Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
Who Owns the Room?
A professor in my graduate work in elementary education taught me many years ago to look at the classroom and ask, “Who owns the room?” She cautioned that it was...
The Big Fresh August 6, 2016 Teach Like You’re Scared to Death
The secret to my success is that I bit off more than I could chew and chewed as fast as I could. Paul Hogan “I hear you have a new...
Making the Most of Transitions
If you’re anything like us, September is exciting in its newness. It can also be challenging because of your memory of what it’s like to teach the kids you taught...
“What Are We Learning Today?”: Transitioning with Compelling Questions
"What are we learning today?" I used to hear this every day, every class period, from at least half of my seventh-grade social studies students. It was frustrating. I used...
Transition Time in Middle School
In the past year, I’ve started taking what my husband calls “insanely hard workout classes.” I’ve never sweated so intensely, cursed (usually silently) so frequently, or struggled so mightily to...
Reflective Transitions
Christy Rush-Levine helps her eighth-grade students launch the work period with a reflective question, and then returns to it throughout the morning during transition times.
The Big Fresh July 30, 2016 Cheetos and Tofu
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Jillian Michaels Recently I was chatting with my friend Lexi about working out, and I was surprised when she said she didn’t like her trainer....
Student Interest Board
Katherine Sokolowski shares a wall display from her fifth graders that students build to celebrate who they are and people they love from home.
Life Without the Big Teacher’s Desk
You’ve decided to get rid of your big teacher’s desk. There are some good reasons that support this decision. First of all, the big teacher’s desk is really a relic...
Student-Centered Room Setup
There’s nothing quite like starting the school year. Even though it’s hard for us to say goodbye to summer, the feelings of newness and possibility that September bring are unique....
Creating a Space for Peace
A week after winter break, there were more tears than smiles in my classroom. Like most first-grade classrooms, we had our share of disagreements and upset feelings, but the difference...
The Big Fresh July 23, 2016 Time Savers
A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe. Katheryn Johnston “But how will that save us any time?” Kyle Butler was chatting with...
Helping Young Readers Focus on Print
“Get your mouth ready,” prompted Lily. Deshawn gave her a quizzical look, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and went on to miscue “berries” as “grapes.” Lily...
Conferring with Ashley: Pink Hair
Ruth Ayres confers with first grader Ashley early in the year. This brief writing conference with a simple text is all about building a rapport in September and celebrating illustrations....
Thinking About Fluency
As a reading teacher, I used to joke that it was important to spend time teaching fluency as a matter of sanity. That’s being a bit flip, but fluency is...
The Big Fresh July 16, 2016 A Better Mousetrap
If you build a better mousetrap, you will catch better mice. George Gobel It was the first day of summer. I ran a few errands and came home to...
Beginnings, Middles, and Endings: The Power of Baseline Assessments
Controlled chaos—or to a passerby perhaps it looked more like complete chaos. A literal buzz was emanating from my classroom during the last week of the school year, to the...
The Value of Pre-Assessment
Heading into a new school year, or even a new unit, a helpful strategy to remember involves tapping in to what students already know. Pre-assessing at the beginning of a...
Getting to Know Writers: Using Quotes
One of the ways to jump-start the conversation about writing process is to read and reflect upon what other writers have to say about their own process. Information about authors...
The Living: Book Talk
Christy shares The Living with a group of eighth graders.
The Big Fresh July 9, 2016 A Fork in the Road
You know what's worse than not working hard? Working hard in the wrong direction. Mark Fahmy When I was a child, I struggled to tell left from...
