Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
April 24, 2020 Truth and Judgment
Literacy is freedom, and everyone has something significant to say. Jimmy Santiago Baca At a recent keynote address, Jimmy Santiago Baca challenged me (and everyone else in the audience)...
Second-Grade Conference: Illustrations and Frames
Ruth Ayres confers with second grader Reagan about writing she is revising for publication about a class trip to the zoo that included her grandmother. Ruth introduces her to the...
Making Our Writing Public
About 10 years ago I reached out to the Farnum Writing Center at Colby College and asked if they would like to partner with our student writers and respond to...
Observing Skilled Readers
I recently made an interesting observation in my middle school class. My most skilled students, who usually have to read things only once to have a decent grasp of concepts...
April 17, 2020 An Amazing Time
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. ...
Reassuring Worried Children with Picture Books
Some time ago I was asked to attend a parent-teacher conference for my daughter with her team of teachers. She was in seventh grade at the time. I expected the...
Making Paper Packets for Distance Learning
For many districts and grade levels, distance learning is harnessed through recorded minilessons. As coaches, we see many benefits to this. It’s an opportunity for teachers to hone their minilesson...
April 10, 2020 Savoring a Book Just Because
Books are a uniquely portable magic. ...
Owl Design Strategy Group Meeting
Andrea Smith meets with a group of fourth-grade girls who are completing designs as part of the owl habitat project.
The Power of Teaching Journals
When I was in graduate school, we watched videos (yes, I'm old enough that these were VHS videos) of expert teachers instructing and sharing their thoughts and reflections. I loved...
Journals or Writers’ Notebooks?
I did one of those end-of-the-year PD sessions. You know the type. The school administration realizes that they have money left in the PD budget and need to spend it...
April 3, 2020 Good Enough
The best is the enemy of the good. Voltaire It’s 2:00 a.m., and...
Remote Coaching Videos
We know our subscribers who are literacy coaches have a pressing need for resources to use in remote coaching contexts, as well as in college courses that are being moved...
Planting Rainbows
Well, this school year has certainly taken an unexpected turn. As my family has adjusted to the change in schedule and the abrupt change of pace in our daily living,...
Letting Go in the Remote Learning World
Having 72 hours to shift from face-to-face instruction toward online, remote learning challenged me in unexpected ways. Just when I thought I knew how to be a principal, I got...
March 27, 2020 New Plans
You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens. Mandy Hale If you've spent much time around me (virtually...
First Grade ELL Conference: Writing and Pop Culture
Stella Villalba confers with first grade English language learner Eric about his writing on angry birds, with Esmeralda also sharing advice.
Book Selection for Early and Emergent Readers
Walking into Anna’s classroom for reading intervention always made me smile. It wasn’t uncommon to see her with a basket of small books, talking with a friend over a favorite...
Picture Walk Group in Kindergarten
Hayley Whitaker meets with a group of kindergartners and takes them through a picture walk.
The Good Part of Tech
I have struggled to accept technology as a part of my classroom. I attend technology workshops with cynicism and regularly bemoan the amount of money that goes into technology purchases...
Interpretation and Comprehension
Teaching comprehension can be overwhelming. It seems as if there are so many skills for kids to learn and there's so much jargon: drawing conclusions, determining the main ideas, putting...
