Choice Lit Topic: Teaching Reading
Our contributors lead reading workshops in classrooms with creative flair. Over the past 12 years, we’ve filled our site with loads of suggestions, tools, and tips for using engaging books throughout the curriculum to hook kids on reading. Here is where you will find many stories of successful and not-so-successful workshop days, and what we learned from them. We bring these stories to life through hundreds of video examples.
Results
Reimagining Reading Notebooks
Several years ago I stumbled across some premade reading notebooks. They already had spots for my students to record what they were reading, how many books they had read in...
Notebooks, Goals, and Writing About Characters in First Grade
Katie DiCesare confers with a group of first graders about their writing notebooks, goals, and drafts about the characters they are studying during reading workshop.
What Data Will You Be Collecting?
Like many of you I love the beginning of the school year. By the end of July I twitch, pace, and lose sleep. I want to dive back into school...
Rethinking the Assessment Binder
In early December, I asked my 26-year-old daughter to come into school and help me file papers into student folders. After a few hours at the back table, she looked...
Daily Routines: Finding Time for What Matters
When groups of children enter the classroom each morning, year after year, my ultimate goal is to make sure their days are filled with happiness, laughter, and lots of learning...
“My Ideal Bookshelf”: Books that Educate Us
I’ve been feeling restless lately about my reading assessment in my classroom—particularly in the realm of reader reflection—and I wanted to try something new. In recent years I’ve asked my...
First Read Alouds (ROUND-UP)
There's something truly special about gathering new students together, no matter their age, for the first read aloud of the school year. No wonder teachers put so much time and...
First Grade Read Aloud: Sergio Saves the Game
Katie DiCesare reads Sergio Saves the Game to her first graders as part of their fictional character study unit.
Fireflies and Background Knowledge
Recently, I was eating lunch with a group of friends and two of them shared how excited they were because the previous night they had seen their first fireflies ever....
Planning a Read Aloud Sequence to Launch the School Year
I truly believe the first few weeks of school can make or break the community of learners you hope to develop. Teachers feel so much pressure to jump right in...
Whole Group Writing Share
Franki Sibberson leads a whole-class writing share session with her fourth graders, with students focusing on their process and collaboration rather than drafts.
A Summer Reading Camp for Middle School Students
Summer. The word conjures up images of pools, freedom, baseball, and more. For me, it also is a time to read. Many years ago I began teaching a reading camp...
Using Instagram to Sell Summer Reading Options
During this past school year Instagram, a picture sharing social media platform, became very popular with my fourth-grade students. About half of my class had Instagram on their phones or...
Recommendations for Summer Reading Fun: Comics and Graphic Novels for Early Readers
Kids LOVE graphic novels! What’s not to love? Pictures, details, and interesting stories to pore over, and now there are so many that have the added attraction of good stories...
Conferring with Ben
Franki Sibberson confers with Ben, a fourth-grade writer trying to figure out the best audience for his writing when technology presents many options.
Decoding and Meaning: Conferring in 4th Grade
Tony Keefer confers with Amanda, a fourth grader who comprehends texts well, but struggles at times with fluency, decoding, and book selection.
Literacy in the Music Room: A Sequence of Lessons
Many people speak of the connection that can be made between music and mathematics, and music is sometimes used to reinforce math concepts. As a longtime music lover, I’ve found...
Recommendations for Summer Reading Fun: Classic Books for Early Readers
For book lovers, summer is a an idyllic time for reading, a chance to dip into those books we’ve been itching to crack open, or revisit special books from our...
The Cure for Senioritis? Poetry!
Teaching seniors at the end of the year is always a challenge. The other day, I actually heard one student say to another, “Why would I bother learning anything now?”...
Staying Connected with Students All Summer Long
To say the last days of school are my favorite days would be a bit of a stretch. It's not the crazy end of year events, the incredible buzz of...
Conferring with Pierce
Franki Sibberson confers with Pierce, and in this three minute conference tackles audience, integrating visuals with blog posts, and teaching new skills to others.
