Results
Grade Level Team Meeting: Test Preparation

In this video of a 3rd grade team meeting, literacy coaches Janet Scott and Gail Boushey help third-grade teachers think through what is going well with test preparation, and what...

Literacy Chats with Teachers: Routines and Guidelines

In my school, teachers have monthly "literacy chats" to discuss current trends and issues that arise in our classrooms. These are informal discussions designed to help us build a supportive...

January New Teacher Group Update: When Life Happens

It was noontime when I received a call from my daycare provider, Sandy. She told me that my daughter, Samantha was coughing a lot. I had an important meeting scheduled...

How Study Groups Are Like Self-Cleaning Ovens

One of our favorite inventions ever is the self-cleaning oven. Set a timer, lock the oven door, and a few hours later -- voila! You have a clean oven, and...

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure: A Teacher Workshop Activity

"Two or Three Things I Know for Sure" is a writing and discussion activity designed to help teachers write about and explain their bedrock beliefs about teaching or other related...

Books That Touch the Heart

A recent coaches' networking meeting was derailed by an experience shared by one of the coaches. Sandy was helping a group of sixth-grade teachers put together a text set on...

Collecting Stories: Opening Activity and Icebreaker (PRINT DOWNLOAD)

The "Collecting Stories" activity is a great way to launch a workshop or new study group on a topic. The one I designed here was used with participants in a...

“Hard” Reading Workshop: Understanding How Proficient Readers Comprehend Difficult Text

This workshop activity is useful for a study group, staff meeting, or mentor meeting where the topic is reading instruction. Over the past two decades, comprehension research has focused on...

New Teacher Conversations: Breaking Through Roadblocks and Sustaining Support

At our final New Teacher Conversations meeting, we wanted to celebrate with the first-year teachers as well as look ahead to their second year. Knowing this was the last scheduled...

Literacy Chats: An Open Discussion Format

In my school, the teachers have monthly "literacy chats" to discuss current trends and issues that arise in our classrooms. These are informal discussions designed to help us build a...

Case Studies in Professional Learning Communities

In this brief video, Literacy Coach Pam Hahlen and Principal Karen Szymusiak meet with two teachers in a professional learning community group to discuss ongoing case studies. The meeting takes...

Data Cards: Assessment Profiles at a Glance

"Data cards" are ingeniously designed to allow an entire grade-level team to look at the reading levels of all students in the grade. In this four-minute video, "The Sisters" (Gail...

Quick Take: Protocols for Teacher Study Groups

In this three-minute Quick Take video, Clare Landrigan describes the teacher study group protocol she uses to foster shared understanding and allow for differentiated learning among teachers.

Collaborative Team Meeting: Assessing and Planning Together

Collaborative team meetings take place every 9-10 days in our schools. In these meetings, teachers from one grade level, literacy coaches, and our principal meet together to discuss individual students,...

Planning for a Year of Author Studies (TEMPLATE)

I plan author studies for my students at the start of the year. I think about the range of authors we might study, what authors work best at different times...

Launching Teacher Study Groups: Guidelines and Resources

Teacher study groups are becoming more popular in schools, fueled in part by the surge of interest in adult book clubs in the U.S. over the last decade. In study...

Keeping It Simple: Reflections on the December New Teachers Study Group

Written on a sticky note stuck to the edge of my laptop are three phrases: Listen first; teach by example; be patient. These are three things I've learned as a...

Opinion Exchange (E-GUIDE)

An "Opinion Exchange" is a wonderful activity for a study group session or faculty meeting to explore beliefs and build community around an area of interest. The activity also fosters...

Assessment and Curriculum Mapping

In this video from a new teacher study group for grades 3-5 teachers, Jennifer Allen demonstrates how teachers can use assessment data to develop instructional plans for individual students and...

Teacher Study Group: Writing Focus

In this video of a teacher study group, Jennifer Allen leads a group of grades 3-5 teachers as they launch their monthly meeting in October. Jen follows her own guidelines...

Literacy Coach Confidential: What Can I Do About Poor Attendance at My Study Group?

 I lead a study group once a month for interested colleagues after school, and attendance is pathetic. What am I doing wrong? Answer: There may be many reasons why you're...