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April 26, 2024: Vocabulary

This week’s newsletter is about building vocabulary.

April 19, 2024: Informational Writing

This week’s newsletter is about informational writing.

Building Bridges (and Confidence): Planning Solid Essays

Melissa Quimby offers time and intentional planning to build students’ confidence and capacity as essay writers.

Informational Poetry

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart teach students to write informational poetry. They remind us that poetry can serve as a mentor text in many units and does not have to be siloed in its own unit.

March 22, 2024: Content Literacy

This week’s newsletter is about content literacy.

March 15, 2024: Differentiation

This week’s newsletter is about differentiation.

March 8, 2024: Word Study

This week’s newsletter is about word study.

March 1, 2024: Thinking Ahead to National Poetry Month

This week’s newsletter is about thinking ahead to National Poetry Month.

Morning Message 2: Routine and Community

Ruth Metcalfe reminds us of the power of routines and shows how over the course of time, morning message is an anchor in her first-grade classroom community.

Step Into Poetry: Building a Poetry-Conscious Classroom

Joanne Emery has curated a fabulous list of resources and ideas to build a poetry-conscious classroom community.

Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

Gretchen Schroeder incorporates poetry into her high school classroom as much as possible, and in April she makes a plan to go big! Gretchen shares a variety of ways to create memorable and fun experiences around poetry no matter your grade level.

February 24, 2024: Firming Up Routines

This week’s newsletter is about firming up routines.

Weaving Words Throughout the School Year

Joanne Emery rounds up several ideas for embedding vocabulary routines in the school day. She also shares many rich vocabulary resources.

Empowering Students Through Thinking Routines

Jodie Bailey shares practical ways to nourish students’ thinking routines in her math classroom. She is inspired by Peter Liljedahl’s book Building Thinking Classrooms.

Morning Message Series: When and How

It’s not always easy to hold on to effective instructional routines and find ways to embrace new initiatives and mandates. In the first installment of a morning message series, Ruth Metcalfe addresses the issue of time. 

February 16, 2024: The Tough Ones

This week’s newsletter is about the tough ones

Developing Reader Identities: It Is More Than Magic

Becca Burk reminds us of the importance of building a reading identity within all students so they can become stronger readers.

February 9, 2024: Speaking and Listening

This week’s newsletter is about the importance of listening.

Using Drama Games to Approach Difficult Conversations

Gretchen Schroeder is committed to having conversations about race and racism with her high school students. Sometimes it’s difficult to engage students, so Gretchen used drama games as a means to think about concepts metaphorically, then ground them within the text, and, finally, have students apply them to their own lives and the world.

Big, Loud, and Slow: Six Strategies for Better Public Speaking

Matt Renwick worked with a speech therapist after having a stroke. Through this process, he realized powerful teaching points to help students become stronger public speakers.

February 2, 2024: Nourishing Growth

This week’s newsletter is about nourishing growth in students and educators.

When They’re Hard to Teach

Cathy Mere reminds us of the complexities of teaching readers, especially those who are in intervention. She shares the “rules” she’s put in place for herself when a rough patch is hit and little growth is gained.

When Reading Practices Drift

When Leigh Anne Eck noticed her students’ reading practices weren’t as robust as she expected, she realized she was the one who had drifted away from key instructional practices. Leigh Anne offers several ways to support students in their independent reading lives.

January 26, 2024: Finding Joy in Learning

This week’s newsletter is about prioritizing joy in school.

Kintsugi

Given an assignment to break a china bowl and rebuild it allowed Gretchen Schroeder to engage in the Japanese art of kintsugi. What surprised her were the lessons she learned about growth and innovation in her teaching practice.

Reclaiming Our Time

Vivian Chen gives four steps to adjusting a lesson from the teacher’s guide to reclaim your time and make the lesson more meaningful and engaging to students.

January 19, 2024: Research Notes

This week’s newsletter is about students collecting research notes.

Increasing Engagement During Online Practice Opportunities

Mallory Messenger is intentional about monitoring and supporting cognitive engagement while students use online practice tools. Use her tips so your students are engaged too!

Bet You Didn’t Know: Chicken Eggs and Research

Mandy Robek encourages young writers to collect information about a topic. She provides whole-class and individual structures for students to learn that their understanding can change, as well as to be able to access information when they are ready to draft. Don’t miss Mrs. Robek’s digital class book.

Color Coding: An Organizational Strategy

Leigh Anne Eck gives advice to her middle school writers for collecting research notes.

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