Content Category: Lead Literacy
Results
Hosting a Family Writing Night
Our district holds a Literacy Night each school year. In the past, we have hosted family read-ins, author visits, and make-and-take nights. However, with the implementation of the Common Core...
Coaching Minute: Dividing Responsibilities Among Coaches
Kathy Provost and Heather Fisher explain how they worked to divide responsibilities fairly and efficiently over time.
Five Notebook Pages I Can’t Live Without (and Neither Should Students)
Looking through baskets full of my writing notebooks, I find a handful of pages repeated in each one. They aren’t repeated in the sense that they are identical; rather, the...
First-Grade Writers: Demonstration Small Group
Clare Landrigan leads a demonstration small group with first graders. The video includes a planning session and debrief with the children's teacher.
What Holds Students Back in Writing?
One of my guiding beliefs about writing is that people at all levels improve their writing skills by writing. Sometimes, I sit down and write and I don't like what...
Coaching Minute: Building a Coaching Rapport
Coaches Deb Gaby, Ruth Ayres, and second-grade teacher Cathy Laker chat about building a rapport between coaches and teachers.
Getting Creative in Building Relationships with Teachers
Soon after my husband and I moved into our home, we found ourselves locked out. It was before we had a chance to have extra keys cut and stowed on...
Apps in Perspective
I sighed after opening an email requesting “tablet support” from a group of teachers. I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. I stared at the screen. Then I...
Monitoring for Meaning: Fourth-Grade Small Group
In this demonstration small group, Tammy Mulligan teaches fourth graders strategies to monitor for meaning. The demonstration lesson includes a planning session with the teacher and a debrief.
I Have Time
One of the first pieces of advice I was given as a new coach was this: Always be busy. This advice was followed with a list of suggestions of how...
Staying Focused: How Leaders Can Keep Their Passion for Literacy Alive
Becoming a building principal changed me as a thinker, a reader, and a writer. It’s not that I’m better or worse—I'm just different from how I used to be. The...
Coaching Minute: Explore
Heather Rader explains the value of surfing the web with a professional development purpose in this quick video tip. A transcript is available below the player. When...
Resourceful and Cheap: Professional Development That Sparks Learning and Change
Recently, the balance between teaching and professional development has been way out of whack. The Visionary has erred on the side of overdeveloping us, and we are in meetings every...
Four Ways to Breathe Life into Classroom Charts
Charts are an incredible resource for developing independence in classrooms. When used effectively, charts document the teaching that has happened in the classroom and allow students to revisit lessons. Sometimes...
Pause Paraphrase Probe: Developing Coaching Skills
Amanda Adrian and Heather Sisson lead their coaching colleagues in an activity to practice paraphrasing skills in this excerpt from a coaching support group.
Reframing Questions to Build a Reading Community
On a cold December morning, a group of teachers came together to talk about reading workshop and how we could support our readers as they grow. One question emerged: How do...
Monitoring Meaning in First Grade
In this demonstration small group, Clare Landrigan helps first graders Tristan and Abby monitor meaning. The video includes excerpts from the planning and debriefing sessions with the children's teacher.
Libraries for All: Considering Struggling Readers
Quietly I enter the classroom as reading workshop begins, glancing around the room to locate the readers with whom I plan to confer today. As a primary reading intervention teacher,...
Reading Response in Third Grade: Demonstration Small Group
Tammy Mulligan leads a group of third graders in a small group designed to deepen their reading response. The video includes excerpts from the planning and debrief sessions with their...
Coaching Cycles Matter
As a former classroom teacher, I remember the days, weeks, and sometimes months when I felt like I was standing in a wind tunnel with things flying toward me. Those...
Tips for Conducting Demonstration Lessons, or How to Avoid the “Am I Doing This Right?” Question
Teachers spend most of their day alone with their class, and each day they are required to make hundreds of "in-the-moment" instructional decisions. Here are just a few of the...
