Lead Lit Article Type: Read It
Results
It’s All About Perception
Life is all about perception. Positive versus negative. Whichever you choose will affect and more than likely reflect your outcomes. Sonya Techlai The blessing of first-of-the-year assessments is that...
Coaching Basics: Choice
My father-in-law taught me to drive his new fishing boat. It is unlike any fishing boat I’ve ever seen. Sparkles and speed combine to make me feel like a character...
“Get a Little on Ya”: Coaching Teachers Through Change
A consultant who worked with our school district once told us at a professional development session, “Go back to your classrooms and give it a try. You have to get...
Coaching Logs and Daily Reflective Routines
As a classroom teacher, I was intentional—one could even say obsessive—about reflecting on the effectiveness of my work. Almost nightly, I would spread a pile of work across my living...
Screencasting Professional Development
One of the biggest barriers to professional learning is simply that of finding the time. Teachers have so much on their plate that actually finding time to attend a workshop,...
Honesty, Ignorance, and Building Relationships
Being a leader of literacy instruction can feel like a daunting job. There are so many excellent instructional practices being used by teachers that it seems impossible to know everything...
Transitioning from Teaching Children to Adults
This past year, I stopped working as a middle school teacher to stay home with my new baby. I wanted to stay involved in education, so I worked part-time with...
What Am I Doing Here?
The yellow school bus pulled up to the front doors of the school, and the teachers eagerly boarded. As we settled into our seats, a microphone switched on and the...
Breaking Away from the Team
Since the start of my teaching career, the professional learning emphasis has been on collaborative teamwork, ideally centered on student work, with the purposes of developing teaching teams’ shared expectations...
Honesty with Adult Learners
Over the past few years, I’ve learned that when leading professional development for adults, it’s important to treat them as colleagues and to acknowledge that we are all learners together....
Matching Resources to Teachers: Tools for Coaches
Talking with a teacher who has a long-standing coaching relationship with me, I was surprised when she said, “I guess I keep Googling to find the latest and greatest. I...
My New and Improved Writing Toolkit
Over the last couple of years, I have been developing a toolkit that I can take along with me when I am working in classrooms with teachers. One of the...
What Matters Most: Building Relationships
When I began my job as a literacy coach, I had a steep learning curve ahead of me. I was eager to learn, so I bought several books about coaching...
Revising Bookrooms to Support Engagement and Instruction
When we think about the school bookroom, the first word that comes to mind is options. Bookrooms can include texts for all aspects of reading and writing workshop so we as...
Planning for a Year of Professional Development
As a literacy leader, I set up opportunities for staff to interact and learn together. As I look ahead to the upcoming year and professional development for the district, I...
Seizing a Coaching Opportunity
As one of the adults in the building who clips a walkie-talkie to my waistband, I smugly expected a class of fifth graders to listen to me. That bubble was...
Coaching New Teachers
Coaching is an opportunity to be a "thought partner" in a challenging and rewarding profession. The majority of educators with whom I connect on a daily basis understand my role...
Good Intentions Gone Wrong
“Oh please, don’t do that!” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew I shouldn’t have said them. It was early Friday morning before school, and...
Learning How to Communicate: From Teacher to Coach
One fall Saturday evening, at the end of a long week when things felt a little out of control, I decided it would feel good to clean up and clear...
What Holds Students Back in Writing?
One of my guiding beliefs about writing is that people at all levels improve their writing skills by writing. Sometimes, I sit down and write and I don't like what...
Staying Focused: How Leaders Can Keep Their Passion for Literacy Alive
Becoming a building principal changed me as a thinker, a reader, and a writer. It’s not that I’m better or worse—I'm just different from how I used to be. The...
