Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Preschool Letter Detectives
"What is a letter?" "A mystery." Five-year-old Gabe's response to my question stunned me. I realized from listening and observing his teacher Melissa's gentle nudging and guiding that letters are...
Making Time for Literacy Chitchat to Support Book Choice
One thing I miss about landline phones is the conversations I used to have with my friends' children. I came to know lots of my friends' children from quick conversations...
Ready for Guided Reading?
Last spring I walked into Kate's office, which doubles as the book storage room. Kate is a literacy coach in a K-5 building. She was sitting on the floor, surrounded...
Animals as Ambassadors: Using Class Pets to Reach an English Language Learner
Teachers collect a variety of usual and unusual items for their classrooms and students. You just never know when and why you'll need these treasures, but you know you will...
Making Time for Play
Five-year-old Kennedy started kindergarten this fall. She has regaled me with stories of the other kindergartners' antics, her favorite offerings from the school cafeteria, her teacher's read aloud book choices,...
Free Rice: Tools for Web-Based Vocabulary Learning
This is not a trick question: When is a multiple choice vocabulary test fun and motivating? The answer: A multiple choice vocabulary test is fun when it is a game...
Books We Love: Building a Reading Community
As the year comes to an end it feels natural to celebrate the books we've loved. In previous years, I invited my students to list their favorite books on a...
Sharing Our Lives as Readers with Our Students
As a classroom teacher, sharing my own life as a reader has always been an important part of my teaching. I believe that if we are to have authentic conversations...
A Workshop Model in the Library: Time for More Than Book Checkout
Starting a new job as a school librarian has been a learning experience for me. There is so much to love from being around books and kids all day, sharing...
Making Book Logs Purposeful for Students
Recently we have been hearing from teachers about their concerns over the effectiveness of book logs. Teachers are finding that they constantly have to remind students to record their reading....
Swimming and Learning
The other day while I was swimming laps, I started thinking about Franki Sibberson's struggles in fitness camp. Her experience at boot camp gave her new insight into her teaching...
If You Like Captain Underpants: Related Books for Students (BOOKLIST)
I have found that there is often one book that hooks a child on reading. Children may know how to read other books, they read other books . . ....
Looking for Evidence: Seven Questions
Teachers are continually refining our thinking and assessments as we work with children, documenting and assessing reading and writing skills. For the past few months, I met with a dedicated...
New Versions of Old Favorites (BOOKLIST)
We seem to have gotten away from reading new versions of old stories. With the focus on guided reading and leveled books, I worry that our students aren't hearing the...
The Luxury of Extra Reading Time Over the Holidays
I love thinking ahead to holiday reading. The books seem to pile up all fall with hopes that over vacation, I'll find long periods of time to read and to...
If Boot Camp Was Standards-Based
As I move into my fourth month of fitness boot camp, I can't help but reflect on my time there so far. The initial shock to my body is past,...
Troubleshooting Coaching Cycles
Last summer, we were fortunate to host Diane Sweeney at our coaching summer institute. Diane introduced us to the idea of coaching cycles. She assured us that coaching cycles would...
Supporting Readers During Workshops: The First Few Weeks
Today was my second grader's first soccer game of the season. This fall he begins his first full season. Before this year, he had had a couple anxious years trying...
Structuring Coaching Conferences
When we think about the structure of a coaching session for a teacher, it reminds us of the structure of a conference for a student. Lucy Calkins set a structure...
The Bed and Breakfast Model: An Analogy for Schools
We recently presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Meeting on Theory, Leadership, and Voice in the Art and Science of Teaching with Curt Dudley-Marling, who we discovered lives...
Inspiration from Author Visits: Tips and Web Resources
The fifth and sixth grade students at my school were fortunate to be visited by author Stacy Hillmer. Stacy is the author of five published stories and one book, An Armadillo...
