Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones is an education support specialist in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
All Content
Walk-Arounds: Gathering Data to Test Assumptions
Do you have a tattler in your midst? Not a child, but a teacher complaining about the work habits of a colleague? Jennifer Jones explains her proactive use of walk-arounds to gather data and confront misconceptions.
Stopping and Jotting
How can we be sure the writing tasks we ask of students are meaningful? Jennifer Jones looks at the issues of authenticity and control when it comes to assigning writing connected to reading in workshops.
Sorting Students for Flexible Groups Across Classrooms
Jennifer Jones explains how one team of second-grade teachers formed guided reading groups across classrooms to marshal resources and expand their collaboration.
Walk Arounds: Gathering Data to Test Assumptions
Do you have a tattler in your midst? Not a child, but a teacher complaining about the work habits of a colleague? Jennifer Jones explains her proactive use of walk-arounds to gather data and confront misconceptions.
From Hearing to Listening
Jennifer Jones finds there is a world of difference between hearing and genuinely listening to the teachers who come to her for support. She shares some simple questions she uses at the start of professional conversations to ensure she is providing the right kind of response.
Daily Tidbits: Professional Development in Small Bites
Jennifer Jones suggests an easy way to provide bits of useful professional development to colleagues.
You Never Know What You’re Going To Get
When students help us organize materials, we are often pleasantly surprised at the results.
Quick and Thorough: Literacy Coach Conferring Notes
Jennifer Jones finds in a time of budget cuts it is more important than ever for literacy coaches to keep good records of how they spend their time with teachers. She shares a very simple spreadsheet system which includes content codes and brief notes.
5th Grade Grandfather
Misunderstandings abound when working with struggling readers and writers. Jennifer Jones connects an experience in her personal life to one student she is supporting and gains new insight.
A Three-legged Dog and a Show About Nothing
If you've resolved this year to keep up with your own writing journal so that you can share the good, bad, and ugly of your process with students, you'll enjoy Jennifer Jones' inspirational and practical new piece.
Inspiration from Author Visits: Tips and Web Resources
Jennifer Jones reflects on the power of a local author visit in her school, and also provides some quick tips and weblinks for planning a visit.
Going from the Known to the Unknown: Vacation Reflections on Fluency
Jennifer Jones uses her experience as a tourist in a Spanish-speaking country to consider how fluency and meaning are (and aren't) connected, and what that means for teaching students.
How I Flunked Literacy Leadership 101
Jennifer Jones finds she is still learning on the job as a literacy coach, especially when it comes to building relationships through collaborative teaching. Here she shares a breakdown in communication with a colleague, and how she is working to rebuild the relationship.
State Assessment Tests: Warm-Ups for Wandering Minds
Student distraction is a critical issue during assessments. Jennifer Jones provides a series of quick activities to help students focus before state examinations.
On Board with Literacy Leadership
Wisconsin literacy coaches Jennifer Jones and Charity Meyer were inspired by Jennifer Allen’s “Literacy Room” to try out “Literacy News” resource boards in their schools. They provide helpful tips for starting these boards in your school, as a way to give continuous and timely support to teachers at any level.
Looking Back to Move Forward: The Plan Book Scavenger Hunt for Literacy Leaders
Jennifer Jones is as busy as the rest of us at the end of the school year. Yet she finds time spent in a “scavenger hunt” of her planning book/calendar is essential for setting realistic goals and scheduling professional development priorities for next year.
Chance Encounter
Jennifer Jones ventured out to lunch with some former colleagues, and came home with a new perspective on the impact of her teaching after a chance encounter with YuYang, a former student.
Writing Workshop Teacherisms
Jennifer Jones reflects upon the “teacherisms” in writing workshops — the language we use that defines our values and routines.
