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
Organizing Writing: Demonstration Small Group

Kathy Provost meets with a small group to help students organize their writing. The demonstration lesson includes a prebrief and debrief with the teacher.

Working Together to Expand the Bookroom

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan outline a process for helping teachers organize, sort through, and expand offerings in school bookrooms. They include inventory and sample ordering templates.

Coaching Minute: Videos in the Selfie Age

In this quick video, Kathy Provost and Heather Fisher share an alarming experience: young teachers pulling out phones and other devices to take videos of instruction without permission. They discuss the need for school leaders to develop policies that tackle issues of privacy and permission.

What Matters Most: Building Relationships

Dana Murphy explains why building relationships with teachers early in the year is important for literacy coaches, even if you are already part of a solid teaching community.

Organizing Mentor Texts

Do you often send out emails to staff asking for help in locating missing mentor texts? Kathy Provost has a suggestion for organizing your professional book library this summer that might solve your problem.

Coaching Debrief Early in the Year

Heather Rader observes Sean Moore teach a writing lesson to his second graders early in the year. This video of the debrief session highlights Heather’s open-ended questions and listening strategies.

Revising Bookrooms to Support Engagement and Instruction

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan share a system for organizing bookrooms by levels, genres, authors, and topics. This feature includes dozens of recommended books on Pinterest board links.

Math, Literacy, and RTI

Jennifer Schwanke explores connections between content literacy and RTI plans.

Reflections on the First Six Weeks Coaching

Samantha Munnecke chats with Heather Rader about learning and surprises from her first six weeks as a literacy coach.

Assessment and Response to Intervention

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan explain why the promise of RTI won’t be fulfilled until individual assessments are more closely linked to interventions.

Repertoire: A Coach’s Perspective

Melanie Meehan considers how coaches, teachers, and students can build a range of strategies they know how to access easily for independent learning.

Keeping Note Taking Fresh for Students

Kathy Provost shares many note-taking options teachers might try with students, especially those involving sketching and other visual aids.

What’s Not on the Study Group Agenda

Jennifer Allen describes some of the subtle variables that lead to success in study groups, and includes a video of the closing minutes of a study group. This is the final video in a four-part series.

Listening and Storytelling

Andie Cunningham shares a simple and creative professional development activity that melds storytelling, art, and listening.

Creating Flash Continuums

Jason DiCarlo explains how to help teachers build flash continuums together. This activity is a quick routine used often to ensure teachers understand the Common Core standards and how to implement them at each grade level.

Toolbox Activities in Study Groups

Jennifer Allen uses "toolbox" activities during study groups as a way to help teachers add to their repertoire of practical teaching strategies. This video is the third installment in our four-part series on study groups.

Shifting to Student-Centered Coaching

Melanie Meehan explains why she made the shift from focusing on teacher skills to student needs in coaching, and how that has led to more reflective practice for everyone.

What I Know for Sure: Reflection and Core Beliefs

Stella Villalba shares a reflection activity that centers her coaching and relationships with teachers and children.

Predictable Structures for Study Groups

Jennifer Allen shares a typical format for study groups and a video excerpt from a recent group. This is the second installment in a four-part series.

Brain and Movement Breaks for Teachers

Heather Fisher explains why breaks are important for learners of any age, and how to incorporate them into professional development sessions.

The Evolution of Study Groups

Jennifer Allen explains what has changed and what remains the same in her study groups over the past decade. She includes a video example of the start of a study group. This is the first installment in a four-part video series.

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...