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Learning Land
I swear it feels like I get an email every five minutes from someone trying to sell me something for our school. Assemblies, puppet shows, field trips, author visits, motivational...
Erasing the Lines in the Sand
Social media is a place of strong opinions. Political. Lifestyle. Educational. In one recent Facebook conversation, a young teacher sought clarification on the difference between book clubs and literature circles....
Getting PD Feedback
Theoretically, I knew feedback was important. But in reality, I struggled with feedback. How does a coach even begin planning professional development sessions based on feedback? How could I synthesize...
Dear Coach
Dear Coach, Two years ago I found out that elementary teachers across our school district would have the opportunity to work with literacy coaches. Knowing that our district valued literacy...
“Got a Minute?”: Rethinking My Schedule and Priorities
I was in a second-grade classroom, observing students and the teacher working on personal narratives, when I got a call from the office. “Matt, a parent is here and would...
Starting the Year Together
One of the best things about working to support readers in a school community is the collaboration with teachers. There is the obvious benefit of having two sets of eyes,...
No Special Class
We recently received this note from the mother of one of our students. Take a moment and really read it. What story does it tell? There’s a high probability that...
Essential Resources for Building Professional Learning Communities
Professional learning communities, or PLCs, have become almost ubiquitous in US schools. Most educators are aware of this philosophy for structuring collaborative teacher learning. Yet common knowledge of the best...
Together: Supporting Readers Toward Independence
Walking into Deb Frazier’s first-grade classroom, it was obvious the students were already engaged in their reading workshop choices. Students were sitting around the room in little nooks, on stools,...
New-to-Grade-Level Teacher Tool Kit
As the end of the year approaches, a few of the teachers in our district have been notified that they will be changing grade levels in the upcoming year. Part...
Master Class: Mentoring New Coaches
Recently I went to see the play Master Class. The play is based on the life of famous opera singer Maria Callas—specifically, a snippet of her life when she taught...
A Quilters’ Workshop
Somewhere in the middle of a quilt-themed balanced literacy unit years ago, I taught myself to sew. Before you think too much of it, all I could really do was...
Closing the Year Strong: Leveraging Technology When Time Is Short
The last months of the school year can be stressful for teachers. Time becomes the enemy we feel powerless to counter. This is why principals and teacher leaders should leverage...
Becoming a Literacy Coach: Principles and Mission Statements
When I think back to becoming a literacy coach, I can remember worrying about many parts of my new career. How do I develop my schedule? How do I get...
Conflict: A Teacher’s Perspective
Feedback is an essential part of learning. As a teacher, I give and receive feedback. I give feedback to my students so they can reach their learning goals. I receive...
Coaching Tool: Digital Books
Responsive is the first word that comes to mind when we think about what it means to be an effective coach. We want to listen and be responsive to what...
Unintended Benefits of Recording Minilessons
During a coaching cycle with one of our second-grade teachers, I worked on teaching students how to access prerecorded minilessons on iPads. We planned out upcoming lessons, and either she...
Don’t Confuse the Already Confused
Bill had asked me to come in and think with him about his seventh graders’ understanding of theme development. He’d recently upped the complexity of the shared texts he was...
Persevere
When farmers dig trenches, they always have a spotter outside of the trench. This person is watching the dirt, in case it shifts. If they see the dirt move, they...
The Leading Edge
Learning curves come in all varieties, don’t they? Sometimes, the path to learning is straight and quick. Other times, the learning curve is long and steep. The steepest learning journey...
On Being Coached
My daughter Maddie does not properly pronounce her L sound. She uses a W or Y sound instead. She “yikes” the color pink, she “yuvs” her “wittle” sister. Cute, but...
