Lead Lit Topic: Forms
Organization is important to every literacy leader. Not only do we need to organize ourselves, but teachers look to us for support structures they can use. One form may help you model conferring with young writers, the next gives you solid feedback at the end of a class and another prompts teachers’ reflection around student work. Finding the right form helps us preserve the tracks of our thinking in professional work.
Results
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...
Three Little Tweaks for More Effective Communication
Sometimes it feels like the amount of information we receive in a single week could fill the Grand Canyon. We live in the information age, and it comes flying at...
Coaching Minute: Conferring Cards
Melanie Meehan shares the simple cards she gives to students when conferring. These cards document compliments and challenges to guide the student after the conference is over.
Coaching Minute: Cycle Evaluation Form
Melanie Meehan shares her coaching cycle evaluation form and why it is helpful in this quick video tip.
From Coaching Logs to Coaching Reports
In all of my interactions with administrators, I’m mindful of the confidentiality of and delicate trust in my relationships with teachers. That said, I also have the responsibility to reflect...
Coaching Minute: Student Work Form
Melanie Meehan talks about the importance of developing assessment forms for coaching cycles that focus on student work and integrating analysis of the work into plans for instruction.
Sign-In Sheets, Professionalism, and Being Human
You could feel the tension in the air as she quietly slipped in, trying to find her place without disrupting the session. Many of the professional development sessions we facilitate...
Getting Organized with Google
I find myself doing a lot of traveling as a literacy coach—not only between classrooms, but also between multiple schools. Some hard copies of papers are unavoidable; I always have...
Coaching Letters
Does writing a letter lead a teacher to a deeper understanding of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, or does writing a letter lead an instructional leader to better serve those they...
Finding Purpose in Coaching with Organized Notes
The first two years of my coaching career were fun, and a lot of time was spent on building relationships, but I am not sure we accomplished as much as...
Using Meeting Minutes as a Reflective Tool
A lot of people are so used to just seeing the outcome of work. They never see the side of the work you go through to produce the outcome. —Michael...
Intentional Agendas: Planning for Teacher Learning
When I stepped out of the classroom seven years ago and into a professional development role, I felt like a first-year teacher all over again. The only difference: my “students”...
Taking a Fresh Look at PLCs
These days, the initialism PLC is so common in teaching vernacular that it is almost to the point of being cliche. But what does it really mean? What does a...
Collecting PLC Data with Google Forms
Like so many others, my district has adopted the professional learning communities (PLCs) model as one of our main sources for professional development. In doing so, we give teachers the...
Heather Sisson’s Coaching Space
Literacy coach Heather Sisson has a shelf of resources available to teachers in her coaching space. A simple checkout system puts everything from cooperative learning books to mentor texts...
Dear Teacher, Dear Principal
Often there is confusion about the role of an instructional coach. These letters are intended to clarify the position, as well as reveal the genuine desire of a coach to...
Exit Slips Open Doors
"It doesn't have to end here." So claimed the PowerPoint slide at the end of my professional development classes in the past. With this statement, along with my contact information...
Starting the School Year: A Checklist for Literacy Coaches
It occurred to me at the beginning of last year that there are certain tasks I do each fall to organize myself for the work of the upcoming year. Over...
Reflecting on Student Work in Staff Meetings (Download a Template)
Over the last four years our teaching staff has included reflecting on student work as a part of our staff meetings. To be honest, we struggled for probably three of...
Professional Development Guide: A Template for Building a Year-Long PD Plan
A new school year brings with it excitement about all the possibilities ahead. I’ve always enjoyed those end-of-summer-almost-back-to-school meetings with principals. Everyone arrives feeling rested and with fun summer stories...
