Lead Lit Topic: School Community
Results
Developing Literacy Traditions and Rituals
On Saturdays during the spring, summer, and fall, my family and I like to go to the farmers’ market. It’s just down the street at the city park, one block...
Priming the Pump
The morning dew had just started to evaporate as bright summer sunbeams had begun to peek over the trees. A jogger and his dog were making their way down the...
Second Chances
In professional conversations, we have a finite amount of time to say what we want to say. Our turn lasts only so long, right? Meetings, conferences, and presentations require back-and-forth...
Family Literacy Breakfasts
Max arrived at school early and alone this Friday morning. It happened to be a morning we were having a family literacy breakfast, an event that we run a few...
Literacy, Phys Ed, and Workshops Across the Curriculum
This past spring, I had the rare chance to hire a physical education teacher. As most principals know, this opportunity doesn’t come along often; most schools have one P.E. teacher,...
Field Notes: Where’s My Language?
West Noble Elementary School has a dual-language program. Some students spend equal amounts of time in Spanish-speaking classrooms and English-speaking classrooms. Half of the class is made up of native...
Hard Topics in Reading
Using books with dark themes or settings in the classroom can give students the language to express their emotions, models for how to discuss and engage on these topics with...
Smile File
Smiling makes people feel good and positive, conveying a sense of goodwill, rapport and trust. Dr. T. P. Chia "Everyone needs a smile file!" I heard the radio deejay...
The Toll of Constant Interruptions
Not long ago, a teacher marched into my office, closed the door, and sat down. She covered her face with her hands. I was taken aback. She was one of...
Read Alouds for Big Kids
My parents had four children in a relatively short period of time. They valued reading and did some reading aloud to us, but by the time we were in elementary...
Heavy Edits
In college, one of my work-study jobs was in the public communications office. It was my responsibility to write news releases about the goings-on around campus. Various departments would submit...
Coaching Minute: Fostering Team Collaboration
Jen Schwanke talks through the tricky work of making sure literacy specialists, coaches, and classroom teachers have the time and structure they need to collaborate well around students and data.
Defining the Principal’s Role
Jennifer Schwanke talks about the importance of school leaders building a sense among teachers and families of how literacy is the foundation for all learning in classrooms.
Literacy Morning Announcements
As a young student, I loved the morning announcements. There was something exciting about listening to the voices come through the loudspeaker to welcome me to the day. I remember...
The Gift of Time
Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters. —Margaret Peters It could almost snow, I thought as I got out of my car. It’s that time of...
Why Don’t School Leaders Give More Feedback?
What's the toughest part of our jobs as instructional leaders? In a sea of many challenges, communicating feedback to faculty members rises to the top. We see opportunities for improvement,...
The Importance of Visibility
Dana Murphy shares the importance of high visibility for reading interventionists and other instructional influencers in non-classroom positions.
