Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Eavesdrop on Your Students
Melissa Quimby suggests listening in on students' conversations to find out their interests. These tidbits will help you in building connections, recommending books, and encouraging writing topics.
November 4, 2022: Engaging Secondary Students
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. —Robert F. Kennedy Straight from the Field Holly Wenning is a secondary instructional coach whom I first met many...
The Importance of the Workshop Model in High School
Instructional coach Holly Wenning shares the importance of the workshop model, and especially work time, for high school students. See the transition from minilesson to work time in a 10th-grade...
October 28, 2022: Getting to Know Digital Learners
Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. —Epictetus Rocky Ground Recently I learned...
Still Thinking: An Opportunity to Pause and Think Deeply
Critical thinking skills are essential across all subjects and content areas. As we learn additional information, our brains find a way to create a new schema or adapt prior knowledge....
How Many? Counting Opportunities in Picture Books
I was excited to read Shh! We Have a Plan during the first month of first grade. It’s a humorous story with beautiful illustrations, a little suspense, and a sweet...
The Power of an Anchor Chart in a Digital World
I have noticed a trend lately that anchor charts seem to be disappearing in classrooms. I see commercially printed posters on the walls outlining character traits or phonetic rules. Or...
Getting to Know Digital Learners: How Playing with Technology Helps Facilitate Our Identities as Learners
Recently Josie’s four-year-old granddaughter became fascinated with slime YouTube videos. We thought the request for these videos was simply a filler during her quiet time. However, she was taking note:...
Spoiler Alert: You Can Start Big to Go Small (Macbeth in One Class Period)
As the students walked into the classroom, I greeted them by handing each student a script: a 10-minute version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The students settled into their seats, and I...
October 21, 2022: Ways to Hear and Respond to Student Voices
A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. —Oprah Winfrey The Importance of Guides I’ve been working with a business coach. Her name is Stephanie,...
Listening for Conjectures
It was my second year of teaching fourth grade, and we were in the second week of the school year. The students were sitting in our meeting area where we...
Student Voices First
We have all been learning a lot about identities, meaningful representation, and creating classrooms of inclusion. I love this work, and it has opened up a world of ideas and...
Our Words Matter: Developing Perseverance in Literacy
Our words have weight from the first moment. “I don’t know how to draw me,” Mason says after I introduce our self-portrait project on the first day of kindergarten. Given...
Feedback Through Conversations: An Asset-Based Approach
We know the value of feedback and the importance of providing students with specific feedback to guide learning. When working with students, I am intentional in not only making my...
October 14, 2022: Renewing Student Energy
Healing takes time, and so does not healing. Choose how you spend your time wisely. —Lalah Delia Renewing Energy In 2006 I gave up New Year's resolutions and selected a...
Routines That Normalize Mistakes
Lawrence slunk down in his seat, staring at his notebook. The rim of his eyes welled with just the faintest pooling of tears, and his knuckles gave away the telltale...
Renewing Energy in the Classroom
Have you ever thought about a word that you know well, yet you'd struggle to articulate an actual definition of it if asked? I recently had this experience with the...
October 7, 2022: Persistence and Progression to Grow Readers
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. —Albert Einstein First Persistence, Then Joy Entering the recess doors we discovered a mallard duck wedged into the far...
Math Debates: A Powerful Sense-Making Routine
In a bag of marbles, 3⁄5 of the marbles are blue and the rest are red. If the number of red marbles is doubled and the number of blue marbles...
Engaging Kids in Reading Intervention
I had a lot of fears moving from the classroom into the role of reading interventionist. I didn’t sleep very well after accepting the position as interventionist because my fears...
Questions to Ask When Reading the Morning Message
It is morning meeting, and I watch several children avoid looking at the morning message plastered on the screen. Their lack of engagement quickly reminds me of how Covid disrupted...
