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
Coaching Codes
When I was teaching English in South Korea, I attended a parent night in the community to promote our school. At the conclusion of the program, I stood up to...
Seven Minutes of Listening
Four-year-old Isabele pulled out the large alphabet puzzle, a big 2' by 3' wooden one that so many preschool and primary classrooms have. With her right hand holding the letter...
Helping Students Deal with Distractions
We have had the privilege of spending the last few weeks in many teachers' classrooms supporting them as they launch their literacy workshops. The first few weeks of school are...
Writing Do-Overs: ERPs in the Classroom
When I was in elementary school I played four square and tetherball. These seemed like the best sports for a kid like me who was less tall and more small...
The Power of Wonder Questions
"Do you know what I've been thinking and reading about?" asked Will as we settled into an out-of-the-way spot in my grades 3-4 multiage classroom. It was time for reading...
You Get What You Ask For: The Art of Debriefing
When I pick up my children from school and ask, "How was your day?" 99.9% of the time I get the f-word: fine. However, when I noticed the green outline...
Books That Invite Thoughtful Conversation in Grades K-2
One of the favorite parts of my new job as a school media specialist is that I get to read aloud to primary students again. There is nothing like seeing...
A Coach’s Perspective: Is Sarcasm in Style This Season?
"What surprises you when you hear me read your lesson aloud?" I asked Courtney* in our debrief. "Well, I guess, it sounds like I'm rude to the students. . .at...
Sarcasm Is a Useful Teaching Tool — NOT
Imagine you have tickets to see an award-winning show and you are going with your hilarious friend that makes every outing memorable. All day you've been looking forward to leaving...
There’s Been a Misblunderstanding
If you aren't already familiar with Becky Botsford (aka WordGirl) and her sidekick Captain Huggy Face on PBS's Word Girl http://pbskids.org/wordgirl, you should check out her powers. Even if you don't...
Getting and Giving Student Feedback
I saved this quote from an email with the title "Why We Love Children": A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time,"...
Our Daily Question: Building a Community Through the Data We Collect
As a mother and a teacher, I discovered that choice and authentic experiences are priceless, yet challenging gifts for children going about their days living and learning. Choice and authentic...
Are You Scaffolding or Rescuing?
Do you remember where you were when you first saw the (now familiar) scaffolding diagram? Oh, come on. You know the one. The long rectangle with a diagonal line stretching from...
What Goes in the Writer’s Notebook?
I start off each school year with good intentions. My files will be more organized, my newsletters more concise, and my time more productive. I'll read more about teaching math...
Expectations for Grade-Level Team Meetings
We are often asked by coaches how we get the teams we are working with to actively participate in the meetings we facilitate. When first asked this question, we tended...
Conversation Turns: Recordkeeping and Analysis Tool
One of the best ways I've found to deal with colleagues or students who talk too much during group discussions is to give them a task. I've found keeping a...
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,...
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...
Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two
[You can download this month's poem from Shirley, Ode to a Sweet Snowy Day for Two, by clicking on this link.] Recently I attended Poetry Week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico....
The Language of Coaching Part I: Word Choices
Giving written and spoken feedback is an opportunity to be very thoughtful about the words we choose in communicating with teachers. This is a challenge. There are nuances to our...
The Language of Coaching Part II: The Leading Edge
Peter Johnston has written an entire book about the subtleties of our communications. In Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning (Stenhouse, 2004), Johnston explores the places where work is partially...
