A simple question - who will coach the coaches? If you're a literacy coach, you already know there is no job more amazing...or overwhelming in a school. You need tools for your work that acknowledge the complexity and joy of this work.

Because our materials are developed by literacy coaches working full-time in schools, they are a mix of the practical and inspiring that you can't find elsewhere on the web.

We provide print downloads and workshop guides ready to use in your next professional development offering - whether that's a study group for colleagues, a mentoring session with new teachers, or collaborative teaching and observation in a classroom. We specialize in short readings designed to be copied and used in workshop settings by literacy leaders, as well as multimedia presentations of nationally-known teachers and coaches at work. And our members find the dozens of professional videos available on our site invaluable for analyzing and promoting best literacy practices in schools.

We also have a number of e-Guides designed specifically with coaches in mind. You can access those by clicking here.

Common Core Conversations: Text Complexity Amanda Adrian and Heather Rader When you hear the word "complex" what comes to mind? Complicated? Difficult? Many parts? More challenging? We had these associations as we began our inquiry into the Common Core shift of putting more emphasis on text complexity in teaching and learning. . . . more Creating a Coaching Culture: A Podcast with Jane Kise Jane Kise chats with Heather Rader about creating a coaching culture in schools as part of professional learning communities. . . . more Sorting Students for Flexible Groups Across Classrooms Jennifer Jones Recently the teachers in my building learned that after receiving district funds for the past five years to support our intervention efforts for struggling students, the funds would be eliminated. All interventions this year fall on the shoulders of our individual school budgets (which are not hearty). This left us with a need for creative solutions. Before thinking outside the box, we experienced a bout of panic, fear, and skepticism for how we would accomplish the daunting task of providing academic and behavior interventions without a funding source. . . . more Communicating with the Y Chromosome Heather Rader Neuroscience says male and female brains are wired and juiced differently, and social experts like Deborah Tannen concur. In You Just Don't Understand, she noted the report vs. rapport aspect of our talk. Women build relations through talk (rapport), while men negotiate status (report). Men prefer to speak one at a time while women tend to overlap cooperatively in conversation. These have implications for our conversations in the work place. . . . more Trying to Coach Without the Budget in Mind Melanie Quinn With daily headlines keeping alive the reality of a sputtering economy, I fear for my job more than ever. Perhaps it was my sheer naïveté in my first year coaching, but I really paid no attention to budget talks until late last spring when "Reduction In Force" (aka RIF) language was inserted into our contract updates from the union. . . . more Working with Adults: Structuring Effective Conferring Amanda Adrian After reaching the top, it occurred to me that I had been coached. I was soon struck by the connection between the manner in which Andrea had supported my acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to run up a hill, and the methods I use to support teachers in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in an effective reading conference with students. . . . more Keeping Students Front and Center Jennifer Allen During the course of the conversation, the professor asked, "What is your biggest fear as a literacy coach?" My immediate response without thinking was "failure." As soon as "failure" popped out of my mouth, I knew that wasn't truly my biggest fear. I am not afraid to fail. I have learned over the year that failure is the place where we learn the most. I realize now that my biggest fear is forgetting to keep students at the heart of our coaching conversations. . . . more Coaching Struggling Teacher Teams Heather Rader It's not that Betty doesn't comprehend the rubric or appreciate her team, she just believes her standards trump the agreed-upon grade level rubric. The way she stays in her comfort zone is to say, "I have high standards." No one can or will argue that point. For teachers that have been isolated for most of our careers during the teaching day, this is an understandable response and researchers have found this to be true as well. . . . more The Super Power of Reflecting Heather Rader When feeling overwhelmed by the number of points to consider in your lessons, workshops and units, it's helpful to set some limits in the beginning. There are five basic elements of instruction that might provoke reflection: planning, the teaching event itself, immediate impressions, longer term analysis, and the changes made. . . . more Virtually Coaching a Lesson Heather Rader The principal had asked Chad to use a specific template for this lesson write-up, and he'd attached that electronically to his email to me with the request: Will you look at this? It's not unusual for teachers to ask for assistance in planning observation lessons, and this makes sense. Teachers want an outside partner to help them think through their instruction. When I read Chad's lesson, I was glad he'd sent it and given us some time to revise it. . . . more Common Core Conversations: The Half 'n' Half Shift for Nonfiction Reading and Writing Amanda Adrian and Heather Rader We know that informational reading and writing need to increase for our students. Shifting to 50% informational reading and writing or as we've come to think of it, the half-n-half shift, does have implications for some very doable changes in our professional development, coaching and teaching that we can begin right away. . . . more What Coaches Carry (Part 2) Heather Rader 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, to facilitating small-group professional learning communities and whole-group professional development. . . . more What Coaches Carry (Part 1) Heather Rader As I prepare to mentor three new coaches this year in different assignments: elementary building coach, secondary reading intervention coach and middle grades math coach, I sit down to have an initial get-to-know-you chat with each one. I was struck by one of the questions I haven't thought about in a long time: What do you carry? . . . more Favorite Short Mentor Texts for Demonstration Lessons Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan Teachers and coaches often ask us for a list of mentor texts to teach a particular strategy or genre unit of study. While we certainly have some favorites, we truly believe that when it comes to mentor texts we cannot lose sight of our purpose and audience. There are key factors teachers need to consider when selecting mentor texts: purpose, developmental stage of readers, and teaching objectives. Coaches have an additional factor - very limited time. . . . more Concise, Conversational and Consistent: Explaining Leadership Roles Heather Rader In the beginning, I used to fumble my responses about what I do for a living. It was as if I was apologizing for not having an easy-to-define job. I used the phrases "kind of but not really" and "sorta like." The problem was I'd never taken time to craft a thoughtful and informative response. When you are a teacher, everyone knows (or thinks they know) what that means: most likely you have a classroom, you have a desk, you have a class, you work hard and you have summers off. You also like red apples and pencils. . . . more Planning for a Demonstration Lesson (Part 2) In this second installment of a two-part video series, Clare Landrigan takes a team of grades 3-5 teachers through the steps of planning for a demonstration lesson. . . . more Planning for a Demonstration Lesson (Part 1) In this first installment of a video series, Clare Landrigan takes a team of grades 3-5 teachers through the steps of planning for a demonstration lesson. . . . more Acquiring Knowledge Two or Three Strategies at a Time Amanda Adrian Jack was able to quickly and safely try on his new learning because he is not yet burdened by the fear of being wrong, or the overwhelming sense that there is still so much to learn before he has earned the title "expert". Somewhere between inquisitive child and adult learner, many of us develop a sense that we must apply our professional learning perfectly, or not at all. . . . more Best Practices All Day Long: Balancing Personal and Professional Success Melanie Quinn As an environmentalist, I am my own worst nightmare. I no sooner pull into the driveway from dropping a child off at baseball practice, when I realize I have to run to the store for dinner and on my way back swing by the pool to pick up another kid. Reaching home, I realize we've run out of dog food and back out the driveway I go. I want to do more professional writing, but can't seem to carve out the time to do it. And then there's the gym and Weight Watcher meal tracking I should be doing, but don't. Then it hit me. What if I took all the good things I know about successful instruction and used them to organize my time outside of school? . . . more Literacy Coaching Rapport and Collaboration This cluster will help literacy coaches improve their relationships with teachers. . . . more What's Essential for Literacy Coaches? This cluster is designed to help literacy coaches reflect on ways to be most effective in their work with teachers. . . . more The Literacy Coach Work Area: Arranging Materials in Cramped Spaces (VIDEO) Gail Boushey Many literacy specialists and coaches find themselves in cramped work spaces when it comes to their desks, storage areas for materials, and meeting rooms for conferring with colleagues. In this four-minute video, Literacy Coach Gail Boushey talks about how she arranges her materials in a limited space, and the benefits of sharing work space with colleagues. . . . more What Matters Most: A Podcast with Samantha Bennett Samantha Bennett is the author of That Workshop Book, and works with teachers and literacy leaders across the country to create vibrant school learning communities. In this podcast, she chats with Franki Sibberson about what matters most in schools. . . . more Ubiquitous Venns, Watch Fors, and Leverage Points: Coaching for Depth Heather Rader Ubiquitous Venns - you see them everywhere. Those friendly overlapping circles. Some are hand-drawn and look more elliptical than circular, and the intersection is never large enough for all the shared attributes to fit. . . . more Assessment and Curriculum Mapping (VIDEO) Jennifer Allen In this video from a new teacher study group for grades 3-5 teachers, Jennifer Allen demonstrates how teachers can use assessment data to develop instructional plans for individual students and create curriculum maps for an entire class of students at the same time. . . . more Coaching Monkey Heather Rader 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 do something to make it right. He always did. While I was definitely not a rule breaker, I secretly shared George's curiosity. With more courage, I too would've folded up those newspapers into boats and sent them floating down the river. It tickles me to think that perhaps my coaching motto "Stay Curious" comes from my early learning with George. . . . more "You'll Figure It Out": 10 Tips for Literacy Coaches Who Are Given Little Guidance Terry Thompson When my principal first approached me about becoming our building's literacy coach (lo, these many years ago!), my first reaction was, "Are you kidding me?" . . . more Aligning Practices with Beliefs Melanie Quinn As an instructional coach, one of the first things I started to notice was an inconsistency in routines and the curriculum in some classrooms. In classrooms with a strong connection between beliefs and practices, I could step in to watch instruction, assist children, and/or record data. There was a clear thread I could follow, even though several days might have passed between the last time I stepped into a class to the next. I could easily pick up on continuation of instruction I might have observed in an earlier phase. In other words, what I observed today made sense based on what I saw earlier. . . . more Books That Touch the Heart Shari Frost The literacy coaches began talking all at once about the books that always make them cry. So I began making a list. The list contains "all of the usual suspects" and some surprising choices. The coaches all agreed that they were going to go into classrooms the following week and model that it is okay to cry while reading aloud to a class. Here is our list of tearjerkers. Get an extra box of tissue and enjoy... . . . more Listen In: Magnifying a Moment in Writing (VIDEO) When second-grade teacher Linda Karamatic pulled out Sammi's folder during our meeting, she commented on how delighted she was to see Sammi finishing some pieces. There were several workshops at the beginning of the year when Sammi needed reminders that it was writing time, not social time. We both acknowledged how she was showing more writerly behaviors, and that was something to celebrate. After looking at a few pieces, one of the trends we noticed in Sammi's writing was that she provided a great skeleton for her writing, but the details were lacking. . . . more Sense of Little Engines Heather Rader Recently I had the opportunity to put a sense of agency or little engines into practice while co-teaching in a third-grade classroom. Mr. Bruin (pseudonym) told me he has many reluctant writers, "They don't know how to get started writing. They wouldn't know a creative idea if it bit them." . . . more Simplexity: Finding Your Focus Jennifer Allen As I approached 279 Newbury Street in Boston, I immediately recognized the trademark sign of cupcakes with crossbones on the store's black awning. Upon seeing this symbol I knew I was at the right spot, Johnny Cupcakes. I walked into the small boutique purposefully taking in the simplicity of the shop. At first glance one might think that Johnny Cupcakes is a bakery, for the store contains typical bakery display cases, an industrial size mixer, cooling racks, and even an oven. But on second glance, it's hard to miss the fact that the display cases and cooling racks contain neatly folded t-shirts, and that there is not a single pastry in the shop. . . . more Getting the Most Out of Visiting a Colleague's Classroom (PODCAST) Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan In this podcast, Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan chat with Franki Sibberson about how teachers can get the most out of observing a colleague's classroom. A full transcript is below the player. . . . more An Attitude of Gratitude Heather Rader My inbox had an email at the top that began, "I thought you'd want to know what my whole class didn't like about the lesson you wrote up." Sigh. Indeed, we are in the "Januaries." . . . more On Their Own (Almost): Coaching and Classroom Demonstrations Mid-Year (VIDEO) In this video filmed in mid-January, Jennifer Allen observes new teacher Jessica, and explains how she struggles to redefine her role in the classroom. . . . more Not That Into Me Heather Rader For the past 11 years during the holiday season my husband and I have watched the movie Trapped in Paradise with my brother. The movie stars Nicholas Cage, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovett as three brothers, Alvin, Dave and Bill Furpo, with a knack for stealing things and a Darwin Award intellect. We love it and laugh every time. It's not a spectacular plot; there are no unforgettable characters; the message is neither brilliant nor moving. It's simply familiarity -- we love what we know. . . . more Undercover Coach: Making Time to Work with Children Shari Frost Have you ever watched the television show Undercover Boss? Each episode shows what happens when a high ranking official of a company attempts to do an entry level job in the company for a week. I am sure that you can imagine what happens. The boss blunders through the week, needing lots of support from the employees. At the end of the week, the boss has a much better understanding of how his/her company works and a lot more respect for the employees. I thought about that television show when I was comforting a literacy coach after a self-described "disastrous demo lesson." . . . more Coaching Codes Heather Rader A code of conduct is created to outline the standards and rules of behavior that guide an organization. Effective codes spell out "unspoken rules" as well, so that everyone can be successful. In the infancy of our coaching program, my colleague Megan Conklin and I set out to write such a code. At that time we were known to use the German word uber meaning super or above and beyond to describe the ideal coach: the uber coach. We asked ourselves, "What does the uber coach do?" . . . more Coaching Beyond the Curriculum: Reframing Our Talk and Attitude Toward Difficult Students Melanie Quinn This is how my morning began today - the last day of school before the holiday break. Our town had gotten a rare sprinkling of snow, we were heading into a long break and students, especially the challenging ones, were losing it throughout the building. I'm an instructional coach, so my plan was to take advantage of the holiday activities in classrooms and analyze some district assessment data in my office. Instead, I found myself trying to figure out Darren. I soon learned why his teacher Trisha had hit a wall with him. . . . more Building the Reading Community Among Teachers Jennifer Allen The starting point for teaching reading is always our own lives as readers - tuning in to our processes as proficient readers, and then tapping that knowledge to help the children in our care develop new skills and strategies. One of the most important things I strive to do as a literacy coach is build self-awareness in my colleagues of their reading. . . . more Quick and Thorough: Literacy Coach Conferring Notes Jennifer Jones For most classroom teachers, it takes years to perfect a system for conferring during reading and writing workshops. In my role as a literacy coach I have supported many teachers as they experiment with a new system on their personal quests to recordkeeping perfection. Mailing labels, sticky notes, sectioned binders, and individual notebooks. . . .teachers seem to be in a constant state of trial and error. . . . more Language Patterns: Reflecting with Transcripts and Wordle Heather Rader I decided to analyze transcripts from two writing lessons - one from a beginning teacher, and another from a more experienced teacher (student names were changed, though not the repetition). Even more synchronous was the fact that both the writing lessons were at the same grade level. . . . more Quick Take: Protocols for Teacher Study Groups (VIDEO) 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. . . . more Demonstration Lesson Debriefs This cluster is designed to spark better conversations about demonstration lessons, with an emphasis on improving debriefs. . . . more Creating a Coaching Schedule Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan 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 the coaching experience is meaningful and productive for teachers, and manageable for the literacy coach. . . . more The Email Mirror and Literacy Coaching Heather Rader Last year while attending a mentor symposium, my thinking about coaching was challenged. As experienced instructional coaches, we were asked to rate ourselves on a number of attributes. When I got to mirroring, I faltered. . . . more Group Observations in Classrooms (VIDEO) In this six-minute video from a 5th grade classroom, new teachers observe a whole-class writing share session and then debrief afterward with the classroom teacher and literacy coach Jennifer Allen. . . . more Calendaring a Literacy Coach Heather Rader One of the most difficult things for me as a literacy coach was planning time to plan. It went something like this: I had a writing class coming up that was two hours after school. Even though it was something I'd never taught before, I'd think, it shouldn't take me that long to whip it together. Over and over again, it would take me an awful lot of time to "whip it together." I was staying up late or going into work in the wee hours of the morning to make sure I was delivering the quality I expected of myself. The problem was some weeks I had two or three of those classes. Burnout was on the horizon. . . . more Coaching Out of Chaos: Helping New Teachers Establish Management Systems Heather Rader Management is a tricky thing for me to coach. I have to constantly check in with myself that I'm not letting my biases lead. While there are fewer and fewer classrooms using "names on the board" systems, the classrooms I visit where kids quickly point out their "bad" peers often refer to the board. . . . more 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 . . . more From Teacher to Coach: Building Community in the Early Days Melanie Quinn It's late August and next week I start my position as Instructional Coach. I am not new to working with teachers. I spent six years in higher education working with student teachers before they were certified. The difference was they were new at this job and they trusted my experience meant something - it was something they didn't have yet. It's a different kind of pressure working with veteran teachers who might not be as confident they have something to learn from me. . . . more Word Choice Lesson: A Collaborative Coaching Session with a New Teacher (VIDEO) Jennifer Allen When I work with a new teacher in his or her classroom, it's a collaborative experience. We design and teach together over time, sharing what works and what doesn't. In this video, you'll glimpse a snapshot in time of the collaborative teaching Jessica and I are doing within a revision unit of study. On this day, we are teaching her fourth graders about the importance of word choice... . . . more Literacy Room for Teachers Tour (VIDEO) Jennifer Allen In this four-minute video tour, Jennifer Allen describes how she arranges and displays materials in the "Literacy Room," the space she has created in her grades 3-5 school as a hub for her professional development work with colleagues... . . . more Tips for Conducting Demonstration Lessons, or How to Avoid the "Am I Doing This Right?" Question Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan Sometimes when teachers watch a demonstration lesson, the important conversations that we want to take place simply don't happen. Busy schedules and time constraints make it difficult for teachers to have time to plan and think together. Teachers also spend so much time thinking and problem solving alone in their classrooms that being asked to talk about the nuts and bolts of teaching practices can be awkward. . . . more Conferring Notebook for Coaches (VIDEO with TEMPLATE) Gail Boushey I am always on the hunt for new ways to reorganize the records I keep as a literacy coach. I want to be sure I have good records of encounters with colleagues, but I don't want to spend more time taking notes than I do collaborating with teachers. Recently I revised my coaching conferring notebook to mirror the notebooks I encourage teachers to use in their own classrooms as they keep track of conferences with students. The video below explains the components of the notebook . . . more Supporting Successful First-Year Coaches Heather Rader 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 talking about where we've been and where we are going. Cristina and Becky work as district-based coaches, and Heather works as a site-based coach at a brand new elementary school. What an adventure this year has been. . . . more Returning to Our Creation Chambers: Supporting Experienced Teachers Jennifer Allen Isn't a lifetime of experimenting with one's craft what teaching and learning is all about? This year I am working with a group of veteran teachers who like Gorky have chosen a return to their "creation chamber" late in their careers. The group meets monthly to reflect, refine, and play with new thinking. These teachers wanted the chance to collaborate with other teachers and share thinking as they worked to build off best practices and push through new walls of thinking and learning. . . . more Great Little Books for Professional Book Clubs Sharon Frost What made this book club such a success? Was it the steaming cups of gourmet coffee? The fresh bagels? Tracie's warm and friendly smile? While these all may have been contributing factors, I think the key to this book club's success was the book selection. . . . more Portable Anchor Charts for Literacy Coaches After watching a video clip of Franki Sibberson share her use of foam boards, I was intrigued with how I could use this idea in my own work as a literacy coach. I am always moving around the building, going into different classrooms. I thought foam boards would great for creating durable anchor charts - lists that I could build with students, and that would help me model for teachers the power of these visual aids. . . . more Daily Tidbits: Professional Development in Small Bites Jennifer Jones With so many modes of communicating these days intended to make staying in touch easier, sometimes it becomes a burden and a challenge to keep up with them all. I don't know about teachers in your building, but at my school we are inundated daily with e-mails, voicemails and new initiatives. I often find myself walking on eggshells, not wanting to add to anyone's stress level and sense of being overwhelmed. . . . more Picking a Partner: Demonstration Lesson and Debrief (VIDEO) In this demonstration lesson from a K-2 classroom, Joan Moser leads students through guided practice in picking a partner. . . . more Grade Level Team Meeting: Test Preparation (VIDEO) In this video of a third-grade team meeting, literacy coaches Janet Scott and Gail Boushey help third-grade teachers think through what is going well with test preparation, and what might be adapted before the tests begin in a few weeks. The teachers make many connections between the literacy required for both math and reading examinations . . . more The Literacy Committee: Full Speed Ahead! (Building a Reading Culture Series) Ellen McEvoy We're dropping reading as a fundraiser and came up with a plan that we hope will give each kid more of a stake in participation. We're instituting a book swap to get free books into the hands of every student. We hope most classes will "deck the halls" for literacy. We'll end with an evening program for families. The reading challenge and the book swap are closely connected; I'll start with the swap. . . . more Wii Summary Heather Rader What I find, and was true in Ingrid's classroom, is that some complex skills like summarization are taught in only two modes: all teacher (I-do) or all students (you-do). In the I-do mode, teachers can easily be disillusioned that the kids get it because the smart ones offer to answer our questions and everyone else nods to make us happy when we ask, "Does that make sense?" In the you-do mode, that illusion falls apart with a chorus of "I don't get it" or work that misses the mark. That's where the students were when Ingrid deemed the progress "awful." In between those two modes is an entire continuum of we-do . . . more Making Data Analysis a Motivating and Worthwhile Process Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan At first glance, the task of data analysis seems simply to be mathematical. Teachers look at the numbers, decide what students need to learn, and then plan instruction. However, the reality is that those numbers reflect each teacher's hard work in his/her classroom; and unfortunately those numbers do not always exemplify a teacher's efforts. The data results are sometimes not what we expect. . . . more Getting and Giving Student Feedback Heather Rader When I consider "Who is the best educated and the most experienced thinker in the classroom?" The answer is the teacher. If I am understanding how the students are making meaning, I can adapt the questions, lessons and interventions. The only way for me to have access to that information is to get it in the form of kid talk, lots of it, and later, in writing too. Schema, 10:2 Theory and Exit Slips are ways to constantly seek feedback of students' understanding. . . . more There's Been a Misblunderstanding Heather Rader I believe there are two misblunderstandings at play here and in many of our classrooms.  There is a myth that teacher talking is the same thing as teaching. We need to switch our focus from what the teacher is saying and doing to what the students are saying and doing. Just because she said it, doesn't mean she taught it. If kids aren't doing something independently (like fourth graders generating a paragraph), we can begin where they are at. . . . more Finding Words: Linking Community and Classrooms (VIDEO) In this four-minute video, Principal Karen Szymusiak and 3rd Grade Teacher/Literacy Coach Pam Hahlen do a quick word search activity using dictionaries donated to the classroom by a local service club. . . . more You Get What You Ask For: The Art of Debriefing Heather Rader I started out as a question collector. I used questions from the University of Kansas, Cathy Toll and every coaching article I put my hands on. I typed every word that came out Literacy Coach Katherine Casey's mouth during trainings. I thought that somehow if I collected enough good questions, that I would know what to ask and how. The truth is, while the list focused my attention on questioning and I have kept a couple of gems, I didn't really get good at it until I started paying more attention to the responses from teachers to my questions. My inquiry skills didn't come from a list or my mouth; my questions came from my ears. . . . more Is "Just Right" Still Just Right?: Helping Children Select Appropriate Books Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan We taught together in an elementary classroom for years. One of the most important things we always talked about with students was the concept of "just-right" books. We used the analogy of the three bears, teaching our students that there were three types of books: Too Hard, Too Easy and Just Right. While it made sense to us back then, we are now unsure that this analogy is "just right" as we watch readers from across districts and grade levels. . . . more Writing Do-Overs: ERPs in the Classroom Heather Rader We loved do-overs on the playground, but young writers don't have the same enthusiasm for do-overs in writing. When I was teaching I thought maybe it was just my students, but now as a coach, I see the trend in many writers. When I go into a classroom to work on revision, I ask the students to answer three simple questions on a half-sheet pre-assessment. . . . more Help! Our Grade-Level Team Meetings Are Awful! (LITERACY COACH CONFIDENTIAL) I meet regularly with grade-level teams as part of my coaching work. Getting these team meetings scheduled during the school day was a major victory for our staff, but I fear we will soon lose this planning time. We only have half an hour each week for these meetings, and between the team members who show up late, who are missing materials, or who keep us off task, it's not a very productive time. I hate feeling like a cop in the meetings, and it's not doing much good anyway. What suggestions do you have for making these meetings more collaborative and productive? . . . more Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: Bookroom Management Tips for Literacy Coaches Shari Frost Literacy coaches seldom have neutral feelings about their school's literacy closet or bookroom. They either love it or hate it. They love it at the beginning of the school year when everything is neat, well-organized, and dust-free. They love it when things aren't going so well out there. At such times, the literacy closet becomes a place of refuge; there's always something to do there. They hate it when they are trying to find a particular set of books to use in a classroom; even though the books haven't been checked out, they aren't on the shelf either. . . . more A Coach's Perspective: No More Flying Pig Prompts Heather Rader The search for great prompts was pointless. There may just be bad prompts and not-so-bad prompts. Along with other teacher leaders, I seek not-so-bad prompts with multiple entry points. . . . more Running and Reading Logs Part II (VIDEO) Clare Landrigan In this second video in a two-part series, Clare Landrigan meets with a group of 4th graders to talk about reading logs and goals. In this excerpt, Clare confers with students over their logs and debriefs with their teacher. . . . more Four Essentials in Designing Professional Development for Literacy Leaders Jill Reinhart It is summer and I am preparing for a new year of conducting professional development sessions for a new group of building-based literacy leaders. How can I help these colleagues become even more competent and sensitive to the needs of building staff? As I reflect on this question, I realize that they need four essential things from me: time, a safe ear, an opportunity to experience literacy learning as a participant, and personal reflection... . . . more How to Be of Use: Starting Strong Heather Rader After I ask the question, "What do you already know about coaching?" teachers often tell me "Very little." There is also misinformation that coaching is only for the struggling or new educators, not teachers at the top of their game. Sharing with teachers a "This I Believe" reveals my intention and they appreciate repetition of my mantra, "I believe all teachers deserve coaches." . . . more How to Use a Coach: Four Things to Consider Heather Rader I'm not an expert in the classrooms I enter, but I often know enough to help a teacher move forward. As an instructional coach, I've worked with first year teachers, a thirty-two year veteran and many stages in between. Some teachers seem instantly comfortable with the coaching arrangement while others because of apprehension, misinformation or just being new to the process learn "how to use a coach" to their advantage through the process. . . . more Literacy Coach Confidential: Teachers Resent Me - What Can I Do? I was hired at a time when budgets are down. Class size is up, money for everything from field trips to new books is nonexistent. My salary isn't paid from those accounts, but it doesn't seem to matter to my colleagues. How can I gain the teachers' support, so I can help them? . . . more Restless Wanderer: Lessons for Teachers from Summer Vacations Shelly Archer People who aren't teachers may envy us because we have our summers "off." Those of us inside the profession chuckle at the notion we are ever really untethered from our job. How we would love a few months, or at times, just a few minutes off from our continual reflection, revision, and reimagining of our classrooms. The truth is that our minds are always working on perfecting the art and science of teaching. Whenever I feel challenged or unsure outside the classroom, I try to find lessons in the experience that will make me a better teacher - even when I am on a holiday. This summer I went on vacation with my husband, and came back renewed, with new understandings of myself and a different attitude toward my students and my responsibilities. I wonder what lessons you are carrying away from your time "off" this summer? . . . more I Do So Like Green Eggs and Ham Shari Frost I decided that I didn't like the Kindle (a digital reader) before I had even tried it. Then one day, a Kindle arrived in the mail. It came with a note that said, "Keep an open mind." . . . more My Colleague Refuses to Collaborate with Us (LITERACY COACH CONFIDENTIAL) How do you work with a teacher who refuses to be a collaborative part of a team? She does her own thing without regard for other team members. Her students are not exposed to the same curriculum as the other students but she feels they are learning at their own pace. She has a literacy coach working with her but doesn't follow through on any suggestions to improve her teaching. She believes kids will learn when they are ready. Any suggestions? . . . more Planning a Year of Study Groups Jennifer Allen I am not sure about your schools, but we are knee-deep in what seems like many initiatives. We are realigning curriculum in all content areas, beginning the process of curriculum mapping as a district, and continuing to follow through on our school goal of improving our formative assessments. There is a lot going on, with each initiative competing for time against others . . . more Learning from Coaching Mistakes Heather Rader Inventors understand that early prototypes inform them best about what doesn't work rather than what does. But what about when prototypes are people? It's difficult for me not to feel guilty about the mistakes I made with students' education in my first few years. In the same way, as a third year coach, I find myself reflecting on my missteps with the first set of teachers that I collaborated with as I was figuring out who I was as a coach. . . . more Making the Case for Literacy Coaches Shari Frost 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 going to have the money that they need to move forward with all of the currently existing programs. Some school districts may also need to fund newly mandated programs such as tier two and tier three support for Response to Intervention. This, of course, forces them to make cuts, and everyone who is not directly connected to a classroom full of children is fair game. Literacy coaches are usually expensive. Most coaches have years of experience and hold advanced degrees - putting them at the top of the salary range. . . . more Creating Data Teams Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan A concern that arises in thinking about the collection and use of data is the number of schools that are assigning the job of "data manager" to their reading coaches/specialists. A good portion of the "data manager" job includes sorting and distributing paper; data entry; photocopying; filling in paper work; and walking around gathering assessments from teachers. We need to ask ourselves, "Are these the right duties for the most knowledgeable teachers of reading in our buildings?" . . . more Using Mentor Texts in Study Groups: Play and Practice Jennifer Allen I often find myself in information overload, with so many new ideas and so little time to play with them. I look forward to monthly study group meetings with my colleagues because we explore new thinking together and bounce ideas off of one another. Study groups have become my playground for learning, the place where we bridge theory and practice. . . . more Literacy Chats with Teachers: Routines and Guidelines (VIDEO) Karen Szymusiak In my school, teachers have monthly "literacy chats" to discuss current trends and issues that arise in our classrooms. These are informal discussions designed to help us build a supportive community as we all work to improve the ways we teach reading and writing. Our focus for this school year was to look at the workshop model in our literacy programs, with an emphasis on reading workshop. As principal, my role includes putting in place structures and routines like literacy chats to help colleagues learn from each other, as well as to develop shared expectations and standards for instruction. . . . more Unlucky Lists: Raising Non-Writers and Non-Artists S. Rebecca Leigh In my work as a literacy educator at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, I often walk by a poster at the elevators that makes me pause and think: "Unlucky Arithmetic: Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader." Published by The Horn Book, authors Dean Schneider and Robin Smith on their list "recommend" things like no reading in bed or listening to books on tape - that's cheating don't you know? . . . more Tips for More Effective Debriefing Sessions Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan We do a lot of demonstration lessons in our coaching work. Lately we have been reflecting on how we structure these sessions. We find the debriefing of the lesson to be the most difficult aspect of the demonstration lesson. This type of professional development is not about us being good teachers, it is about a group of teachers sharing a common classroom experience and then reflecting on what happened. Yet the debrief session after the lesson is often awkward for the coach . . . more Teaching Inferring Strategies (CHOICE LITERACY CLUSTER) The purpose of this cluster is to help teachers develop strategies for teaching inferring skills to students. . . . more Better Conferring (CHOICE LITERACY CLUSTER) This cluster is designed to help teachers improve their conferring skills. . . . more A Coach's Perspective: Is Sarcasm in Style This Season? Heather Rader This isn't the first time I've encountered sarcasm in the classroom and while these are fifth graders, I've heard it all the way down to classrooms of five-year-olds. Like a Magic Eye picture that begins to emerge as I relax my focus, I see a positive correlation between teachers who are resistant to coaching and also struggle with classroom management. A commonality I've found among teachers struggling with classroom management is the element of sarcasm in their classrooms. . . . more Bookroom Makeover in the Midst (VIDEO) In this video tour, Jessica Ardelea and Josie Stewart talk about the renovations in progress in bookrooms at their school in Dublin, Ohio. The goal is to make it easier for students and teachers to access the texts they need, as well as create spaces for professional conversations among teachers. . . . more Organizing Coaching Work Areas and Libraries (CHOICE LITERACY CLUSTER) This cluster is designed to support literacy coaches think about ways to use the limited space they have available to support their work with teachers. . . . more Better Meetings (CHOICE LITERACY CLUSTER) This cluster is designed to support literacy coaches, specialists, and grade-level team leaders in facilitating effective meetings. . . . more "What I Know Now" Workshop Activity Cindy Hatt In my work with literacy specialists in our school district, I am always searching for discussion frameworks that will support reflective conversation. The group, made up of 16 individuals, usually changes slightly from year to year with the addition of a few new members as teachers return to the classroom or retire. Consequently, there are always some members with years of experience, while others are new to the role. . . . more Coaching Teachers One-on-One: Tools, Structures, and Strategies (CHOICE LITERACY CLUSTER) This cluster is designed to support literacy coaches in their one-on-one work with teachers. . . . more Selecting Texts for Strategy Teaching with English Language Learners in Mind Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan Over the past several months we have spent time thinking and teaching with a group of educators whose students are predominantly English language learners (ELLs). During our visits to their classrooms we see teachers working diligently to use the texts in their district-mandated curriculum to teach whole class and small group lessons. Many of the passages, however, are difficult for English language learners to understand even when the teachers spend significant amounts of time building background knowledge and reading the texts aloud. . . . more