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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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Apps in Perspective

Jennifer Vincent helps a group of teachers who request suggestions for apps in Spanish. She "zigs" when they want her to "zag" by encouraging them to go deeper into exploring what students need.

Monitoring for Meaning: Fourth-Grade Small Group

In this demonstration small group, Tammy Mulligan teaches fourth graders strategies to monitor for meaning. The demonstration lesson includes a planning session with the teacher and a debrief.

I Have Time

Ruth Ayres explains why these are the three most important words for literacy coaches to say throughout the day.

Staying Focused: How Leaders Can Keep Their Passion for Literacy Alive

Jennifer Schwanke shares nine strategies to use in the midst of days, weeks, and months that seem to be nothing but distractions.

Coaching Minute: Explore

Heather Rader explains the value of surfing the web with a professional development purpose in this quick video tip.

Resourceful and Cheap: Professional Development That Sparks Learning and Change

Jennifer Allen provides a sample agenda and inexpensive resources for leading a professional development session on anchor charts.

Four Ways to Breathe Life into Classroom Charts

Melanie Meehan has suggestions for helping teachers reconsider and refresh the anchor charts in their classrooms.

Pause Paraphrase Probe: Developing Coaching Skills

Amanda Adrian and Heather Sisson lead their coaching colleagues in an activity to practice paraphrasing skills in this excerpt from a coaching support group.

Reframing Questions to Build a Reading Community

Stella Villalba and the second-grade teachers she coaches take a midyear look at the routines in place for building reading habits and conversations.

Monitoring Meaning in First Grade

In this demonstration small group, Clare Landrigan helps first graders Tristan and Abby monitor meaning. The video includes excerpts from the planning and debriefing sessions with the children's teacher.

Libraries for All: Considering Struggling Readers

Cathy Mere explores the classroom library structures and texts that best support struggling young readers.

Reading Response in Third Grade: Demonstration Small Group

Tammy Mulligan leads a group of third graders in a small group designed to deepen their reading response. The video includes excerpts from the planning and debrief sessions with their teacher.

Coaching Cycles Matter

Julie Wright explains how coaching cycles fit into the larger scheme of ongoing professional development. She includes templates for planning and protocols in her piece.

Tips for Conducting Demonstration Lessons, or How to Avoid the “Am I Doing This Right?” Question

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan have advice for literacy coaches leading demonstration lessons.

Learning Labs for Professional Development

Kristin Houser finds learning labs are a powerful tool in her coaching. She provides tools and a graphic for understanding how they work.

Coaching Letter to Jo

Julie Wright guides a harried fifth-grade teacher in this sample coaching letter.

Student-Centered Coaching: Collaborating with Teachers

Heather Sisson considers when she has experienced success and when she has failed in attempting to collaborate with teachers.

The Value of Story Play

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan explain why story play is crucial in building children’s oral and written language skills. The feature includes a video of Clare leading a group of kindergartners in story play.

Coaching Letters

Julie Wright finds coaching letters are an essential element in her mentoring toolkit. In this first installment of a series, she explains the key components of letters that build rapport and instruction skills.

Accountable Talk: Beginning Steps

Kathy Provost and her colleagues are disappointed with test scores and realize that the quality of student conversations in their classrooms needs a lift.

Coaching Minute: Read to Every Class

Principal Jennifer Schwanke has a simple strategy for building connections to every reader in her school: she regularly reads to every class.

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