. I created this idea when I noticed that...
How to Get a Book to Catch Fire
Each year there are certain books that fly off my shelves. Books that I have to create waiting lists for to accommodate eagerly awaiting readers. Books that students can’t stop...
Peer Evaluation of Student Writing
We all know we need to incorporate writing into every aspect of what we teach. We love writing ourselves. We love getting out the thoughts and tweaking them and rearranging...
Many Possibilities for Student Podcasting
I enjoy trying out different technology ideas in our classroom, but one thing I always struggle with is whether the technology is an authentic response to reading and writing. If...
Personal Listening Devices in Workshops
Is there a miraculous way to foster more student focus and concentration? Personal listening devices might be not be a miracle in my classroom, but they have certainly changed the...
The Pause That Refreshes: Write When the Conversation Gets Hot
This year I am participating in a book group for parents at my kids’ school. Instead of reading popular parent fare, How Children Succeed, or Mindset: The New Psychology of...
A Closer Look at Engagement
Yesterday I sat with a small group of first graders during reader’s workshop discussing characters in a book we were reading. I took a second to glance up and around...
Tell Me More
I’ll tell anyone who listens that the women who care for my own children are brilliant. Every afternoon, when I slip my shoes off, wash my hands, and step carefully...
Finding a Writing Buddy
We begin our introduction to the revision process of our genre study with a question, “What might you want to read in another writer’s personal narrative?” The hands pop up....
Pumpkin Time: Provocations and Stories with Preschoolers
During these early weeks of preschool, beyond learning classroom routines and rules, managing behaviors, and teaching new ways to interact, I’m working on developing some foundational skills and attitudes. Fostering...
Your Opinion Matters—Really
Sometimes I get sick of filling out surveys. Everyone wants feedback—the online store where I just shopped, my children’s school, the doctor’s office. The problem for me is that I...
In Defense of Dictation
Our preschool classroom is not quiet at journal time. To the untrained observer, it may even look a little chaotic. For the children, this is a predictable and expected part...
New Teachers: The Power of Inexperience
Recently, some teachers in my school were discussing books our elementary students have loved over the years. Someone brought up Harry Potter. “Oh I remember that,” said a first-year teacher....
Do You Have Any Questions? Conferring with Families
“Do you have any questions?” I asked. “Yeah,” Logan's mom replied. “So, how is Logan doing?” What?! This is what I thought I had been explaining for the past 20...
Exploring Rick Riordan Books in an 8th Grade Conference
In this video from Katie Baydo-Reed's 8th grade classroom, Katie confers a student about his favorite Rick Riordan books and his plans for future reading.
Keeping Track of Questions
Questions fill my journals. When my 14-year-old daughter regularly tells me I ask too many questions, my partner nods knowingly. My treks out-of-doors always start with a small spiral notebook...
Every Picture Tells a Story
My house is decorated with a hodgepodge of artifacts, memorabilia, and photos that transport friends and family to different times and places. Gazing at photos and reliving these experiences is...
Kindergarten Moments Count: Question of the Day
One of the struggles I feel as I try to make every moment count in my kindergarten classroom is the pull between incorporating the scripted reading program and using best...
The Truth About Building a Writing Community in Middle School
I teach four sections of English Language Arts to seventh and eighth graders. Early in the school year, I set out to create a community of writers. I wanted my...
Supporting Introverts in a First-Grade Classroom
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. Henry J. Kaiser It’s Saturday night as I sit to writing this. I have a mug of tea, a blanket, my...
Peer Conferring: The Release Phase
Last summer I read the book Mindset by Carol Dweck. If you ran into me at the pool up the road, at a professional development class, or even at the...
