Ellie Gilbert
Ellie Gilbert’s passions are teacher research and reading. She shares these passions with the faculty and students of St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, where she serves as the literacy coach and 9th grade English teacher.
All Content
“My Ideal Bookshelf”: Books that Educate Us
Ellie Gilbert shares an activity that is a terrific way to get to know your new students. Although Ellie works with high school students, this activity can be adapted for the younger grades.
Making Assumptions
The shift from teaching children to mentoring adults can be difficult for many educators. Ellie Gilbert chronicles the biggest assumptions that harm collaborative relationships with colleagues.
Collaborating When the Going Gets Tough
Literacy coach and high school English teacher Ellie Gilbert finds her ninth-grade teaching team is at odds when they work together to plan a new curriculum.
My Name Is Not Julie
Ellie Gilbert is deeply moved when her high school student connects to a text in a startling way. It’s one of those magic moments that keeps teachers coming back to classrooms, but is nearly impossible to share with others.
Can I Quote You on That?: Capturing Classroom Conversation
Here's a fun notetaking strategy to try. Ellie Gilbert records snippets of conversation from Katie Doherty's students, and then uses them in a debrief session to discuss student strengths, needs, and next steps.
Educating the Writer’s Palate
Helping high school students understand the sophisticated literary tastes of writers is just a cookie away in Ellie Gilbert’s classroom. Ellie pairs cardamon with irony to launch the school year with a metaphor and challenge.
Making Assumptions
The shift from teaching children to mentoring adults can be difficult for many educators. Ellie Gilbert chronicles the biggest assumptions that harm collaborative relationships with colleagues.
Can I Quote You on That?: Capturing Classroom Conversation
Here's a fun notetaking strategy to try. Ellie Gilbert records snippets of conversation from Katie Doherty's students, and then uses them in a debrief session to discuss student strengths, needs, and next steps.
No More Excuses: Reading Workshops in Nontraditional Middle and High School Settings
Think you don’t have enough time for reader’s workshop in your classroom? Worried that you don’t have enough books to go around? Feel like you just don’t have the space for it? What if you had students, but no classroom, no books, and no set class times? Ellie Gilbert faced down all these challenges in her nontraditional high school reading workshop.
High School Students Take on a Reader’s Bill of Rights
Ellie Gilbert revisits the “rights of readers” with her high school students,revising the list based on their habits and preferences. The discussion leads to some surprising additions to the list of rights. This would be a fun activity to close out the school year, or to begin a summer program with children of almost any age.
Using Animated Short Films to Teach Inference
Here’s a problem many teachers share – students are far too literal when it comes to inferring while reading. Ellie Gilbert finds animated short films readily available on the web are a terrific tool for helping students move beyond literal interpretations of text.
Motive, Means, and Opportunity
When educators have literacy-rich environments at home, it is important to consider students' daily access to reading materials. Ellie Gilbert uses motive, means and opportunity to think about our literacy landscapes.
