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Annotated Archives
Here is where you will find an annotated listing of every article, video, audio, and resource guide posted at Choice Literacy.
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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 . . .
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Digital Handouts: An Alternative to More Paper and Meetings
Jill Ostrow
"I want to contribute, I would just rather do something different than a presentation," Jane shared with me after one of her district meetings on English language learners (ELLs). She was asked by her administration to give some type of workshop to her staff on working with ELLs. There are over 90 ELLs in her school of over 600 students, and more stream in all the time. The students range from Burmese's refugees, to children of Korean scholars. Even though Jane is one of two full-time ELL teachers in her building, she understands how essential it is to help all teachers and staff become comfortable and knowledgeable when working with this unique population of students. . . .
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An Uncommon Place
Shirley McPhillips
Well, maybe when things get turned upside down, when something other than the ordinary steps into our paths and we allow ourselves to see things in uncommon ways, we can gather in the immediacy of uncommon ground, however nimbly. . . .
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Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom
Tony Keefer
I have always been a little bit of a "tech geek". Not the "I-can-hack-into-my-school-district's-payroll-department-and-give-myself-a-raise" type of techie, but I do have a love affair with gadgets and computers. Because of this, I'm trying to increase the use of technology in my classroom. This journey started with trying to teach my kids how to use software tools like Comic Life, Keynote and Pages as well as bookmarking hundreds of websites that enrich the curriculum we explore. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
March 6, 2010
Uncommon Video Ground
I can't remember the first time I heard about the Flip video recorder when it came out a couple years ago, because its release was buried in the avalanche of new/fun/interesting/useful little gadgets that seem to appear every month. Yet after a winter of using this gadget, I now see it as the video breakthrough for schools that the iPods were for music lovers. Quite simply, this recorder is so small, inexpensive, and easy to use that it's revolutionizing the way many teachers and literacy coaches use video to improve instruction. You can now personalize your use of video in teaching, coaching, and conferring - in uncommon ways that deepen reflection and conversations about literacy learning. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
February 27, 2010
Lucky Numbers
The teacher wanted her students to learn a little about perseverance, and she knew just the video to show. The YouTube clip of a baby squirrel and her mama was a web phenom, with millions of views. You may have seen it yourself - a baby squirrel is trying to scale a wall, and succeeds only after some "scaffolding" is provided. . . .
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Procedural Writing in Math
Heather Rader
Truly, I love a good story and interesting anecdotes, but only when I'm reading for that purpose. Right now what I'm interested in is accurate measurements, clear ingredients, and a step-by-step easy-to-follow guide. The word choice should be precise language of the discipline (in this case, culinary) and the voice should be clear and factual. Still, while procedural writing is "just the facts ma'am" simple, it's not as cinchy to teach. . . .
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Math, Writing, and Coaching to Learn
Heather Rader
Lisa, like many intermediate teachers, works in a departmentalized arrangement. She begins the day with her homeroom kids, and then about every 80 minutes she rotates through three different groups of fifth graders for literacy. Lisa was excited to learn more about writing in the content areas, as well as the connections that might build with other members of her teaching team. . . .
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21st Century Literacy Teaching
Volume 3 Number 1 February 20, 2010
Welcome to the new 21st Century Literacy Digest! This digest will focus on ways that literacy instruction is changing because of technology, and what this might mean for our teaching and our own literacy. In this issue, I look at how our adult literacy habits are changing, and I also introduce some terrific resources on the web. I hope you enjoy these new features and old favorites from the Choice Literacy Archives. . . .
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The Authentic Use of Notebooks
This cluster is designed to help teachers who use notebooks and logs in their classrooms think more deeply about the purpose of this assignment. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
February 20, 2010
Let's Rewind the Tape
The teacher wanted her students to learn a little about perseverance, and she knew just the video to show. The YouTube clip of a baby squirrel and her mama was a web phenom, with millions of views. You may have seen it yourself - a baby squirrel is trying to scale a wall, and succeeds only after some "scaffolding" is provided. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
February 13, 2010
Connecting Through Conferring
We moved to a new town between my daughter's kindergarten and first grade years. I was worried the first day I brought her to school - it was a tiny public K-8 building, with one class of students at each grade level. Virtually everyone in her class had attended preschool and kindergarten together - a close-knit community, and we were outsiders. . . .
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Along Saplines
This morning, I tiptoe across the cold floor and open the shutters tenderly, not wanting to shatter my AM disequilibrium further by the blizzardly scene that forecasters have been predicting around the clock. Surprise. Nothing. Again. Only the snow-stained remnants of last week's lackluster dusting and a kicked-up wind. Not that we haven't had snow, and interminable cold. . . .
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Collaborating with Colleagues Using Web Tools
Karen Szymusiak
Classroom teachers are working harder than ever. The demands of state testing, covering a broad curriculum and meeting the individual needs of the students with whom they work has created an environment that challenges even the most skillful teachers. . . .
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Balancing Assessments Through Better Classroom Notes
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan
Marie Clay reminds us, "The one closest to the classroom experience is in a unique position to see and communicate a reliable and valid instructional perspective of the child." (An Observation Survey, 1993) In data meetings and professional learning communities, we sometimes become concerned that conference notes and teacher observations are not being viewed as valid assessments. We are hearing that only "universal screeners" count in the world of response to intervention . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 30, 2010
Are You Scaffolding or Rescuing?
We moved to a new town between my daughter's kindergarten and first grade years. I was worried the first day I brought her to school - it was a tiny public K-8 building, with one class of students at each grade level. Virtually everyone in her class had attended preschool and kindergarten together - a close-knit community, and we were outsiders. . . .
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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. . . .
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Biographies Off the Beaten Path
Franki Sibberson
We had a set of biographies in our elementary school library when I was a child. I can still remember exactly where they were on the shelves. I read several of them throughout my elementary years. Some I read and forgot about, but others have stayed with me. I don't think I liked these books because of the individual stories. Instead, I loved the idea of learning about people's lives - getting to know them from history and the struggles they went through. . . .
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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 . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 23, 2010
Better Presentations
Lately I've been thinking a lot about what makes presentations "good" in this day and age, especially with Powerpoint (and its limitations) dominating how most people present ideas to large or unfamiliar audiences. We're buried in print information in our lives, from the books on our shelves to the blogs and websites we browse. Most presentations are heavily text-based, too. . . .
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A Sponge is a Summary
Heather Rader
When I'm working with a concept that I know may be difficult to grasp, I like to hook kids' attention with a metaphor or an analogy. While doing the dishes, I thought about how a sponge holds water, but when you squeeze it, you are left with the right amount of dampness to wipe down a counter. The point of a sponge is to be moist without being over-saturated. Ah-ha, I thought: a sponge is a summary. We take hold of saturated text and squeeze out all the unnecessary details, keeping what we need. Although there are limitations to my metaphor, it seems to work for kids until they come up with their own connections. . . .
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Are You Scaffolding or Rescuing?
Terry Thompson
Do you remember where you were when you first saw the (now familiar) scaffolding diagram? Oh, come on. You know the one. The long rectangle with a diagonal line stretching from the top right corner to the bottom left dividing it in two? . . .
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Creating a Model Writing School...Next Steps
Julie Johnson
Just like anything else that is new, our first steps in creating a model writing school were tentative. We took a few steps forward, stumbled a little, got back up and moved forward. Each step brought us a little out of our comfort zones, but what we learned and what we gained as a collaborative community was well worth the journey. . . .
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Intermediate Read Alouds
This cluster is designed for teachers in grades 3-6 who would like to strengthen their read aloud programs. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 16, 2010
Two Responses
The mistake I sometimes made when trying to influence my peers was pitching my idea as something truly original and different - a fresh start. The truth is there are very few new beginnings in schools, and we wouldn't want them anyway. If you're forced to start from scratch, that only means there is nothing worth salvaging. . . .
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Creating a Model Writing School
Julie Johnson
This is our school's second year of being a model writing school. Our journey has been an interesting one that began with a summer literacy workshop. I always look forward to learning in the summer, when I have time to pursue my passion, reflect on my teaching practices, and grow as a teacher. I also can't wait to share what I've learned with my colleagues, and that's exactly what happened after I participated in the National Writing Project. It was there that I learned the importance of being a writer myself if I was going to understand the process of writing and help my students grow as writers. I left that workshop knowing that I wanted to share my learning and build a community of writers among the staff in our school where we could collaborate, create a shared vision of what good writing instruction looks like, and most importantly, become writers ourselves. My principal embraced the idea and we began the process of becoming a model writing school. . . .
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Schema and YouTube in a Middle School Reading Workshop
Ruth Shagoury and Katie Doherty
Listening to twelve- and thirteen-year-olds talk about life outside school is an education in itself for us each morning. Now it's time to transition to class, turning their attention to reading and books, instead of video games and popular culture. But why not use their interests as a bridge to comprehension? . . .
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Literacy Learning on Presidents Day (BOOKLIST)
Franki Sibberson
As someone who is fairly new to the role of librarian, I have been thinking about the holidays that we celebrate throughout the year and the books available to celebrate each one. I am not a big proponent of teaching anything solely because of a holiday - I worry that learning from these isolated lessons gets lost quickly for students. They may hear the same stories every year. Because Presidents Day is coming up, I am trying to expand the ways that I look at the books I can recommend to teachers if they choose to read something for this holiday. . . .
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Nonfiction Word Hunt Part II (VIDEO)
Franki Sibberson
Finding new words to follow is always a fun part of our word wall routine. Students love to go back into text to find words that they are curious about. The problem is always that we find so, so many and it is hard to think about more than a handful, as a class. As the routine evolves, students begin to take this on in their personal lives--finding their own words to think about and listen for. But for this routine, we are looking for the best words to think about as a class. . . .
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Inventing Words with Wikis: Collaborative and Creative Word Work
Kevin Hodgson
For young students, understanding the many facets of the English language is like exploring some unknown universe. Ask them about the origins of certain words or where a particular phrase may have come from, and their eyes roll. They inevitably will answer -- if they can muster up an answer -- with a shrug. . . .
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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. . . .
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Creating a Culture of Literacy
Shari Frost
How do sports fans develop that undying devotion and fanaticism? Can it be replicated? Is it possible for students to have the same level of enthusiasm for reading and writing? What can we do to make students want to name their dogs after authors or book characters? . . .
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First Grade Small Group: Chunking (VIDEO)
n this small group from Courtney Tomfohr's first-grade classroom, students work on their chunking skills. Courtney begins the lesson with a whiteboard, moves to authentic text, and gives children a chance to practice with books at their independent levels from their reading tubs. . . .
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Matching Students to Nonfiction Texts in Grades 3-6 (BOOKLIST)
Mary Lee Hahn
We hear so much about matching students to nonfiction texts based on their needs and interests. Often the lens is very broad ("tweens will like this book") or very narrow, focusing in on individual students with quirky tastes. I have taught 4th grade for many years. I've learned that my teaching becomes more efficient and effective when I consider the types of readers who emerge every year. . . .
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Becoming More Purposeful with Writing Share (VIDEO)
In this whole-class writing share session from Katie DiCesare's first-grade classroom, Katie talks about how she has become more purposeful in connecting student drafts with the minilesson from the start of the writing workshop. . . .
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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. . . .
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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. . . .
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Nonfiction Beyond Levels
Volume 2 Number 5 January 2010
Welcome to the latest edition of the Teaching Beyond Reading Levels Digest! When we think about matching students with Nonfiction books, there are so many things to consider. We want our students to be reading about topics they are interested in. Yet there is so much more to choosing nonfiction than topic. In this digest, we will hear from teachers who have been successful at adding more nonfiction reading to their students' reading lives. We hope that this digest will give you new strategies for matching your own students to nonfiction texts in ways that go beyond levels. . . .
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Helping Young Readers Become Independent:
The "Next-Read" Stack and Peer Groups (VIDEOS)
Franki Sibberson
I find next-read book stacks to be critical for students in the transitional years of reading. Many young readers are just beginning to read books that take longer than one sitting to complete. The choice becomes overwhelming. I have used Ziploc bags, boxes and other containers to help students be intentional about their next-read stacks. I find when students have a place to stack those books that they want to read in the future, they spend less time wandering around the bookshelves. They begin to live their daily lives as readers, always looking for new books to read in the future. . . .
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Designing Comprehension Constructors: Helping Adolescent Learners Develop Reading Strategies (E-GUIDE)
Comprehension instruction has value and lasting impact when teachers know how to design lessons, activities, and materials that match the needs of their students. Prefab worksheets or generic activities and routines often won't work, because students, texts, and tasks are always changing. "Comprehension Constructor" is a term coined by Cris Tovani (Stenhouse, 2001) to describe the graphic organizers she uses to assist adolescent readers as they make sense of texts. Cris tailors these organizers to the needs of students as they emerge, linked to specific reading assignments. . . .
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Professional Study Groups
New and Veteran Teachers Learning Alongside One Another
Volume 1 Number 5 February 2010
It's no secret to those who know me that I am passionate about professional study groups. Nothing energizes me more than new thinking, reflecting on professional resources, and conversations with my colleagues. Study groups are that place where novice and veteran teachers meet to learn alongside one another. I believe that it is through collaborative partnerships between colleagues that we can support new teachers to overcome roadblocks they face in the classroom. Study groups are also a playground for learning - a place to bridge theory and practice. . . .
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Using Student Work to Guide Instruction
Volume 1 Number 4 January 2010
Welcome to this month's New Teachers Digest! I have been thinking about student work and how we use it to inform instruction. I have also been thinking about the messages we send students, as well as the type of feedback that we provide to help them move forward as learners. I hope you enjoy these new features and old favorites from the Choice Literacy Archives. . . .
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When Does Level Matter?
Being Efficient with Small Group Instruction
Franki Sibberson
I find my flexibility as a teacher is both challenged and validated when I group students for instruction. When I think about the wide range of needs in my classroom and then about the wide range of levels, it feels nearly impossible to do all the teaching that needs to be done. When I group students by level, within each leveled group are many different needs. Just because students' reading levels are the same, their needs aren't necessarily aligned. Students may read independently at the same level -- yet some may need support at predicting, while others need support with determining the meaning of unknown words. Still others may struggle with engagement. . . .
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Grouping Beyond Levels
Volume 2 Number 4 December, 2009
Welcome to the latest edition of the Teaching Beyond Reading Levels Digest! When it comes to grouping students for reading instruction, the thing I try to remember most is that it's all about moving everyone toward becoming a lifelong reader. When I keep that goal in mind, I realize that it's always helpful to know the reading level of each of my students, even if that isn't the sole (or even most important) criteria for putting them in a group. This digest has lots of examples and strategies to help you think through your goals and techniques for grouping students. . . .
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Giving Up the Whole-Class Novel
Shari Frost
Edie stomped into the coach's office lugging a 15-gallon Rubbermaid storage tub. She dumped the contents out onto a table. Out rolled penguin beanie babies, penguin posters, a DVD of The March of the Penguins, some informational books on penguins, penguin stickers, penguin magnets, penguin notepads, and more! She teared up . . .
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4th Annual Gifts for Literacy Geeks
Brenda Power
Gifts for Literacy Geeks was our most popular article last year, so we've decided to make it an annual feature. I hope some of this year's recommendations can be passed along as a "wish for happiness" to the friends, families, and colleagues who love learning as much as you do. As always, Choice Literacy receives no compensation from the companies whose gifts we recommend. These are just items our contributors have gifted or received this year that stand out as especially fun or useful. Enjoy! . . .
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Linking Assessments and Curriculum Planning
Volume 1 Number 3 December 2009
Welcome to this month's New Teachers Digest! When I think back on my first couple years of teaching, I am amazed when I compare what was expected of me to what is expected of today's new teachers. This gap couldn't be more glaring when I consider assessments and curriculum planning. New teachers today are supposed to quickly master complicated assessments, and then analyze the findings and use them to plan instruction. It's an enormous task, and no wonder this is where so much of our energy goes in supporting new teachers. This month's digest is designed to help you help the new teachers in your midst as they connect their assessment data to classroom practice. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
December 5, 2009
Conferring Intervals
My challenge to you is to do a little interval training with your conferring. If you're convinced only long, meaty, deep conversations work when conferring, push yourself to try a half hour of 1-2 minute check-in conferences with students. If you have those 1-2 minute "touching base" conferences down to an art form, take 30 minutes to confer with no more than 2-3 students. Whether the shift is to long or short conferring, it will be awkward, uncomfortable, and disconcerting. . . .
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A Thanksgiving Take on Differentiating Instruction
Kathy Collins
As I've traveled between conferences and classrooms this fall, I've heard so much buzz around the concept and practice of "differentiation." When I've asked teachers, literacy coaches, and language arts coordinators what differentiation looks like in their schools and districts, we usually discuss a variety of programs that schools have purchased or the myriad ways that children are being scheduled, pulled here and pushed there to receive a dose of differentiated instruction, often from a teacher who is not their own. It all seems so complex and daunting, yet isn't differentiation something we may effortlessly practice in our lives outside the classroom? . . .
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New Notebook Essentials
Aimee Buckner
Sitting around a crowded conference table, eight of my colleagues and I discuss the merits of using a writer's notebook with our students. What started out as a study of how a teacher can use their own notebook to confer more effectively with students had turned in a new direction. As we talked, we discovered that we all had different ideas of what a writer's notebook is and how it can or should be used in a classroom setting. . . .
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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. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
November 21, 2009
This is Only a Moldy Test
There is something powerfully but subtly disturbing about public messages we see or hear often that are never updated or refreshed. Here's a challenge for you this week - find one small, tired piece of the public face of your school or classroom that you can easily update (or even remove if it has outlived its purpose). . . .
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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. . . .
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"This Could Be Our Family": Books for Children with Lesbian and Gay Parents
Andie Cunningham
My daughter Alysa and her other mother snuggled into the recliner, not saying a word. The only sound I could hear was an occasional page turning. I took this as a hopeful sign. And then: nothing. No sounds. No page turning. No bodies moving in the chair. I walked to their chair, wondering what they thought of the book. Alysa looked up at me and said quietly, "This could be our family." . . .
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Previewing New Books with Students (VIDEO)
Franki Sibberson
Book choice is something that we talk about all year long. Years ago, I did several minilessons on book choice early in the year and assumed that once my students knew how to choose books, they would be set. But I soon realized that book choice changes as readers change. The advice that helps students choose good books at one point in their reading lives, doesn't help when they are at a different place as readers. Now, I include minilessons throughout the year that focus on students book choice. . . .
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Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom
Volume 2 Number 3 November 28, 2009
Welcome to the latest Teaching Beyond Reading Levels Digest! Comics and graphic novels have never been more popular among tweens and teens. I've found thinking through how to match kids to these texts is one of the best ways to get out of the rut of over-emphasizing book levels in teaching. The web is a wonderful source for reviews and teaching ideas to use with comics and graphic novels. . . .
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Conferring to Support Book Selection Skills
Volume 2 Number 2 November 14, 2009
Welcome to the latest Teaching Beyond Reading Levels Digest! Conferring with students to help them select books for independent reading is a skill I'm always working on - I doubt it's one any of us can ever truly master. . . .
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Book Boxes - Voices from the Classroom
Organizing the books that your students are reading independently often presents a challenge for teachers. How can you keep track of what's in the boxes, ensure everyone is making appropriate choices, and have enough of the books your students need on hand? Many teachers use book boxes, book bins or book bags to help their students stay organized for reading times. Sometimes these boxes or bags contain books that are "just-right" for the child to read independently. In other classrooms students use these boxes or bags to think ahead in their reading. We have learned that there is no one right way to manage books for independent reading. There are many ways that work well. We asked four Choice Literacy contributors to share their strategies here for making the best use of book boxes in classrooms, as well as dealing with problems that arise. . . .
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Assessing Professional Development:
Focus on Feedback (PD PORTRAITS)
Jennifer Allen
Designing professional development opportunities that meet the needs of all teachers has always been a challenge, and not something I should take for granted. Just because a format or session worked once, doesn't mean it will continue to worth with different groups of people. Over the years I have found that planning effective development is built around three key elements . . .
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Using Student Conferences to Build Book Choice Skills
Franki Sibberson
I went through a phase last January where I just couldn't find a book that I loved. I started lots of books, but didn't finish any of them. I tried to continue my usual routine of reading at bedtime, but I'd fall asleep. This had never happened to me - I was in a reading rut and I couldn't get out of it. It took a spring break vacation on the beach before I finally found some books that I loved and was able to enjoy my bedtime reading. Those few months of non-reading at night reminded me that these ruts happen for all readers, no matter how ingrained the routines are and how much they cherish reading time. . . .
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Learning to See: The Power of Observation with New Teachers
Volume 1 Number 2 November 2009
Welcome to this month's New Teachers Digest! I recently took up yoga. It's given me a new appreciation for the power of observation. I have realized that if you have few reference points for what yoga poses look like it's hard to achieve the desired positions without a visual model- especially for those like myself who are spatially challenged! Over the years, I have found that one of the most beneficial experiences that we can provide new teachers is the opportunity to observe their colleagues in action teaching. I hope you enjoy these new features and old favorites from the Choice Literacy Archives. . . .
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Teaching Revision to Struggling Writers
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan
Revision can be a difficult process for so many writers - kids and adults alike! As writers, we both know how difficult it is to come up with a topic, get our ideas down on paper, think about how to communicate what we are really trying to say, and then revise the piece to make it clear and engaging. Professionally, we tend to write in tandem. We typically begin by talking through an idea and generating thoughts. Then one of us takes a crack at the first draft. The other person reads it and gives suggestions for revisions. The revisions can go back and forth several times between us before the paper is complete. . . .
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Setting Up the Classroom for Teaching Beyond Levels
Volume 2 Number 1 October 31, 2009
Welcome to the new Teaching Beyond Reading Levels Digest! This topic has been a focus of mine for years. Early in the school year, much of my time goes into setting up the classroom and library for instruction, as well as getting to know students as learners, not numbers from an assessment grid. I hope you enjoy these new features and old favorites from the Choice Literacy Archives. . . .
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Assessment Beyond Levels:
The Reading Grid
Cathy Mere
Assessment systems that work are difficult to find. I've been teaching for just over 20 years now, and I'm quite sure I've tried nearly that many systems for organizing assessment information. I've tried mailing labels, note cards, file folders, and post-its (that was a mess!). I've created charts, templates, grids and checklists. I'm fascinated to see how other teachers collect information in their classrooms, and until a few years ago was always looking for a system that worked for me. I think that's the key: finding a system that works in YOUR classroom. About five years ago I tried to find a system that allowed me to keep individual conference notes over time in one handy place. Using a spiral notebook, I divided the pages so each child had 3-5 pages, and kept notes on reading and writing conferences. . . .
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Selecting Books for Instruction
The purpose of this cluster is to help teachers select texts for instruction, matching books to emerging student, small-group and whole-class needs. . . .
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I Need a Hero: Finding a Place for Comics and Graphic Novels in Our Classrooms
Terry Thompson
Grab your cape and get ready! One of the most interesting developments in recent literacy history has captured our readers - and it's causing quite a stir. In the past few years, a swarm of comic book and graphic novel titles (collectively known as graphica) written for young readers has landed in our libraries, bookstores, and classrooms - and our kids are clamoring to get their hands on them! . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 24, 2009
A Killing Frost
Sometimes an activity fails over time gradually because it has run its course - participants slowly tire of it, or have moved on to other interests. Other times there is definitely a moment when a change was made without a noticeable immediate effect. . .yet in hindsight it was the killing frost. . . .
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What Messages Do We Give Students with Our Classroom Library Design?
Franki Sibberson
The design of our classroom library gives a message to anyone who walks into our classroom. But most importantly, the way that it is organized gives big messages to our students about the things we value about their reading lives. The students know what is valued when they look at the way that reading materials are organized. . . .
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Ready-to-Go Readers' Theater Books
Shari Frost
Fluency is not all about rate. There are three other components. The component that isn't getting nearly enough attention is prosody - using appropriate tone, pitch, and phrasing to communicate meaning. The preceding definition can be summarized by the old informal phrase, "reading with expression." Prosody is an excellent window into a student's comprehension of text. . . .
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The Power of Wonder Questions
Andrea Smith
Wonder Questions are a critical part of my students' nonfiction reading. Debbie Miller has written and talked extensively about these questions in her book Reading with Meaning. Rooted in a respect for each individual's learning and interests, Wonder Questions honor the fact that each person views the world differently. Given time and support to identify interests and the freedom to consider "What do I want to learn?" children naturally understand how to create authentic, thought provoking questions. Wonder Questions help a teacher consider that fragile balance of support - knowing when kids need us, and letting them discover when they can move ahead without us. . . .
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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. . . .
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Extreme Makeover: Revision Edition
Heather Rader
Once upon a time in my third-grade classroom, I had an eight-foot pencil poster on my wall that listed the steps of the writing process from prewriting at the point to a publishing ferrule (the crimped metal band that connects pencil and eraser). About half-way down that pencil was the bold word "revising". It came after drafting and before editing and it was not, shall we say, beloved in our classroom. . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 17, 2009
Urawaza
As a child, I loved reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the newspaper - little tips and shortcuts for cleaning house or mending clothes.The funny thing is I didn't actually like cleaning house or mending clothes at all. I still don't. There is just something almost magical when you realize there is a quick and easy solution to one of life's small irritants (stains in the sink, a door that sticks) you've put up with forever. . . .
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It's Not the Assessment - It's How You Use It
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan
Required district or school assessments are often viewed as a list of numbers that need to be provided to a certain person by a certain date. The goal is to get them done; recorded; and delivered. Kids are then sorted by scores, and resources for extra services are allocated. The quantitative performance is emphasized, and often the only aspect of the assessment that is considered. . . .
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Committee of One (Building a Reading Culture Series)
Ellen McEvoy
This year I am working in the school where I volunteer to build more of a "reading culture." Everyone in our school spends a lot of time on literacy, and I've been impressed with the writing the kids do (with the quantity and variety, at least). Yet it still seemed that something was missing. Most of the kids I talked to were not reading for pleasure; it seemed that "no homework" was interpreted as "no reading" for too many. I thought a parent and teacher committee might be able to help, and suggested that we form one. It's no surprise that I was made chair of the committee! . . .
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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 10, 2009
Rapt Attention
How do we help students focus on learning in a world where continuous texting, intercom announcements, and other distractions are the norm? I sometimes wonder if the increasing lack of civility we see every day isn't the result of no one pausing anymore before they interrupt the conversations and work of others. We've always talked about the gift of time, but these days the gift of attention seems greater. The science of distraction and concentration is attracting much more research interest, if only because technology is changing so many social norms when it comes to interrupting others. . . .
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