Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Writing Joy: A Publishing Celebration
End-of-unit celebrations are a norm in a writing workshop, but as the year progresses, I find that I can make the publishing process the celebration! In my class I begin...
Crafting a Literary Analysis
Christy Rush-Levine helps Ezekial draft his literary analysis.
Four Notebook Pages to Scaffold Persuasive Writing
“I’ve got that issue, too!” Max exclaimed, and jotted dogs in the skate park on the next line on a page in his writing notebook. “Those dogs are running all...
Finding Meaning in Reading Podcast with Heather Fisher
The focus of this week's Big Fresh is Finding Meaning in Reading. Heather Fisher joins the podcast. Click here for ALL links discussed. Each week Choice Literacy shares the Big...
February 5, 2021: Finding Meaning in Reading
Books are something social—a writer speaking to a reader—so I think making the reading of a book the center of a social event, the meeting of a book club, is...
Examining Book Choices with Awareness of Bias
“Mrs. Parks, they are wearing masks like us,” came a soft voice from my laptop. I paused to look at the thumbnail images of faces that filled my Zoom screen...
Recognizing Bias Podcast with Gretchen Schroeder
The focus of this week's Big Fresh is Recognizing Bias. Gretchen Schroeder joins the podcast. Click here for ALL links discussed. Each week Choice Literacy shares the Big Fresh...
January 29, 2021: Recognizing Bias
Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care...
Many Uses for Mentor Texts to Teach Argument Writing
Crafting a strong piece of argument writing is essential in middle school, according to the standards. The best way we have to teach our sixth- and seventh-grade students how to...
Rethinking “Finding” the Central Idea
I have often told my students that teachers don’t always have all the answers and that sometimes when teachers listen to students, we become the learners. When I told my students...
Teaching Summary
On the first day of school, I have sixth graders complete a survey answering questions to help me get to know them as readers, writers, and individuals. The last item...
Meaningful Conversations Podcast with Christy Rush-Levine
The focus of this week's Big Fresh is Meaningful Conversations. Christy Rush-Levine joins the podcast. Click here for ALL links discussed. Each week Choice Literacy shares the Big Fresh newsletter...
January 22, 2021: Meaningful Conversations
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. —Martin Luther King Jr. [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] That Isn't True for Me In my...
Meaningful Conversations
Years ago, I heard Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely speak on their book tour for All-American Boys. The authors shared how at every school they had visited, they asked how...
One Text. One Conversation. Many Possibilities.
It’s generally accepted that classroom discussion is an effective strategy for building comprehension and improving student achievement overall. But how it should occur around text is debatable. Guided reading? Yes,...
Equity Podcast with Stella Villalba
The focus of this week's Big Fresh is equity. Stella Villalba joins the podcast to discuss her current thinking about equity. Get the Big Fresh delivered straight to your inbox...
January 15, 2021: Equity
Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it. —Jess Lair [Now you can listen to the Big Fresh as a podcast!] Find Ways...
Picture Books That Affirm and Celebrate Students’ Identities
Children’s literature brings me joy. When I pick up a stack of picture books from my local library, I plan an afternoon around it. My essentials are a good cup...
Field Notes: 6 Ways to Respond Remotely to Build a Community of Writers
I’m joining Jen Vincent’s seventh-grade language arts class in a school outside of Chicago. Her students meet remotely, and I accepted Jen’s invitation to observe her writing workshop. Rarely will...
Three Small Moves to Make a More Inclusive Classroom
Sometimes understanding comes to us all at once, and other times it comes slowly, in small bits and pieces. Several years ago while I was subbing in a first-grade classroom,...
Laying the Foundation for an Equitable Classroom
I think that all teachers would agree that equity is an important aspect of education, but sometimes big concepts, such as equity, can seem daunting to the individual teacher. When...
