Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Anchor Lesson: Poem in Two Voices
Leslie Lloyd's third-grade students continue to explore the differences between literal and figurative language. The poem they are reading is "Fireflies."
The Big Fresh January 10, 2015 What I’ve Read
To me, reading through old letters and journals is like treasure hunting. Somewhere in those faded, handwritten lines there is a story that has been packed away in a dusty...
Letter Writing with High School Students
Author Brian Doyle celebrates letter writing in his essay "Letterature": “To write or read a personal letter is to connect with someone you love or respect; it is affection and...
Anchor Lesson: Analyzing a Poem
Leslie Lloyd's third graders analyze literal and figurative language in Donald Graves's poem "Bully." This is the second installment in a four-part series.
10 Ways to Publish Student Work
Some time ago I was preparing to give a presentation to teachers about writing in a middle school classroom. In preparing my presentation, I thought about the writing process and...
Using Lord of the Flies to Teach Argument
The Common Core’s push for greater focus on argumentative writing has made me reexamine how and why I use certain texts in the classroom. I have, like many other high...
The Big Fresh January 3, 2015 Cookies and Coaching
Cookies are made of butter and love. Norwegian Proverb I always knew that the way to a person's heart was through their stomach, so when I moved to a...
Kindergarten Small Group: Concepts of Print
This "quick and frequent" kindergarten small group is instructed by Clare Landrigan and explores concepts of print.
Wyatt’s Running Record
Bitsy Parks completes a running record with first grader Wyatt.
Questions and Picture Books
Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read. Marilyn Jager Adams...
Nine Picture Books for Teaching Mindfulness
In our last booklist for Choice Literacy, we shared titles with characters or events that demonstrated mindfulness. In this booklist, we offer picture books with more overt connections to mindfulness....
Picture Books or Beginning Readers?
A few weeks ago, Kim and Lily were snuggled in a beanbag chair with their heads together. They were trying to decipher some troublesome words in a book. “Sat? Seat?”...
The Big Fresh December 27, 2014 Happiness of Pursuit
When a great adventure is offered, you don't refuse it. Amelia Earhart I've been enjoying the book Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life...
Anchor Lesson: Setting Goals
Leslie Lloyd introduces an anchor lesson to her third graders using Patrick Allen's analogy of a spaghetti strainer.
New Words for the New Year
The clean slate of January 1 refreshes our visions of our higher selves. The potential of the New Year gives us energy and inspires newness: new diets, new interests, new...
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...
Explore: Time for Nonfiction
My desire for intentional time set aside to read nonfiction led to the development of a routine in my class called Explore. I set aside time within our weekly schedule...
The Big Fresh December 13, 2014 What Makes a Writer?
Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences. ...
The Power of a Hashtag
A lot of teachers around the world have begun using Twitter and creating class Twitter accounts so the outside world can glance into their students’ learning experience. Many have even...
Twitter in the Classroom
When I tell people—parents, students, and colleagues—that I have a class Twitter account set up for my students to use, I always see puzzled expressions. How can 10-year-olds possibly be...
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Message
As I become more and more proficient in the kitchen, I find that I need different tools to help me get the best results. It didn’t take me long to...
