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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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Being Present

Gretchen Taylor thinks about the messages we send when we allow ourselves to be distracted by technology in professional settings.

Video for Reflection in a Book Club

In this demonstration small group, Tammy Mulligan uses video to help sixth graders self-assess their performance in a book club. The lesson includes a prebrief and debrief with the classroom teacher.

“Got a Minute?”: Rethinking My Schedule and Priorities

Matt Renwick rethinks his strategy of responding instantly to requests for his time, considering his priorities as a literacy leader.

Getting Out of the Tater Tot Office: The Importance of Visibility

Gretchen Taylor ponders what literacy coaches can do to make their presence and the possibility of collaboration better known to teachers, focusing on her work in public spaces and on her coaching calender.

Text Sets for Reading Groups in Fourth Grade

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan support two fourth-grade teachers by suggesting text sets based on assessment data and small-group needs.

Starting the Year Together

Cathy Mere shares questions literacy specialists and coaches might ask early in the year to build rapport with teachers.

Making PLCs Work: Shifting the Tone

Dana Murphy shares a simple activity to provoke more authentic conversations and learning in PLCs.

The Words We Use

Dana Murphy looks at a coach’s role in helping teachers change negative, nonspecific language used to describe struggling students.

Coaching for Kindergarten Writing

Melanie Meehan meets with kindergarten teacher Katie to talk through the needs of two children who are just beginning to learn how to transfer their stories from home to the page.

No Special Class

A parent is adamant about her child not receiving extra support, and teachers and administrators are frustrated. Jennifer Schwanke works to understand the root of the problem.

Professional Development Offerings for the New Year

Jennifer Allen shares her annual list of study group topics, along with reflections about the role of literacy leaders in fostering creativity and innovation in classrooms.

Discussion Before Demonstration Lesson

In this video excerpt from a brief meeting before a demonstration lesson, you'll see the first-grade teacher Erin, who will be leading the lesson, share her concerns. The principal, Jason DiCarlo, talks about how the goals of the lesson and expectations for success vary, depending upon the aims of the grade-level team.

Making PLCs Work: Getting Teacher Input

Dana Murphy shares a simple activity to get teachers invested in professional learning communities.

Meeting Debrief: Coaching Literacy Coaches

Heather Sisson and Amanda Adrian debrief after leading a professional development session for literacy coaches on the Pause Paraphrase Probe strategy.

Essential Resources for Building Professional Learning Communities

Matt Renwick shares his favorite online and print resources for PLCs, including templates and surveys for planning before groups are launched.

Managing the Email Load

Jennifer Schwanke explains how she categorizes her emails and streamlines the time she spends reading them.

Always “On”: Reconsidering Connectivity

Gretchen Taylor writes about the promise and peril of new tech tools that allow teachers, students, and coaches to always be connected. She shares some questions to help teachers make wise choices about how they will use these tools in classrooms.

Using Padlet to Support a Boys’ Book Group

In this fifth-grade demonstration lesson, Tammy Mulligan shows a group of boys how their book group can use Padlet to share ideas. The lesson includes a prebrief and debrief with the teacher.

Questions for Reflection and Goal Setting with Teachers

Matt Renwick shares some of his favorite questions and strategies for promoting reflection and goal setting with teachers.

Coaching Connections

Jennifer Vincent takes on a new role in a new school district. She develops trust with a plan for working with colleagues to set goals and reflect.

Refining Reflective Practice and Notetaking

Gretchen Taylor shares three tweaks she has made to her record-keeping system to ensure she keeps her coaching notes organized and useful for reflection.

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