Andie Cunningham
Finding ways for learners to communicate what they know from life and the books they read has been a crucial part of Andie Cunningham’s work within literacy. Andie is a literacy coach in Portland, Oregon. She is also National Courage and Renewal facilitator, and consistently brings Courage to Teach to the professionals with whom she works.
All Content
Like Teacher, Like Student: Finding Emotional Support in Schools
Andie Cunningham and one of her kindergarten students share something in common at the start of the school year — tears as they struggle to find their place in a new community.
Listening and Storytelling
Andie Cunningham shares a simple and creative professional development activity that melds storytelling, art, and listening.
Channeling Monet
Andie Cunningham deals with the tension of welcoming an unhappy parent into her kindergarten classroom.
The Quiet Power of Language and Learning with Art
Andie Cunningham finds watercolors are the perfect tool for learning in a study group on a dreary winter day.
Strength in Assessment: A Professional Development Protocol
How can you lead a discussion about assessment without getting bogged down in minutia? Andie Cunningham shares a protocol that sparks participation with the drawback of one or two people (or assessment tools) dominating the conversation.
Learning from Kidwatching
Quiet kindergartners can be a challenge to understand when they are in the beginning stages of learning social and academic norms. Andie Cunningham uses observation to make sense of five-year-old Sierra’s learning.
Death in Books: Finding Our Way After Loss
Books can help children deal with the toughest challenges in life. In a new booklist, Andie Cunningham shares her top picks for stories about characters grappling with the death of a loved one.
Keeping Track of Questions
Andie Cunningham observes a third-grade teacher as she systematically improves the quality and depth of student questioning over time.
Understanding the Middle East Through Children’s Literature (BOOKLIST)
Sheiks, harems, and terrorists — the stereotypes of the middle east from popular culture may not be realistic, but they sure are pervasive. Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham find authentic alternative views to present to children in their new booklist.
Staying Child-Centered When You Work with Adults
Andie Cunningham shares challenges and practical strategies for how literacy leaders can stay child-centered.
Volunteered: What I Learned from Cleaning Out the Barn
Andie Cunningham is "ticked and disgusted" when her boss volunteers her for yet another committee. Cleaning out the barn clears her head, reminding Andie of all the tools and strategies literacy leaders have for dealing with whatever is flung their way.
Conferring with Vita: Working Through Silence
Andie Cunningham confers with Vita, an English language learner whose first language is Russian. Vita is in the silent period. Notice how Andie coaxes communication from Vita, and manages to convey a sense of delight at her work, an acknowledgment of Vita’s importance in the classroom community, and some guidance for future writing.
Telling Our Stories
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham beautifully weave together poetry and storytelling in a potent professional development activity for teachers.
Literacy Groundings
Andie works with new teachers as they share their literacy groundings — the moments in their histories that shaped who they are as educators.
Preschool Thank-You Writing Center
Teachers Melissa Kolb and Andie Cunningham help preschoolers use the thank-you writing center in this quick two-minute video.
Classroom Gifts from Carlos: Helping Young Students Learn Academic Language and Routines
It can be especially difficult for young children from impoverished homes to understand academic language and the demands of school. Andie Cunningham observes the sophisticated ways a preschool teacher helps her students adapt with invitational language.
Drawing to Words: Conferring with Luis
In this four-minute video, Andie Cunningham confers with Luis during writing workshop. Luis is a six-year-old English language learner whose passion is drawing.
Seven Minutes of Listening
What can we learn by listening closely to children? Plenty — Andie Cunningham shares insights from seven minutes with a young English language learner.
Characters I Know Too Well
Books with themes of sexual abuse may be the most difficult for many of us to grapple with, if only because the issue horrifies us. Yet for some abused teens, a book may be the needed catalyst for breaking their silence about what's going on outside school. Andie Cunningham shares an annotated booklist on this tough topic.
“This Could Be Our Family”: Books for Children with Lesbian and Gay Parents
Andie Cunningham considers the diversity in how “families” are defined in children’s literature, as well as how some newer books can support children with lesbian or gay parents in our new booklist.
Choosing New Books for Comprehension Strategy Studies with Young Children
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham share a wealth of books appropriate for comprehension study with young children. The booklist is especially useful for work with English language learners.
Books for Strategy Studies
Andie Cunningham has some thoughtful recommendations for books to use in strategy studies.
Preschool Letter Detectives
Andie Cunningham works with three-, and four-year-olds as they become "letter detectives." This activity is a wonderful bridge between children's natural curiosity and the alphabet, suitable for preschoolers or kindergartners.
Bucking Broncs and Spitting Bulls
Andie Cunningham finds a rodeo reminds her of the opening days of school, and how timed assessments can cloud our vision of students early in the year.
Helping Classroom Volunteers Become Better Listeners
Helping volunteers understand the importance of listening to young learners is one of Andie Cunningham’s goals. Here she gives tips for preparing volunteers to confer with children.
Connecting Language and Hope: A Study Group Activity
The teaching profession needs an abundance of hope. In this creative study group activity, Andie Cunningham helps young teachers connect language and hope through art.
Creating Anchor Charts with Sticky Note Responses from Young Readers
Over-sized sticky notes are a great learning tool for kindergartners. In this video, Andie Cunningham demonstrates how she uses them with her students.
In the Zone: Conferring with a Young English Language Learner
Andie Cunningham confers with kindergartner Cristian within his "ZPD" – Zone of Proximal Development.
Understanding the “Silent Period” with English Language Learners
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham explain how to support an English Language Learner who is not speaking with verbal and nonverbal communication strategies.
The Art of Listening in Writing Conferences with English Language Learners
Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham share tips for mastering the art of listening in conferences with English language learners.
Webbing to Learn: A Writing Strategy to Chart Thinking with Young Learners
Andie Cunningham and Ruth Shagoury explain how webs can be a powerful organizing tool for kindergarten writers.
Honor Books: Helping Children and Families Build Bridges Between Home and School
What does Andie Cunningham gets when she mixes pictures from the classroom, messages from families and poetry from teachers? A wonderful recipe for an Honor Book you’ll want to try with your own students.
Introducing Bull’s-Eye and Waves Written Responses in Synthesis Work
Andie Cunningham explains the bull’s-eye and wave responses her kindergartners complete to demonstrate their understanding of synthesis. A video introducing the activity is included.
Every Language Counts: Adding Multilingual Counting Activities to Morning Meeting
Every year kindergarten teacher Andie Cunningham has children who come from homes with many different first languages. She helps welcome these different languages and cultures into the classroom community by counting in different languages during the morning meeting.
Spacing Words: A Minilesson with Young Writers
In this two-minute video, Andie Cunningham reinforces the concept of spacing words with her kindergartners using her own writing and a brainstorming web.
Tracking Young Children’s Writing and Development
Andie Cunningham and Ruth Shagoury share the assessment tools they use to track Andie’s kindergarten writers.
