Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Nonfiction Books for Independent Reading: Moving Beyond Content Connections (BOOKLIST)
What we often forget when considering the importance of nonfiction reading is the pleasure, the art, the wonder of it. We do not want to develop students who read nonfiction...
Warm It Up: Lighting a Classroom for Literacy (PHOTO ESSAY)
Lighting is our favorite aspect of classroom design. The whole tone of thelearning environment is shaped by the lamps we place throughout the room. We can have a lovely arrangement...
Beyond Matt Christopher (BOOKLIST)
Thank goodness for Matt Christopher! I can't imagine how many boys are avid readers because of his books. Every year, I have readers, mostly boys, who become obsessed with reading...
Literary Nonfiction: Models for Writing
I have never felt as comfortable with nonfiction writing in my elementary classroom as other genres. The products never have much variety. Somehow, students' nonfiction writing always ends up sounding...
Whatever Happened to Mrs. Wishy Washy?
I noticed a basket in an isolated corner of the primary wing in a school. I wondered what was inside of it. When I got close enough to get a...
Middle School Readers at Mid-Year (SURVEY TEMPLATE)
As a reading teacher, the first thing I do at the start of each school year is try to find out as much as I can about the relationship my...
Weekend Headlines: Whole Class Share
In this final installment of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth-grade students continue the Weekend Headlines activity. Each Monday, students listen to Katie share some of the...
Books That Touch the Heart
A recent coaches' networking meeting was derailed by an experience shared by one of the coaches. Sandy was helping a group of sixth-grade teachers put together a text set on...
Notetaking Series, Part IV: What Counts and Writing the Unwritable
Most teachers seem to follow that Midwestern principle of better living in their notetaking -- if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. But the most interesting...
Memorable Moments: Two Quick-Write Closure Activities for End-of-the-Year Study Groups and Staff Meetings (TEMPLATES)
Every teacher's path in improving their instruction is paved with individual milestones. In the rush of end of the year activities, it's sometimes hard to take time to notice and...
Got Space?
As a literacy coach in grades 3-5, one of my most important roles is that of a resource provider. I am continually on the hunt for good new reading and...
Making Predictions and Finding Evidence in Text
In this video from a fifth-grade small group, Clare Landrigan talks with students about making predictions and finding evidence in text. The text used is Jean Little's Hey World, Here...
Helping Struggling Writers
I've found there are two kinds of struggling writers in my classroom, even though any struggling writer has some unique personality traits. At the start of the year, some students...
Writers on Revision Quote Collection
If a teacher told me to revise, I thought that meant my writing was a broken-down car that needed to go to the repair shop. I felt insulted. I didn't...
Preparing Students for Summer Reading
I keep a reading log tracking the books I read each month. When I look at the log across the years, I notice that there are patterns to my reading....
Becoming More Purposeful with Writing Share
In this whole-class writing-share session from Katie DiCesare's first-grade classroom, Katie talks about how she has become more purposeful in connecting student drafts with the minilesson from the start of...
Many Languages, Many Texts: Book Time in Preschool
In this brief video, Melissa Kolb explains "Book Time" in her preschool class. It's a time when many volunteers read books informally to small groups of children in their home...
Quotes about Commitment to Teaching
To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply...
Learning from the Shadows
This past month I decided to try something a little different. I asked Jeni, a teacher in her third year to shadow me for a full day. New teachers have...
Last Words and Next Steps: Closure Activities for Study Groups and Mentoring Programs
The final moments of any professional development activity or school community can be among the most memorable of the year. We like final discussions and reflections to feel authentic and...
First Grade Small Group: Chunking
In this small group from Courtney Tomfohr's first-grade classroom, students work on their chunking skills. Courtney begins the lesson with a whiteboard, moves to authentic text, and gives children a...
