Mary Lee Hahn has been teaching fourth or fifth graders for more than 30 years. She is the author of Reconsidering Read-Aloud (Stenhouse Publishers). Mary Lee and Franki Sibberson blog about their teaching and reading lives at A Year of Reading. Mary Lee archives her poetry at Poetrepository. You can follow her on Twitter @maryleehahn.
Mary Lee Hahn finds some of her fifth-grade readers are stuck in ruts by early winter. Her solution involves some radical changes to her classroom library over winter break.
Mary Lee Hahn is skeptical about how her fifth-grade students might use graphic organizers. But once she tries them alongside students, she begins to see their utility.
Mary Lee Hahn tries to be super teacher while she confers — juggling goals, assessments, notices and notes . . . and then it all comes crashing down. She shares what she learns from trying to do too much at once and failing.
Mary Lee Hahn finds a focus on play and "dabbling" renews student writers during a unit on narrative nonfiction.
Mary Lee Hahn tackles the riskiest writing of all — in front of students and improvised with no advance drafting or planning.
Mary Lee Hahn is a bit flummoxed when a parent asks about her management system at an open house. The experience sparks reflection on what makes a classroom community gel.
Mary Lee Hahn considers the use of Hot Glue Guns in her classroom, and moves from exasperation to appreciating the learning happening when we think kids are just messing around with peers and the tools we've given them.
Mary Lee Hahn considers how the success of any day has to integrate observations from conferring, lessons, and share sessions.
Mary Lee Hahn realizes how much a workshop approach has changed her planning process and comfort level with the unexpected.
Mary Lee Hahn rethinks her math workshop structure to more closely align with the choice and problem solving in her reading and writing workshops.
Mary Lee Hahn begins the year with honest and open discussions with her fifth-grade students about diversity.
Mary Lee Hahn explains how Genius Hour fosters the language of risk, exploration, and uncertainty with her fifth graders all year long.
Mary Lee Hahn considers how book clubs have changed over time in her fifth-grade classroom.
Mary Lee Hahn finds midyear is the perfect time for refreshing anchor charts.
Mary Lee Hahn finds herself stuck with nothing to write about at a writing retreat. She explores tools and strategies to get unstuck, and finds they are the same ones that work with writers of any age in classrooms.
Mary Lee Hahn surveys Choice Literacy contributors about Odd Habits as they share truths and lies about their writing routines. This is a fun icebreaker for summer or fall orientation get-togethers.
Mary Lee Hahn uses bracketology to help her fifth-grade students explore determining importance in short texts and close reading.
Mary Lee Hahn melds short texts with the Common Core in this first article in a two-part series.
Mary Lee Hahn finds 15 minutes of writing on Friday builds fluency and confidence in her fifth-grade students, and gives her a wealth of formative assessment data at the same time.
Mary Lee Hahn explores story structure with her fifth-grade students. This is a terrific activity for helping older students understand increasingly complex story structures as they move through the intermediate grades.
Mary Lee Hahn's "Poetry Minute" includes tips and resources for poetry instruction. This month's Poetry Minute focuses on poetry forms and mentor texts to teach them.
Mary Lee Hahn provides a wealth of web resources and practical suggestions for using technology for poetry instruction.
Mary Lee Hahn reminds herself (and us!) of the qualities we have that inspire trust in ourselves and our ability to teach well.
In this booklist, Mary Lee Hahn offers creative categories for considering readers in new ways.
If you’ve ever had 15 minutes or less to plan for a session with kids, you can appreciate the blend of panic and improvisation the experience inspires. Mary Lee Hahn devises an activity with an infographic for the 4th and 5th grade environmental science club at the last minute, and finds students exhibit many surprising literacy skills during the session.
 Mary Lee Hahn finds Poetry Fridays are about so much more than poetry, or even a pleasant end to the week. She shares how this activity is a wonderful way to bring together colleagues and students.
If you are beginning to involve yourself more in online networks, you might enjoy these suggestions from Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson.
Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson share tips for launching and maintaining a blog, as well as a wealth of reasons why it’s a valuable use of your time
Letter writing isn't a lost art in Mary Lee Hahn's 4th grade classroom. This unit has timeless appeal for students of all ages.
Mary Lee Hahn shares how she uses Free Rice in her classroom, as well as other online vocabulary learning tools.
Mary Lee Hahn uses her experience as a swimmer to take another look at standards.
Mary Lee Hahn plans her read alouds for double duty, using them to build the community and a love of reading.
Mary Lee Hahn provides a quick primer for teachers new to graphic novels, as well as suggestions for using these novels to teach comprehension.
Mary Lee Hahn prepares for classroom visitors, and the process of viewing her room with fresh eyes makes her question routines and wall displays.