Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Making Co-Teaching Work
For four years, we had the fortunate circumstance of being placed together as co-teachers in a fourth-grade classroom. For four years, we got the opportunity to know each other only...
What Writers Need
A couple of summers ago I decided to be a writer full-time for two weeks. I woke up each day and headed to campus, filled with excitement, some anxiety, and...
The Big Fresh November 11, 2017 What’s Your Hashtag?
Never underestimate the power of a tweet. Germany Kent To say I am a little addicted to Twitter is an understatement. I might even have three Twitter accounts. Yep, I...
Writing Effective Conclusions
This year I actually had a student ask me, “Do I have to write a conclusion? Can’t I just stop?” Besides making me laugh, this question stopped me cold for...
The Quote Collector
I love collections. Collections of books, of shoes, of childhood mementos, of swatches of clothing my children wore to be made into a quilt (someday!), of wine corks, of sticky...
Teaching Summary with Book Blurbs
Every year my students struggle to summarize their texts. I pull my chair alongside them for a reading conference and ask Carl Anderson’s now infamous question, “How’s it going?” My...
Writing a Strong Conclusion to a Literary Analysis Essay
Christy Rush-Levine helps eighth grader Katherine sort through tools and strategies for writing a strong conclusion to her literary analysis essay.
The Big Fresh November 4, 2017 Neighborhood Library
The library is like a candy store where everything is free. Jamie Ford I hear a quiet knock on my back door and rush to open it. Thirteen-year-old Abigail...
Using Mentor Texts Across the Writing Process
During our prep for state testing, Alex wrote lead after lead in her on-demand narrative pieces that mimicked the structure and phrasing of Owl Moon. She knew the lead to...
Mentor Texts for Letter Writing
A few months ago, Jennifer Serravallo posted a photo of children in her neighborhood writing letters and postcards. When we looked at this photo, we could almost hear the productive...
Girls’ Book Share in Fifth Grade
Katherine Sokolowski demonstrates how she helps a group of girls in her fifth-grade classroom learn to help each other select books based on previous experiences and tastes.
Children’s Books: Mirrors and Windows
“I’ve been to the barbershop!” exclaims Tyrell, bouncing on his knees. “My pop-pop took me to the barbershop.” His kindergarten teacher, Gina, looks up from the read-aloud book Bippity Bop...
Assessment Refresh
“I don’t know how to do this,” Jenny whined. “Will you help me?” Jenny was an eighth grader who had dealt with major health issues throughout middle school. She had...
The Big Fresh October 28, 2017 Blind Spots
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Helen Keller I remember a painful visit I made to a classroom some years ago. The first-grade...
Resisting Rubrics
Our two kids, ages 8 and 10, were busily chatting in the backseat as we drove home from church. “What are they talking about?” I asked as I strained to...
Moves for Struggling Writers
When I taught fifth and sixth grade, I remember one student who was a very reluctant writer. He had mastered a variety of ways to avoid putting words down on...
The Big Fresh October 21, 2017 Cheese Emergency
Life is great. Cheese makes it better. Avery Aames On a getaway with my sister in the Berkshires, I walked by a gourmet cheese shop in Great Barrington. It was...
They Don’t Read at Home
The building literacy team gathered around the table as the year came to a close, ready to look at the progress of their students during the school year. I’m geeky...
Big Picture to Close-Up Lens: Conferring with Kellan
Katrina Edwards confers with first grader Kellan about her love of the Danny book series, moving from a "big picture" discussion of patterns in the book and Kellan's reading strategies...
Tools for Striving Writers
As our district’s writing coordinator, I love working with children who are struggling to write. Yes, I love to work with the gushing writers, but there’s something really rewarding about...
The Big Fresh October 14, 2017 More Heart, Less Head
I don’t have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like...
