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Guiding Teachers

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Creating Savory Professional Development

Jennifer Allen explains how she builds in play, choice, and creativity in a study group for veteran teachers.

Have Coach, Will Travel

Stephanie Affinito is a traveling coach, with no office to call her own. She shares tips and tools for organizing and streamlining materials when you are constantly on the go between classrooms and schools.

Supporting Teachers in Planning an Interactive Read Aloud

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills work with intermediate teachers through a series of professional development sessions to help them develop interactive read alouds.

Followership

An essential role for leaders is raising up more literacy leaders among the talented teachers on staff. Matt Renwick considers how anyone without a title or an obvious source of power can lead, and what that means for nurturing leadership skills.

Defining Standards Before a Demonstration Lesson

In this video from a third-grade lesson study, Jason DiCarlo works with teachers and specialists to define standards before a demonstration lesson.

There You Are

Suzy Kaback uses the “My Life in Seven Stories” exercise from Jennifer Allen to coax teachers to write, share drafts, and connect their learning to crafting writing in classrooms.

Prioritizing Presence

David Pittman realizes he can’t begin a coaching cycle until he “prioritizes presence,” becoming a welcome and trusted addition to a teacher’s classroom community.

Classroom Library Reflection

Ruth Ayres offers reflection questions for teachers to consider the way their classroom libraries can be updated to continue growing readers.

Feedback That Fortifies

Matt Renwick considers what type of feedback from school leaders can be most helpful to teachers.

Jump Right In and Other Lessons Learned from Remote Coaching

From get rid of the laundry basket behind you to learn how to share your desktop in advance, Heather Fisher shares some practical tips for getting started with remote coaching.

Competitive Comparisons

Jen Schwanke explores the insecurities and fear that can set in when teachers tackle distance learning, as well as how to overcome them.

Grade-Level Team Meeting: Student Notebooks

Kathy Provost coaches two third-grade teachers as they consider what students are jotting in their notebooks and how they could make changes before beginning a new unit.

Find Friends

Suzy Kaback shares how we can translate the values we hold dear into action, even when our social and professional norms are in upheaval.

Remote Learning for Our Youngest Students

Jen Schwanke reflects on the challenges of helping our youngest learners with distance learning, and shares examples of how teachers she works with are meeting them.

Professional Renewal: Facilitating Change Within Ourselves

If we want others to change, we first have to be open to change within ourselves. But what does that look like, and how can we embrace the tension that change brings? Matt Renwick explores change from within for literacy leaders.

Forces of Nature

Literacy can be seen as a “curricular bully” by science and math teachers, taking over the curriculum and many professional development sessions. Suzy Kaback faces that challenge when she adds poetry writing and visual arts to a session for STEM educators.

You Don’t Write? No Worries

“You don’t have to write to teach writers.” Cathy Mere finds is shocked when she hears a literacy coach make this statement. But the more she allows her conventional wisdom to be challenged, the more insight she has into helping teachers who don’t see themselves as writers.

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Dana Murphy has wise words for any coach who wonders why some teachers aren’t welcoming them into their classrooms. Her honesty will help build your patience and trust in the early days of your relationships with teachers.

Making Time for Reflection

Reflection time is essential for literacy coaches. Cathy Mere shares practical tips for how she builds that time into her work with literacy coaches.

The 70% Rule

Stretch yourself, but not to the point of pain. Matt Renwick has practical tips for how leaders can continue to push themselves to grow and learn new things without succumbing to the hurry-up, stressed culture so prevalent around us.

Starting with Consensus

Suzy Kaback finds that consensus mapping is a powerful tool for leading teachers through any change process.

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