Content Category: Choice Literacy
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Feedback Writers Will Use
Banal It was just one word scrawled at the top of my friend's literary essay. I don't remember if it was written in red or not, but it probably was. ...
Shared Writing with Older Readers and Writers
Shared writing was a successful tool when I taught kindergarten and first grade. I was able to model how reading and writing were intertwined; writers have thoughts and share them...
February 28, 2025: Finding Possibilities with Mentors
A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. —Oprah Winfrey Protect Hearts Recently, a colleague said to me, "You know, 10 or 15 years ago...
Now What? We Went on a Field Trip
Field trip. Those two words can get very opposite reactions when brought up in a conversation with teachers. There are teachers who love going on field trips and those who...
Uplifting Independent Reading in the Living Room
Gwen Blumberg offers ways to make the library a welcoming space for readers to settle in with their choice of books. Classroom teachers can consider creating a living room, too.
Mentor Texts Elevate Readers and Writers
Reading workshop was ending, and my students were packing up their take-home book bags. I mingled around the room, assisting as necessary and gathering my materials for our writing workshop...
February 21, 2025: Let Hope Stick
Hope is not always rational, but it is always necessary. —Bryan Stevenson Let Hope Stick There are days when we feel completely, totally, and undeniably disheartened—days that threaten joy and...
February 14, 2025: Spark Reading Response
To love at all is to be vulnerable. —C.S. Lewis Happy Valentine's Day? Happy Valentine's Day! I wonder how many people groaned at that greeting. I know Valentine's Day did...
Writing About Reading: A Search for Authenticity
I have a love/hate relationship with writing about reading. I have tried different ways to introduce and teach it to my students. But honestly, it always felt fake to me....
Quick and Easy Reading Responses
I look up during our first 10 minutes and see Andrew returning his very recently borrowed copy of They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. “Wow, Andrew, you finished that...
Expecting Joy in the Classroom Library
Bitsy Parks shares the joy you can expect from the classroom library.
February 7, 2025: Boost Talk = Boost Learning
Our passion is our strength. —Billie Joe Armstrong Join Us! One of my secret delights each month is leading the Coach-to-Coach group. It started on a whim in 2023; I...
Sketchnoting in the Library
Drawing is putting a line [a]round an idea. ~ Henri Matisse “Can we sketchnote?” Ella asks as I am about to start a read aloud during library class. “Of course”...
Fostering Classroom Dialogue
Sometimes you get a class that just clicks when it comes to discussions. That was my third-period AP Literature class last year. A combination of factors, such as class size,...
QuickTake: Using Picture Books to Start Conversations
Gigi McAllister reminds us of the special way picture books can open the doors of conversation.
January 31, 2025: Meaning Matters
Admiration and familiarity are strangers. —George Sand Making Meaning Together Recently I was invited to lead a series of short professional learning sessions at the school where I started my...
Meaning Makers
A preschooler picks up a book new to her, Pizza for Pia. The book was intended for her older sister. She looks at the cover as I read the title....
Zooming In and Stepping Back
Whether you call it close reading, passage analysis, or something else, zooming in on a scene in a larger work is a staple of instruction in many language arts classes,...
January 24, 2025: Ways to Show Learning
He that will enjoy the brightness of the sunshine, must quit the coolness of the shade. —Samuel Johnson Quitter's Day I recently learned that the second Friday in January is...
I Was Wrong About…
When I’m planning an argumentative writing assignment, I like to look for articles to show students how arguments look “in the wild,” or, in other words, how real writers construct...
Alternatives to a Literary Essay: Two-Voice Perspective Poems
In our seventh-grade classroom, our last unit of the year places students in partnerships reading books in verse, with bi-weekly meetings to discuss some aspect of the books together. Books...
