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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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Common Planning Meeting: Third-Grade Notebooks

In this excerpt from a common planning meeting, Kathy Provost works with third-grade teachers who are focused on improving their use of student notebooks across the curriculum.

From Somewhere to Somewhere

Brian Sepe struggles in a coaching cycle with an experienced teacher and realizes he has imposed his agenda on the work. His reflection leads to some changes in the ways he collaborates with colleagues.

Meeting with Principals

Melanie Meehan finds that the five different principals she works with have different needs and work styles, but using a common agenda template in meetings ensures good communication for everyone.

Coaching Minute: Considering Language

Heather Fisher and Kathy Provost share subtle changes in the language they are using with teachers to foster more collaboration.

Making the Most of Monthly Common Planning Times

Kathy Provost finds that narrowing the focus for grade-level monthly meetings at the start of the school year by asking teachers to decide on a topic of inquiry leads to more thoughtful work all year long.

A Timesaver for Coaching Cycles

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan leverage technology to improve their communication with teachers during coaching cycles.

Data Mining Before a Coaching Cycle

Melanie Meehan shares the importance of considering data with teachers at the start of a coaching cycle.

Teachers Who Write

Ruth Ayres shares the power of a professional development session that reawakened her love of writing and then transformed her teaching.

Making Fiction Writing Come to Life

Heather Fisher experiences a breakthrough with first-grade teachers when they create fictional characters in a professional development session and then try the same activity with their students.

A Chartbook Tour

Melanie Meehan gives a “tour” of her chartbook, explaining how she organizes the sketches to use in her classroom coaching.

Coaching Minute: Literacy Master Document

Kathy Provost and Heather Fisher explain how the Literacy Master Document has simplified and improved their coaching.

Beanstalk Play for Literacy

Clare Landrigan works with a kindergarten group to foster literacy through play in this demonstration small group. The lesson includes a prebrief and debrief with the teacher.

200 Feet

“Never more than 200 feet from a book.” That’s the goal in Matt Renwick’s school, and in this photo essay you can see creative possibilities for sharing books throughout a school (and outside, too!).

Reigniting Your Coaching Schedule in December

Brian Sepe ponders the best uses of his coaching time when he is between cycles. He shares three options for building relationships with teachers.

Recipes and Lesson Plans: Process and Practice

Suzy Kaback is inspired by chefs testing recipes to develop a lesson analysis activity. She shares an example of how it works,  encouraging honesty and risk-taking among new teachers.

Stop Paying in Quarters: Changing Thinking and Practice

Matt Renwick pays tolls the old-fashioned way on a long drive, and ponders connections between his experience and teachers’ resistance to tech innovations.

Demonstration Small Group: Note Taking and Text Structure

Tammy Mulligan helps fourth graders develop note-taking skills in this demonstration small group. The lesson includes a prebrief and debrief with the teacher.

Advice for a New Coach

Melanie Meehan shares her best advice for a new coach who is just beginning to forge relationships with teachers.

Professional Development with 10 for 10

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan explain how to use 10 for 10 online book celebrations as a professional development tool. Now is a good time to start planning for the next event, in February.

The Failures of a Doughnut

We can celebrate the wonders of what a doughnut can do to improve a bad day. But what it can't do is make children read more. Jen Schwanke takes on reward programs for children that may hinder more than help family relations.

Parent Bulletin Board

Melanie Meehan takes on the challenge of designing a bulletin board to help parents support writing at home.

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