Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Character Study Share Session in First Grade
First graders in Katie DiCesare's class discuss character traits in books from independent reading during a whole-class share session.
Getting Started with Blogging in Fifth Grade
We’ve all heard that kids today have no fear when it comes to technology. I have found that to be true for some children. However, many of my students seem...
Celebrating Screen-Free Week (BOOKLIST)
At our school, we have attempted for the last several years to get children and families talking about screen time during Screen-Free Week. Screen-Free Week is scheduled for May 5-11...
The Big Fresh March 29, 2014 Favorites
Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better. John Updike One of my favorite publications every year is the International Reading...
A Booklist for Earth Day
On April 22, people everywhere try to do their part to make the world a cleaner, greener place. We can use literature to impart lessons to our students about protecting...
The Big Fresh March 22, 2014 Something Strong, Smart, and Beautiful
Courage is tiny pieces of fear all glued together. Terri Guillemets The end of every school year is bittersweet, but for students making the transition from elementary to middle...
Visiting the Doctor: Conferring with Alexis
Ruth Ayres confers with Alexis over her story on visiting the doctor for a shot. They talk about illustrations and labeling.
Manipulating Time: Fourth-Grade Writing Minilesson
Tony Keefer uses his writing as a mentor text in this fourth-grade minilesson on manipulating time in personal narratives.
Finding Meaning and Joy in Teaching: A Podcast with Meenoo Rami
Franki Sibberson talks about finding meaning and joy in teaching with Meenoo Rami, the author of Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching.
Brave Noah
It was January when I began working in Noah’s first-grade classroom. His black hoodie was pulled over his head and down low. His eyelashes grazed it each time he blinked....
The Big Fresh March 15, 2014 Reframing Despair
To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions. Stephen Covey A budding third-grade scientist was required to record the status of trying to light a light...
Mentor Reader: Words
It is the beginning of our morning literacy block in my fourth-grade classroom. A bit of text is being projected onto the whiteboard screen for the students to see. As...
Conferring About Word Learning
Sean Moore confers with Mikhail about his reading and strategies for highlighting new vocabulary.
Owl Research Word Study
Andrea Smith links vocabulary learning with content study in her owl research unit with fourth graders.
Expanding the Literacy Classroom with Flipped Minilessons
When I first heard about the “flipped” classroom learning model, I was absolutely against it. I could not wrap my mind around the idea that watching a video at home...
The Big Fresh March 8, 2014 Reading Dogs
Animals are such agreeable friends -- they ask no questions, and they pass no criticisms. George Eliot Last summer, a friend told me about a program in which therapy...
Poemfields
I have felt the hard knuckle of winter, have gorged myself with the intoxication of nothing to be done. Among the circling rituals of work and the pileup of...
Word Observations
I am racing down the highway, traveling from Phoenix, Arizona to San Diego, California. Jagged mountain peaks, desert fauna, the Mexico/California border fence and periodically a town provide a backdrop...
Katie DiCesare on Word Learning (PODCAST)
Katie DiCesare chats with Franki Sibberson about word learning in Katie's first-grade classroom. A full transcript is available below the player. Franki Sibberson: Katie, you’ve been thinking...
Simplifying Word Study
Recently I was hiking. A bright yellow T-shirt with bold print caught my eye. “Life is simple,” read the slogan. Somewhere we all have encountered the message this hiker was...
Bridge to Comprehension Minilesson
Deb Gaby uses images of a bridge to help second graders understand the importance of pausing and reflecting while reading.
