Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
March 6, 2026: Navigating a Literacy Curriculum
Most people don't know what's happening around them because they are speeding through life. —Tracy Morgan Don't Speed I drive too fast, so I set my cruise control. Even then,...
Pattern Seeking and Visualizing Numbers Lesson Structure
“Some are triangular and some are circular!” “I see the four pattern like on dice, and if you go down diagonally, they all have the four pattern.” “I wonder why...
Tips for Navigating a Scripted Literacy Program
Boxes and boxes and boxes arrived in August. I unpacked and unpacked and unpacked. I reorganized manuals, magazines, and small group books by unit in cardboard boxes and set them...
February 27, 2026: The Power of Reading
The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. —Mike Murdock What Routine Will You Create? I keep having the same conversation with educators. It goes like this:...
The Chain
It seems like everywhere you turn these days there is a headline lamenting the collapse of reading. A National Endowment for the Arts blog post declared, “Federal Data on Reading...
February 20, 2026: Routines for Literacy
The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. —Robert Frost Cornerstones...
February 13, 2026: Special Edition: Straight from the Heart
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. —Franklin P. Jones Straight from the Heart In order to become extraordinary, it’s not just being extraordinary in ordinary conditions. You have to...
February 6, 2026: Using Literacy for Good
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. —Naomi Shihab Nye Abundance by Suzy Kaback Abundance is my word of...
What Type of Mistake Was It?
If you’re in conversation with the self, you can be in conversation with the world. —Suleika Jaouad How can we help students reflect on their mistakes so that they can...
January 30, 2026: Keep Steady
Sourdough: where science meets soul. —Unknown Sourdough by Tara Barnett Not too long ago, I took the plunge into sourdough. I’d been gifted a fresh sourdough loaf from my good...
From Meet-Cutes to Happily-Ever-Afters: A Romance Genre Study
This year one of my classes had a distinct reading personality. Nearly all the students were romance readers. This is not a genre I am personally drawn to, but after...
January 23, 2026: Let’s Talk About Books!
What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing. —Oprah Winfrey Let's Talk About Books One of my favorite things to...
January 16, 2026: The Humanity of Teaching
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed. —Unknown So What? My dad was diagnosed with leukemia. It feels like there are no...
Short Story Anthologies
For a long while, I had trouble feeling enthusiastic about audiobooks. I understood myself as a reader who needed to hold the book in her hands and read the words...
December 12, 2025: Let Choice Shine
Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare. —Angela Duckworth Stay the Course Andy and I first hosted an exchange student when we were 28 and didn’t have kids. Taija was from...
December 5, 2025: Be Yourself (It’s Enough)
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. —Ralph Waldo Emerson Be Yourself Before you read more, will you...
November 28, 2025: Hunt for the Celebration
Live each moment in a rampage of appreciation. —Wayne Dyer A Note from Ruth Dear Friends, This week I’m breaking with our usual format and writing you a note instead....
November 21, 2025: Food and Community
Food is our common ground, a universal experience. —James Beard Common Ground The first time we met our son Jay, he was seven. We took him to a restaurant because...
November 14, 2025: Protecting Inquiry
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have...
Just Ask Them: Including Students in the Feedback Process
As educators, we put on our curiosity hats. After a year of focusing on using success criteria with students, wonders were swishing around in our minds. Do you think the...
Protecting Choice and Inquiry with Outdoor Learning Walks
As curriculum shifts in our buildings to feeling more structured, we’ve been reflecting a lot on what we want to hold tight to, what we believe kids need regardless of...
