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Lead Literacy Articles & Videos (formerly leadliteracy.com)

Our lounge is your home for exploring hundreds of articles and videos for literacy coaches and school leaders. Our contributors share their best advice for working one-on-one with teachers in coaching cycles, hosting professional development sessions, and designing demonstration lessons and study groups.

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Slide Decking: Getting Writing Started

Getting writing started is often the biggest challenge for writers of all ages and experiences. Suzy Kaback offers a process called slide decking with her in-service teacher colleagues as a way to plan the content of an essay or article.

Seven Simple Steps to Happier Teachers

Joanne Emery offers seven simple ideas to help teachers feel seen, heard, and valued. Classrooms are more joyful and engaging when teachers are uplifted and refueled.

Scaffolding: The Key to Tackling Big Projects

Inspired by remodeling an old staircase, Mary Brower is reminded of the power of scaffolding. When planning professional learning, Mary guides us in ways to approach big challenges with a sense of structure and order.

Supporting Perseverance in Our Students: Before You Say ‘Keep Going,’ Pause to Consider

Heather Fisher addresses how it is hard for educators to hear students on the verge of giving up. Before saying the standard Keep going!, pause, look around, and ask yourself these four questions to respond with greater intentionality and to support their perseverance.

Overcoming the Blame Game

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk consider the nuances of the aftermath when dysregulation happens and how members of a school community can avoid blaming one another for the situation and instead work together.

Using Metaphors and Analogies to Help Educators Shift Their Thinking and Change Their Practices

Matt Renwick shares the power of using metaphors and analogies during coaching conversations.

Transforming Our Own Professional Learning

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart were inspired by Elena Aguilar’s work about transformational coaching. They share ways to be vulnerable when trying a new coaching technique with teachers, as well as the powerful outcome of implementing new reflective practice ideas.

Ways to Support Colleagues Part 2

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk share ways to strengthen our teamwork and help lower the stress levels of adults in the school when students exhibit dysregulated behaviors. This is the second installment of a two-part series.

It’s All in the Delivery

Mary Brower offers ideas to set the stage for professional learning to reduce stress and anxiety for participants.

Ways to Support Colleagues, Part 1

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk share ways to strengthen our teamwork and help lower the stress levels of adults in the school when students exhibit dysregulated behaviors. This is the first installment of a two-part series.

Capturing Meeting Notes to Boost Accountability

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart discovered a template to help boost accountability after a planning session with a teacher.

Help! I’m a New Coach

Mary Brower confronts the reality that often coaches have more ideas than they can possibly act on. She offers a filter to organize and vet ideas.

Small Wins

Gwen Blumberg shares the struggle that since the pandemic fewer people are showing up for professional learning meetings. She helps us flip the potential negativity by encouraging us to look for small wins. Small wins are a simple way to bring joy to your work and the work of others—and that is in fact a very BIG thing.

Humanizing Data

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart share a way to open data conversations that humanizes the process and encourages everyone to dig deeper to examine each student’s whole story.

Reshaping Data Stories

Ruth Ayres encourages us to take a second look at the data stories we are telling about students. She shares four areas to help us see a more complete picture of a student.

Re-energizing Norms with Mantras (Part 3)

Ruth Ayres takes a creative approach to making sure our norms are serving the team rather than our teams disengaging from the norms. This is the last of three installments in a series about norms.

Nuances of Norms (Part 2)

Ruth Ayres tackles the common resistance to norms. When norms seem to suck the energy out of the room, don’t make the mistake of thinking you need a new list of norms. Try one of these ideas to use norms to energize your team.

Shaping the School Culture to Encourage Professional Growth

Matt Renwick offers three suggestions for school leaders who want to shape school culture to encourage professional growth.

Teacher and Coach, Side by Side: Affirmations for Leaders in Maintaining a Supportive Presence

Heather Fisher helps her father create a pizza pie in his new outdoor pizza oven. Through trial and perseverance, they finally taste success. Heather connects this experience to the importance of encouragement and presence as instructional coaches.

Are Norms the Problem? Part 1

Ruth Ayres shares the details of developing and using norms in intentional and meaningful ways. This is the first of three installments in a series about norms.

Making a Case for Leadership Coaching

Matt Renwick outlines a four-step process to engage in leadership coaching.

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