Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Supporting Thoughtful Book Choice
In this video filmed in the spring, Franki Sibberson helps her 3rd and 4th grade students think through what books they might select for independent reading. The discussion ranges from...
Nonfiction Word Hunt Part I
Nonfiction word hunts are a routine that I recently discovered. It immediately had an impact with my students' interest in words and their meanings. Knowing the meanings of words is...
Kindergarten Room Tour
In this room tour, Maureen Knostman of Dublin, Ohio shares literacy areas in her kindergarten classroom.
5th Grade Strategy Group on Summarizing
In this strategy group, Karen Terlecky brings together three of her 5th graders to reread a nonfiction article shared with the whole class. They discuss main ideas, and do a...
Nonfiction Word Hunt Part II
Finding new words to follow is always a fun part of our word wall routine. Students love to go back into texts to find words that they are curious about....
Teaching Rereading During Class Read Alouds
I teach my fourth graders the power of rereading using the mentor text Goblins in the Castle by Bruce Coville. In this video, you can see that we use rereading...
Case Studies in Professional Learning Communities
In this brief video, Literacy Coach Pam Hahlen and Principal Karen Szymusiak meet with two teachers in a professional learning community group to discuss ongoing case studies. The meeting takes...
Talking About Synthesis: Metaphors from 2nd Graders
In this six-minute video, Lauren Scott's second graders brainstorm different metaphors for the synthesis process in reading while their principal, Karen Szymusiak, listens and responds. After the students leave, Lauren...
Teaching Rereading Strategies Through Read Aloud Day 2
I teach my 4th graders the power of rereading using the mentor text Goblins in the Castle by Bruce Coville. In this video, you can see how we build on...
Test-Taking Skills: Reading Strategies for Word Problems Part I
If I've learned anything from the past 22 years of teaching, I know how valuable children's playground philosophies are for dealing with the confusing world created by adults. As a...
Conferring with Emily: Moving from Questions to Content
In this conference with six-year-old Emily, Ruth Shagoury looks for a way into a conversation by using Emily's drawings, previous writing, and interests. Emily's first language is Hmong, and she...
Old Elm Speaks: Connecting Poetry, Observation, and Reading
In this first installment of a three-part video series, Aimee Buckner shows how observation skills, poetry, and reading instruction come together with the mentor text Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems...
Picture Reading in First Grade
In this read-aloud lesson from Katie DiCesare's first-grade classroom, Katie demonstrates the importance of picture reading using the wordless picture book The Zoo by Suzy Lee.
Data Cards: Assessment Profiles at a Glance
"Data cards" are ingeniously designed to allow an entire grade-level team to look at the reading levels of all students in the grade. In this four-minute video, "The Sisters" (Gail...
First Grade Guided Writing Group: Goldilocks and the 3 Writers
In this video of a first-grade guided writing group, Katie DiCesare works with three girls on spelling issues that have emerged in their writing. By grouping the students together,...
Old Elm Speaks Day 2: Connecting Poetry, Observation, and Reading
In this second installment of a three-part video series, Aimee Buckner shows how observation skills, poetry, and reading instruction come together with the mentor text Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems...
From Questions to Drafts
Aimee Buckner shares the mentor text Could You? Would You? with her 4th grade students. Aimee explains how questions are a springboard to interesting writing topics, and models connections she...
Conferring Close-Up: Test-Taking Strategies Part II
Samantha Bennett's energizing book, That Workshop Book: New Systems and Structures for Classrooms That Read, Write, and Think, asks teachers to reflect on their classroom environments and teaching practices. Bennett...
4th Grade Room Tour
In this video tour of her 4th grade classroom, Aimee Buckner highlights how she arranges books, charts, and other resources to support the reading and writing of her students.
Writing Comics: Introducing the Activity
In this lesson from a 4th grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with...
Test-Taking Strategies Part III: Whole Class Debrief
I am captivated by teachers' abilities to maximize time with students. Only an elementary teacher can check students' understanding of multiplication facts, conduct a class survey based on a student-created...
