Lead Lit Topic: Guiding Teachers
Here is where you'll find information on guiding teachers.
Results
Same Candy Bar, Different Wrapper: Professional Books That Change Instruction
Kylene Beers, a literacy advocate, author, and educator, passed away this summer. She had a lasting impact on my classroom, and I know many other educators around the world express...
The Coach’s Notebook: How to Capture, Organize, and Analyze Your Data and Responsibilities
Part of my work as a systems coach is documenting my conversations with leaders and teachers around their goals for building more equitable outcomes for students. We use a Google...
Teaching from the Heart
I was thrilled when I got a new job teaching preservice teachers at the local university. As I anticipated my new role, I had visions of students huddled together, engrossed...
Bridging the Gap (Session 2): Finding Your Footing
Science of Reading versus curriculum—that was the buzz. The Sold a Story podcast was the heart of the chatter, and teachers were choosing a side of the fence. As the...
When Coaching Fails: How to Help Educators Who Resist Help
It’s Year 5 in my tenure as principal at a previous school, and a teacher continues to use worksheet packets for literacy instruction. This, in spite of the fact that...
Overcorrecting
Hey Suzy, Thanks for spending time with me and my kiddos today. I agree that they’re starting to understand how to “go back to the text” to support an opinion....
Planning for PD in the Company of Teachers
Continuously thinking about what new information to share with teachers, and how to share it, often puts planning professional development at the heart of a literacy coach’s role. But what...
Navigating Curricular Change
My son pounded the couch with both of his fists, and I looked up from where I was reading while he was doing his homework. “I can’t do this!” he...
When Harsh Words Are Said: Ways to Move Forward
When an experienced coach was hired for a maternity leave position, I (Kate) began to experience what I can only describe as impostor syndrome. I became hyper-aware in every PLC...
Teacher Booklist
Over the past 23 years, I have amassed quite a collection of books full of educational research, ways to help students read, strategies for developing writers, and inspiration for writing...
Pedagogical Clarity in a Time of Changes
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. —James Baldwin Many songs, phrases, and quotes have been written on the subject...
Hope
Hope is not an emotion; it’s a way of thinking or a cognitive process. —Brené Brown What is hope? This word is woven into my day-to-day conversation: “I hope you...
Benefits and Challenges of Using AI as a Coach
When our dog, Millie, was young, we enrolled her in puppy school. She was one of two golden retrievers in this doggy behavior class. The two dogs' "retriever-ness" came out...
When Coaching Fails: How to Help Educators Who Resist Help
It’s year five in my tenure as principal at a previous school, and a teacher continues to use worksheet packets for literacy instruction. This, in spite of the fact that...
Tapping Novelty for What Teachers Need
We are nourished by novelty. Too much sameness and the world goes gray . . . We [look] for things to notice, alert to the ways in which our days...
Opening Moments
The one who does the work does the learning. —Terry Doyle, Learner-Centered Teaching The Idea When I was a fifth-grade teacher, Opening Moments were a regular part of our daily...
Coaching Minute: Clarifying a Vision
Inga Omondi encourages asking questions during meetings to determine how a vision needs to be clarified.
Cultivating a Habit of Reading Children’s Literature as Part of Our Professional Growth
I have a Saturday morning ritual that I absolutely love: going to my local library and browsing through the children’s books section. But this is not your typical “check out...
Supporting Literacy in All Subject Areas
I was the PLC leader for the English department when a young social studies teacher came to my room. He had assigned an essay to his students, and he was...
Tips for Personalizing PD
In this five-minute video, Cathy Mere and Kelly Hoenie talk about how coaches can help teachers personalize their professional development through activities like "Pineapple Week."
