Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Setting and Using Classroom Norms
The fifth graders are sitting in our meeting area, some sitting cross-legged on the carpet and some perched on surrounding stools and benches. The minilesson is coming to a close...
Homework: I Challenge You!
Excitement filled the air. Through every hallway, in every classroom, students were brimming with joy. It was Fun Run time once again. During this two-week fund-raiser, students remained eager to...
A Homework-Free Classroom
I don’t believe in homework. There. I said it. I am a teacher and a mom, and I don’t believe in homework. My daughters are seven and nine years old....
June 21, 2019 Invitations to Move
No audience ever complained about a presentation being too short. Stephen Keague What makes...
Read-Aloud Annotations: Google Slides
In this video series, Franki Sibberson's fifth graders share their strategies for annotating the class read aloud, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Students have their choice of using notebooks...
Guided Reading for Proficient Readers?
I was excited when I saw Tracy’s name on my “coaching roster.” Tracy is an enthusiastic teacher who is well respected in the school district that had contracted me. I...
Using a Strategy Notebook in Small-Group Instruction
I glanced up at the clock in our classroom. That clock was my nemesis and my guiding light. Twenty minutes. I had 20 minutes left before I had to call...
June 14, 2019 Fly-Fishing on a Basketball Court
Reading should not be presented to a child as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift. Kate DiCamillo I was ready. I borrowed waders from...
June 7, 2019 Maps and Journeys
It is not down on any map; true places never are. Herman Melville Steven Pressfield shares this wonderful story on his blog (relayed by way of Seth Godin)...
Read-Aloud Annotations: Google Docs for Questions
In this video series, Franki Sibberson's fifth graders share their strategies for annotating the class read-aloud, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Students have their choice of using notebooks or...
Helping Students Develop Conversational Identity
At a recent dinner party, my friend’s six-year-old daughter, Anicia, sidled up to me. “You’re a principal, right?” “Yep.” “My teacher says I talk too much.” I smiled. Anicia was,...
Growing Talk About Reading
The past year has been a steep learning curve for Kate. After nine years in a fourth-grade classroom, she moved to a literacy interventionist position, in which she pulls struggling...
Read-Aloud Annotations: Expectation and Reality
In this video series, Franki Sibberson's fifth graders share their strategies for annotating the class read-aloud, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Students have their choice of using notebooks or...
Talking Through Characters
Our sixth graders are getting ready to write realistic fiction stories, and one of the important parts of the process is getting to know their characters. In the past, I...
Stepping Away from the Conversation
I recently watched a teacher artfully—and unexpectedly—remove herself from student talk just when it got sticky. The class of second graders had just finished reading about a group of animals...
May 31, 2019 Smart Enough to Know How Dumb I Am
I’ve seen how you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room. Barbara Kingsolver When I was asked to run for the...
Summer Literacy
“What can I do to help my son and daughter stay sharp and not lose momentum? They have come so far this school year, and I am afraid they will...
Read Aloud Annotations: Using Google Slides to Focus
In this video series, Franki Sibberson's fifth graders share their strategies for annotating the class read-aloud The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Students have their choice of using notebooks or...
Student-Centered Notes
I wrote my first research paper when I was in eighth grade. I believe my assigned topic was the death penalty, and I think I probably felt passionately about whatever...
May 24, 2019 Yets
Those who wish to sing, always find a song. Swedish Proverb This spring I’ve spent a lot of time with a loved one who is recovering from a stroke....
Read-Aloud Annotations: Thoughts to Themes
In this video series, Franki Sibberson's fifth graders share their strategies for annotating the class read-aloud, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Students have their choice of using notebooks or...
