Lead Lit Topic: Getting Organized
Getting Organized
Results
Evocative Coaching with Bob and Megan Tschannen-Moran (PODCAST)
Bob and Megan Tschannen-Moran are the authors of Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time. In this podcast with Heather Rader they talk about their work with teachers and...
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...
Jennifer Allen on Working with Veteran Teachers (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Jennifer Allen talks with Franki Sibberson about mentoring veteran teachers. A transcript is included below the player. Franki Sibberson: What is your role in working with...
Jennifer Allen on Working with New Teachers (PODCAST)
Franki Sibberson chats with Jennifer Allen about the joys and challenges of working with new teachers. A transcript is below the player. Franki Sibberson: What have you found to be...
Quick Take: Protocols for Teacher Study Groups
In this three-minute Quick Take video, Clare Landrigan describes the teacher study group protocol she uses to foster shared understanding and allow for differentiated learning among teachers.
Coaching Monkey
As a kid, Curious George was my hero. Sometimes I had to cover my eyes when he was about to get into trouble, but I knew in the end he'd...
Engaging Teachers with Coaching
When my husband and I rented the movie Slumdog Millionaire, I hid my eyes frequently during the first 30 minutes. Completely unprepared for the on-screen violence, I asked Kurt to nudge...
Concise, Conversational, and Consistent: Explaining the Work of Literacy Coaches
I get asked questions about my job in a variety of ways: “So you’re a teacher?” “I heard you’re a coach. What sport?” And my recent favorite: “Then you get...
Calendaring a Literacy Coach
My husband and I married when we were sophomores in college transferring to the University of Washington. He was pursuing architecture and I was in education. We arrived in our...
My New Favorite: Paraphrasing
For years I sang songs to my son about “my favorite boy” and to my daughter as “my favorite girl.” Then I had another girl—and I kept singing. One day...
Creating a Coaching Schedule
We have been encouraging the literacy coaches we work with to create a year-long coaching schedule for their school. The main goal of these coaching schedules is to ensure that...
Can I Quote You on That?: Capturing Classroom Conversation
Sometimes inspiration for my teaching life comes from seemingly disparate experiences in my personal life. I spent a recent Saturday afternoon surrounded by a gaggle of giddy women who had...
What is the Evidence?
The first and most brutal fact that must be confronted in creating professional learning communities is that the task is not merely challenging: it is daunting. It is disingenuous to...
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...
Tips from Literacy Leaders for Closing Out the School Year (ROUNDUP)
Here are some suggestions from Choice Literacy contributors for the best ways to close out the year, with everything from personal organizing tips to family events. Heather Rader, Instructional Coach...
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...
Making the Case for Literacy Coaches
It's that time of year. School districts are examining their budgets for the upcoming school year. Due to the troubled economy, many of them are finding that they are not...
Supporting Successful First-Year Coaches
It's Friday, a little after noon, and Cristina Charney, Heather Sisson, Becky Lee and I are tucked around the small circle table with our lunches in my office. We are...
What Coaches Carry (Part 2)
In part one of this series we began the conversation about what to carry to be prepared for the varied work of teacher leadership -- from teaching and one-on-one coaching,...
Troubleshooting Coaching Cycles
Last summer, we were fortunate to host Diane Sweeney at our coaching summer institute. Diane introduced us to the idea of coaching cycles. She assured us that coaching cycles would...
Sales Clerks and Literacy Leaders
Shopping for the perfect outfit is always an exhausting task. I seem to always encounter the hovering salesperson. She's the one who shows me the outfits I would never buy, and suggests...
