Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Conferring About Characters in First Grade
Katie DiCesare confers with Vidhi about the main character in her independent reading book.
Finding Craft Minilessons in the Children’s Books You Love
I remember when I first learned about writing workshop. The philosophy of allowing children to grow in their writing by choosing their own topics, creating text with an inner purpose,...
Eight Picture Books That Show (vs. Tell) How to Be Mindful
Charlotte’s Web is arguably the most read, and perhaps the most beloved, chapter book in elementary classrooms. Of late, we’ve been learning and thinking about the value of mindfulness, and...
The Big Fresh November 8, 2014 Take a Different Route
Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn't mean to take. Angela Blount A few weeks ago I heard Martha Stewart give a keynote about...
Supporting Introverts in Literacy Workshops
I value opportunities to share my thinking with colleagues in support of work and/or learning. Writing response groups, committees committed to a specific task, collegial conversations in a class, and...
Slow Thinkers
“Let’s go around and introduce ourselves,” says the facilitator in a recent class I attended. This is a common occurrence at workshops and conferences. When my turn comes, I will...
Making Space: Entering Lessons Mindfully
If you enter a physical space, such as your home, with your right foot (literally), the act of pausing, deliberating, focusing—even if just for a few seconds—helps you focus on...
Dictation in Fourth Grade: Conferring with Donovan
Beth Lawson confers with Donovan, a fourth grader who needs help getting his ideas on the page.
The Silent Period
He has been listening. He has been listening all day long, but he hasn’t said a word to me or to friends. It looks like he is imitating behaviors like...
The Big Fresh November 1, 2014 Short and Smart
It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn. ...
Inform, Inspire, Instruct: Essays as Mentor Texts in High School
“We are really quite concerned,” stressed the school counselor as she handed me the essay a student of mine had submitted for the state writing test. I smiled and even...
Shorter Research Projects: Rethinking Notetaking Strategies
Research in fifth grade can be mind-numbing. Add notetaking into that equation, and you are in for an exhausting unit. Notetaking in the world of fifth graders is always tricky....
Second-Grade Nonfiction Writing Share
Sean Moore leads his second graders in a whole-class and partner nonfiction writing share session.
Infusing Informational Texts into Morning Meetings: Fact of the Day and Daily News Routines
Children thrive when they belong to a community that is welcoming, full of new learning, and built around consistent structures and expectations. Classroom rituals and routines reassure each child entering...
Visualizing Plot Points: The Roller Coaster Conference
Beth Lawson helps a fourth grader visualize the plot of the mystery he is writing by using the visual of a roller coaster.
The Big Fresh October 25, 2014 Learning Spaces
Memories aren't stored in the head or the heart or even the soul, but in the spaces between any two people. ...
The Weight of Stories
I walk into the house at the end of the day and set down my bag, releasing the weight of my laptop, books, and stacks of paper, but my shoulders...
Whole Class Partner Share Session in First Grade
Katie DiCesare leads her first graders in a reading share session during a character traits unit.
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...
Rethinking Technology: The Power of Student Experts
I am not a tech native as my students are. I grew up in a time when typewriters were common and computers were the size of a bedroom. I still...
The Big Fresh October 18, 2014 Grief Bacon
Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken. Orson Rega Card I've been...
