Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Becoming More Inclusive
We are having more and more conversations in our district and beyond that address the importance of inclusive practices in all aspects of education. At a recent faculty meeting, we...
Whose Point of View Matters? Considering Multiple Perspectives
As the students transitioned from the minilesson to independent reading, I saw one student kick another student’s book. It was a soft kick—basically a tap—but it happened. One student was...
May 17, 2019 Better To-Do Lists
A list is a collection with purpose. Adam Savage Recently I realized I’ve gotten in a rut with my daily to-do list. It always has about 10 or 15 random...
May 10, 2019 Moments That Matter
We’re all looking for someone who knows who we are and will break it to us gently. Robert Brault This month I helped my friend Sandy brainstorm ideas for...
Read Aloud Annotations: Predictions
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...
Spring Cleaning
As a child, I spent a lot of time at Fannie Weaver’s house. Fannie was the matriarch of the Amish family who lived up the hill from my parents’ farm,...
Fewer Books and More Options at the End of the Year
As the end of the year approaches, we all receive that dreaded email. The one that reads something like this: Dear Friend, It’s hard to believe it is already May...
May 3, 2019 Buried Writing
Good stories are not written. They are rewritten. Phyllis Whitney Not long ago, I stumbled across my college “capstone project.” This assignment was the pride of Allegheny College, a...
Key Elements of Short Stories
I teach a creative writing elective, and one of the most anticipated assignments of the class is to write a short story. Students get excited about the chance to make...
April 26, 2019 Neighborhood Grocery
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run. ...
Growing Toward Stories
At a recent meeting with two teachers who teach combined kindergarten and first-grade Learning Language Disabilities (LLD) classrooms, they expressed concern about their recent training in writing workshop. There’s just...
Read Aloud Annotations: Characters and Intentions
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...
April 19, 2019 Step Back and Begin Again
Everything and everyone at their own pace. Flow with not against yourself. ...
Alternatives to Graphic Organizers
The first time it happened was on a balmy November day. The room was quiet except for the sound of fingers clicking on keys and a soft baroque instrumental melody...
Read-Aloud Annotations: Notebook Predictions
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...
Writer’s Notebook Tweaks
Have you ever noticed how even the things you love sometimes annoy you? Perfection is hard to come by, and small, niggling issues tend to pop up and overshadow our...
April 12, 2019 The Recipe Formula
It is the greatest truth of our age: Information is not knowledge. Caleb Carr Yesterday I searched online for a cornbread recipe. In the process I was reminded...
April 5, 2019 Black Diamond
Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. ...
Student-Led Minilession: Planning and Organizing Nonfiction Writing
Katie leads a minilesson in Franki Sibberson's fifth-grade class on organizing and planning nonfiction writing.
Releasing the Teaching to Students
I have watched my students grow in many ways since the beginning of the school year. They have picked up various skills, understand the standards and their use more competently,...
Who Owns the Learning?
Author Gary D. Schmidt visited our school this morning. I have known for a long time through books like Okay for Now, What Came from the Stars, and Trouble that...
