Leaders Lounge

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.

Search Leaders Lounge...
Latest Content
Celebrate the Process

Heather Fisher works with teachers to design a literacy night for families that celebtrates the process of acquiring new skills, not just final products on display.

Teaching Students at Their Own Level

Melanie Meehan explains why perfectly designed lessons aligned with standards are useless if they aren’t at the level of the students in front of you.

Making Standards Work for You

Matt Renwick shares a template he uses with teachers to help standards inform their work.

Learning Targets

Melanie Meehan explains how she changed her demonstration lessons to include more of her own process in creating learning targets, and how sharing this assessment with students helped them focus their work.

Assessing Our Impact

Matt Renwick explains how classroom walk-throughs and surveys can be powerful tools for assessing your impact—if you collect the right data.

Creating a Strategy Tool Kit

Melanie Meehan describes the power of developing strategy tool kits for coaching, and presents some of the tools in her kit for teaching revision strategies.

PD Playlist

Music is a potent and often overlooked tool in setting a mood in professional development settings. Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan share some of their new favorite tunes for PD.

Collections to Spark Writing

Clare Landrigan uses collections as a tool to spark writing among first graders during an upcoming vacation. This demonstration small-group lesson includes prebrief and debrief sessions with the children's teacher.

Engagement in Writing Workshops

Melanie Meehan shares some practical strategies for keeping students engaged that she often uses in demonstration lessons.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Gretchen Taylor reflects upon a poor relationship she develops with an instructor, and how the narratives we construct can inhibit our professional interactions with colleagues.

Coaching Minute: Using Foam Boards with Students

In this quick video, Jennifer Allen explains how using foam boards with students can increase engagement and extend learning between demonstration lessons.

Share, Learn, Grow: The PD Bulletin Board

Melanie Meehan explains how she uses a bulletin board to spread resources and teaching ideas throughout a school.

Getting Books into the Hands of Teachers

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan share suggestions for building interest in children’s books among teachers.

Book Buzz in Study Groups

Jason DiCarlo turns a third-grade study group over to a participant to share her enthusiasm for The Joy of Planning by Franki Sibberson, the book the group is using for lesson design.

Literacy Specialists and Case Studies

Kathy Provost focuses the work of literacy specialists through case studies they explore together throughout the year. She includes a helpful form created by the group and a favorite protocol.

Building Effective Literacy Teams

Cathy Mere reflects on the power of a leadership team in supporting the work of coaches and specialists, and the elements that are essential for leadership teams to thrive.

Observation Visits: Getting Comfortable with the Unexpected

In this brief video excerpt from a leadership meeting focused on peer observation led by Jennifer Allen, teachers talk about taking risks and being comfortable with observation when things don't go according to plan.

Creating a Digital Footprint

What's your digital footprint like? Bill Bass shares some simple suggestions for ensuring that when people Google you, you'll like what they see.

Learning Land

Jennifer Schwanke considers what she and her district learned when they adopted an online digital skill and drill program that promised more than it delivered (don't they all?). The name of the program has been changed to protect the guilty.

Six Ways to Empower Teachers to Write

Is there anything riskier for teachers than writing and sharing your writing? Ruth Ayres has tips for helping teachers take this essential leap.

Where the Magic Happens

Suzy Kaback considers her own history as a learner and the needs of her teenage daughter as she mulls over the best ways to help the new teachers she leads take risks in their teaching.

Choice Literacy Membership

Become a member for full access to Articles & Videos plus member-only Product Discounts

Membership

Explore More
Getting Organized
Guiding Teachers
Working in Classrooms

Choice Literacy Membership

Articles

Get full access to all Choice Literacy article content

Videos

Get full access to all Choice Literacy video content

Courses

Access Choice Literacy course curriculum and training

Membership Options

About

Choice Literacy is a community of passionate educators who lead. Come join us!

Learn more

Contact
Subscribe

Get free articles and insights delivered to your inbox every week with the Choice Literacy "Big Fresh" Newsletter!

Learn more

© 2025 The Lead Learners. All rights reserved.   Privacy Policy   |   Terms and Conditions

Website built by MemberDev

Loading...