Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
English Language Learners First-Grade Guided Group
Stella Villalba leads a guided reading group for first-grade English language learners, beginning by building vocabulary.
Student-Led Conferences from Many Perspectives
In Ohio, teaching third grade has become particularly challenging, as it is sometimes difficult not to be consumed with test scores and test results. We have an Ohio law called...
Overcoming: Helping Students Process Covid Feelings
My son Ryan and I were in his room, playing basketball with the hoop on his closet door. I was sitting high on his loft bed and shooting “threes;” he...
In-the-Moment Word Study
“Well,” I said, “I’m not sure we have anything else to talk about. I think it’s time to start our day!” It was a short community circle, so Sam spoke...
Using Whiteboards Before Writer’s Notebooks
Writing was right after recess in the daily schedule, so the students came into the classroom full of energy and with bright cheeks from the winter weather. After a transition...
Giving Writers What They Need
I glance around the room. There are some students with their heads bent and pencils busily filling up the page. Luke is staring into space, but he looks contemplative—like he...
Quick Take: Special Library Shelves
Christy Rush-Levine shares a few special shelves in her classroom library.
Word Study Literacy Team Meeting
The literacy team is a group of teachers who meet once or twice a month to study and discuss literacy across the whole school. The team consists of...
Avoiding Implementation Through Lamination
I recently attended a professional development session in which one of the speakers urged school leaders to avoid “implementation through lamination.” He was referring to administrators whose primary mode of...
Magnifying the Moment
Like many educators, one of my favorite moments is the “light bulb” moment when a learner begins to make sense of the teaching point. The reaction might range from asking...
Maximizing Instructional Time at the Start of a New Unit
The launch of a new writing unit is an exciting time. Usually, students have just experienced some sort of writing celebration, and they have felt the pride and energy that...
Author Studies for Primary Students
It is toward the end of the school year in kindergarten, and we are in the middle of one of my favorite units, an author study with Grace Lin. We...
Instructional Routines That Promote Agency for Multilingual Learners
“I’d love to see him working more independently…” “Sometimes she is unsure what to do next and does not ask for help…” “One of the things we are working on...
Shake It Up: Active Learning Strategies That Engage Students
I once had a class that nearly broke my spirit. It seemed that no matter what lessons I planned or how enthusiastic I was about them, I was met with...
Choice in Assessment
Text is just ink on a page until a reader comes along and gives it life. —Louise Rosenblatt I was a bright-eyed, open-hearted, new teacher in a room filled with...
Field Experience: Kindergarten Writers
Spend time with the youngest writers and you will be mesmerized by their writing processes. This field experience focuses on kindergarten writers. Topic: Writing Instruction Grade Level: Elementary Shared Writing...
Classroom Tours: Learning from Colleagues
A few years ago we had someone from outside our school community do a walkthrough of classrooms in our building, to help us figure out how we could create better...
Writing Workshop Teacherisms
With the beginning of a new school year fast approaching many classroom teachers find themselves reflecting on what worked and didn't work when launching the previous year's writing workshop. Everything...
Teaching Punctuation Through Shared Reading in Kindergarten
The first purpose of shared reading is to provide children with an enjoyable reading experience, to introduce them to a variety of authors and illustrators and the ways these communicators...
Using Skype in the Classroom
When I plan for the year I map out field trips, read alouds, and writing units. Iin recent years I've added Skype visits to the calendar. Skype is something I...
Teaching Passion and Tech Tools: A Conversation with Angela Maiers (PODCAST)
Franki Sibberson chats with Angela Maiers about teaching passion and new tech tools. Angela is the author of The Passion-Driven Classroom and many other resources for teachers. You can learn...
