Content Category: Choice Literacy
Results
The Big Fresh October 3, 2015 The Tyranny of Levels
Education has produced a vast population able to read, but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. G. M. Trevelyan Once upon a time, there was a third-grade girl, Daisy,...
Understanding Fiction and Nonfiction in First Grade: Independent Practice
Erin Quealy circulates among student partnerships in her first-grade classroom, checking in to see how well individual students are understanding the different attributes of fiction and nonfiction after her minilesson....
Understanding Fiction and Nonfiction in First Grade: Venn Diagram
In this conclusion to a whole-class demonstration lesson, Erin Quealy uses a Venn diagram to bring together student artifacts for a whole-class discussion of fiction and nonfiction after a minilesson...
Unstable Labels: Stop the Race to Z
One evening at a family dinner at the end of the school year, Kim sat next to her sister-in-law, who nodded toward her five-year-old son sitting across from her at...
Little Levels, Big Thinking
I’m teaching first grade after a year in third grade. It was such a good learning year for me. I realized that lots of books that work in first grade...
Reading, Engagement, and Kidwatching
I looked up from my reading conference with Jordan to see that David was building a mighty impressive book fort, Mateo and Tucker were exchanging Lego figures behind books, Jasmine...
The Big Fresh September 26, 2015 Reading for Football
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that. Bill Shankly...
Reorganizing Primary Information Texts
Each summer, I think about all the things I want to change in my classroom for the upcoming year. I think about replenishing supplies like chart paper and colored paper,...
Nonfiction Books with More Than One Entry Point
My third graders love facts and information. Often their nonfiction reading lives consist of books that share lots of facts and isolated information about topics they love. I want to...
Understanding Fiction and Nonfiction in First Grade
This is a demonstration lesson in a first-grade classroom on understanding the difference between fiction and nonfiction led by Erin Quealy. It is the first video in a three-part series....
Nonfiction Scrapbooks
This year, my sixth graders will be expanding on an idea we began last year. We’re going old school with scrapbooking! We will be scrapbooking with short text, such as...
The Big Fresh September 19, 2015 Learning from Bees
For so work the honey-bees, creatures that by a rule in nature teach the act of order to a peopled kingdom. William Shakespeare A few years ago, my dad...
Grouping Strategies for Guided Reading
“My guided reading fantasy is that my whole class falls into nice, neat groups of four to six kids at the same reading level,” sighed Brianne as we looked over...
Embracing Meaning Making in Guided Reading Groups
I believe readers get the best feedback and support when I meet with them individually, where I can listen and then we can confer. Working with more than one student...
A Fiction Writing Field Trip
Every year in writing workshop, my students beg to write fiction. They are well versed in narratives, memoirs, and informational texts. I know I have to teach these units; the...
Second-Grade Reading Group
Heather Rader leads a second-grade small group on reading strategies.
The Big Fresh September 12, 2015 They Just Write ‘Em
Sometimes the biggest act of courage is a small one. Lauren Raffo Years ago I scooched my chair up to a kindergartner during writing workshop. He was writing line after...
Beyond Explicit Instruction: What Do Struggling Readers Need?
Struggling readers need precisely what good readers receive—lots of high-success reading experiences. Richard Allington I’m not a fan of the words struggling reader. But in using them here, I...
Restarting a Writing Draft in Fourth Grade
Beth Lawson confers with Michael, who needs to restart his writing draft.
Like Teacher, Like Student: Finding Emotional Support in Schools
I walk back to my kindergarten classroom and noticed my entire shirt is damp. Gabe’s panic attack before physical education class ignited many other students’ anxieties, and as we waited...
My Journey with Marcos: Autism and English Language Learners
Ms. Villalba: “So Marcos, I’m wondering why the boy decided to run away instead of staying to help. What are you thinking?” Marcos: “Mmm . . . Ms. Villalba, I’m...
