Lead Lit Article Type: Try It
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Teacher Guilt
Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change. Gretchen Rubin A...
The Secret to Better Meetings: It’s All in the Ending
I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and...
The Other Agenda
Teachers are always on the lookout for a fresh idea. They look to their colleagues, to curated sites such as Pinterest, and to any number of other resources for new...
Choosing Our Words Carefully
At the start of our collaboration session, Kathy shared, “I have really been thinking about the word unfortunately and how I have seen it being used lately.” She proceeded to...
Coaching for Confidence
Every once in a while, even the most capable, talented teachers have a year that tests their skill and sanity. You may find them questioning their decision to continue teaching....
Who Keeps You Up at Night?
Beginning a coaching relationship is a bit like a first dance. You have to watch your partner, understand his or her body language, and listen carefully in order to dance...
Learning Through Listening
As we read Marie Clay’s words, we thought about how this quote pertains to coaching too. The more years we work in schools and coach alongside teachers, the less we...
Collecting Data on Case Study Students
As part of a yearlong in-depth study of one student, each reading specialist in our district gathered data in a variety of ways about a student who, as a reader,...
Maintaining Teacher Ownership in Coaching Conversations
I was sitting across from the literacy coach when I said, “Thanks for taking the time to meet this morning. Since I missed the post-conference you had with your teacher,...
Data Mining Before a Coaching Cycle
Over the course of my coaching, I have become more and more student-centered. Whenever I embark on a formal coaching cycle, I do some data mining before I even meet...
Meeting with Principals
During a recent meeting I was having with a principal in our district, our superintendent stopped in unexpectedly. “What are you working on?” he asked. He was impressed when we...
Making Fiction Writing Come to Life
We need to find a way to get our writers talking more. We need to get our writers elaborating in their stories. We need a way to make fiction writing...
Professional Development with 10 for 10
Each year we join an event that celebrates books. The Picture Book 10 for 10 event is hosted twice a year by Choice Literacy contributors Cathy Mere and Mandy Robek....
Recipes and Lesson Plans: Process and Practice
Fitness and cooking are the interests I most often use as analogies when I work with new teachers. Nothing original there, I admit. It’s almost too easy to compare interval...
Celebrate the Process
It’s time to celebrate. Excitement is buzzing through the air. First-grade writers are standing proudly by their informational chapter books, pointing out important information for their audience. Parents and other...
Learning Targets
For me, one of the most frustrating things about teaching is when I give a great lesson, or one that I think is great, and then none of the work...
Assessing Our Impact
Our students have heaps of data about their learning progress: screener scores, benchmarks, quizzes and tests, teachers’ anecdotal records, grades, and portfolio assessments. These results offer a bevy of information...
Creating a Strategy Tool Kit
During the years I have spent as a writing coordinator and coach of writing teachers, I have developed several instructional tools and strategies that work across grades and genres. I...
PD Playlist
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. —Plato This summer we attended literacy conferences in Boston and Michigan....
Engagement in Writing Workshops
Last week, I participated in instructional rounds with three second-grade teachers, and the hosting teacher was interested to know how much on-task writing behavior was exhibited when she was conferring...
Getting Books into the Hands of Teachers
Schools are very busy places, and classroom teachers have exceptionally long “to-do” lists. With everything on their plates, they may not have enough time to search the book room or...
