Do you guide teachers, specialists, and literacy coaches? Here are tools, advice, and strategies school leaders need for their daily work in staff meetings, study groups, and one-on-one discussions with colleagues.

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 Keeping it Real for Students: Never Underestimate the Power of Reflection Melanie Quinn Katie is a veteran teacher who willingly shares she is learning all the time. Her stance has evolved over time from the traditional preparation she received in her pre-service program to the reflective teacher she is today. The past couple of years have offered her a myriad of opportunities for growth, and it has been an invaluable opportunity for me as her literacy coach to watch this evolution in action. . . . 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 Tiger Teams: Mixed Age Student Groups (VIDEO) Karen Szymusiak In this video, Karen Szymusiak (principal at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio) explains how Tiger Teams work. Tiger Teams are mixed age groups of K-5 students who meet regularly to talk about their learning and the school community. At this meeting, students are sharing the books they are reading. . . . more Putting the "Gradual" Back into Gradual Release of Responsibility Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan Doug Fisher was talking about the importance of the gradual release of responsibility. He believes that the gradual release of responsibility has morphed into the "sudden release of responsibility." Not only did he get the audience laughing, he got us thinking. Are we asking children to apply what they have learned too quickly? In our efforts to emphasize the importance of explicit modeling in our own demonstration lessons, have we de-emphasized the importance of guided practice? . . . 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 Whole-Group Share Sessions in Literacy Workshops: Essential Elements Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan We survey teachers periodically to help us reflect on our professional development sessions, and plan next steps for our coaching. Recently, we have noticed a pattern in the reflections of the teachers. Many noted the aspect of reading workshop they are least comfortable with is the group share. . . . more Photovoice: Exploring Content Literacy with Images Suzy Kaback How does your expertise function? During the past year, I posed this question to a study group comprising fifth- through eighth-grade teachers whose focus was on disciplinary literacies. . . . 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 A Class with More Boys Than Girls: Coaching Nonlinguistic Representation Heather Rader Hannah was in her second year of teaching when we began our work together. She was interested in "bettering her game" as she put it. "I know I have lots that I could work on, but I'm not sure where to start," she admitted in our initial meeting. I have a really active class this year. The composition is 2/3 boys and 1/3 girls so I worry sometimes that the boys are overpowering the girls from just sheer numbers. . . . more The Power of Checklists in Primary Literacy Workshops (TEMPLATES) Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan We had the pleasure of hearing Atul Gawande speak recently at a local event. He is a bestselling author and surgeon who writes about how to get things right. He explained how our biggest problem today is not due to a lack of knowledge; in fact it is exactly the opposite. "Know-how and sophistication have increased remarkably across almost all our realms of endeavor, and as a result so has our struggle to deliver on them." He points out that a good proportion of our errors are no longer due to lack of knowledge, but rather due to knowledge being applied inaccurately. He attributes the reason to the fact that "the volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to deliver its benefits correctly or reliably." His solution is to use a strategy that makes up for our inevitable human inadequacies -- a checklist. . . . more Student Reading Interview: Assessing Ana (VIDEO) Karen Szymusiak In this video, Principal Karen Szymusiak interviews Ana, a second grader, to learn more about her strengths and needs as a reader. . . . more Off the Beaten Professional Development Path: What I Learned from the Teachers as Writers Group Heather Rader It's a Saturday and I'm pressing the norms chart up on the window of a sunlit room in a popular local coffeehouse. Two teachers are here early and smile a quick hello before they look back to their work - their writing. We call ourselves Teachers as Writers, and 12 of us gather once a month for three hours on Saturday for an unusual professional development offering. . . . more Tips from Literacy Leaders for Closing Out the School Year (ROUND-UP) Here are some suggestions from Choice Literacy Contributors of the best ways to close out the year, with everything from personal organizing tips to family events. . . . more From Hearing to Listening Jennifer Jones Being an active listener is hard for some of us. It would be great if we were all genetically programmed to not plan what we are going to say as we watch the lips moving of the person we are hearing but not really listening to. I do believe there are differences between hearing and listening -- hearing is the noise and listening the meaning. I want to be the instructional leader and coach that listens well to the teachers I support and collaborate, so I have made being a better listener a professional goal. . . . more Closing Out the Year Round-Up (PART 1) he end of the school year is such a precious and busy time. This year we asked Choice Literacy contributors to share some of their favorite ideas and activities for closing out the school year. This article is the first in a two-part series. . . . more Renewal in a Time of Low Teacher Morale This cluster will help teachers think through how to help struggling readers. . . . more Walk Arounds: Gathering Data to Test Assumptions Jennifer Jones As an instructional leader I am subjected to tattling. You are probably assuming I mean tattling on the part of children, but you'd be surprised. I am referring to teachers who tattle on each other. I have discovered that the root cause of most tattling is lack of information, and teachers not understanding what is really happening. To combat tattling, I have begun what I call walk-arounds. Let me explain how they work. I'll start by setting the scene. . . . more What's Good for the Goslings is Good for the Geese: Parallels Between Scaffolding Student Learning and Scaffolding Staff Development Terry Thompson Lately I've realized that what I'm working on at school (effective staff development) and at home (scaffolding student learning) are more closely related than I'd previously thought. And it's not just that effective staff development supports better instructional scaffolding. It goes deeper. What's worse, it's something I knew somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind all along! But with the hectic demands of life, I forgot to notice the obvious - and I wonder if maybe you did, too? . . . more Poetry Fridays (and So Much More) for Students and Staff Mary Lee Hahn Poetry Friday is surely my most subversive act of teaching. From the outside, you see a suspension of the regular routines of reading workshop. You see children sitting side-by-side with perhaps an unlikely reading partner reading poetry aloud to each other. For the last 20 minutes of the hour, you see children sharing poetry (with or without impromptu dramatization) with the rest of the class. Sometimes there is a piece of candy. Sometimes there is an iPod shooting video. . . . more Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan on Assessments, Data, and Balance In this podcast, Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan, the founders of Teachers for Teachers, talk with Franki Sibberson about data. The challenge for teachers and schools is grappling with the mountain of data, using it wisely, and still finding room for creativity and balance in classrooms. . . . 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 A Bad Case of the Never-Ending Januaries Choice Literacy member wrote to us this week - I am noticing that we have hit a point in the year where teachers are stressed, snow days are maxed, and state assessments are around the corner. I find myself having less patience, getting overwhelmed with small details, and have lost my focus on the big picture. Any ideas for how to recharge when you are having the "Januaries" and you are supposed to be helping others? We realize the calendar no longer marks the month as "January," but between slog through a long cold winter and massive budget cuts, many teachers and communities find themselves with a bad case of the Januaries that just won't quit. Here are some suggestions from Choice Literacy contributors for staying rooted and renewed. . . . more Off the Dance Floor and Onto the Balcony: Getting the Big Picture in Schools (TEMPLATE) Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan We coordinate professional development efforts in schools. Periodically we visit classrooms during literacy blocks to think about how we are progressing toward our goals, and to identify next steps for the teachers in that school. We love these days, because they allow us to take a step back and think about what is working and what isn't. Professional development is complicated, and we find that we are constantly revising our plans based on what is happening for students and teachers. We learned the trick of "getting off the dance floor and getting on the balcony" from Heiftz and Linsky. . . . 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 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 Quick Take: Karen Szymusiak on Literacy Professional Development Formats Karen Szymusiak In this two-minute video, Principal Karen Szymusiak talks about the formats she finds most helpful for lifting the quality of instruction and conversations around literacy. . . . 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 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 "To Teach is to Learn Twice": Creating Professional Communities in Schools Clare Landrigan & Tammy Mulligan This year at our Choice Literacy Workshops the last gift we gave everyone was a backpack with the quote, "To Teach is to Learn Twice" printed on it. It was a terrific present for teachers who are constantly lugging half of the contents of their classrooms home and back each night. The quote has left us thinking. Wouldn't it be wonderful if schools had a professional culture to match that quote? Would we need to read so many books and attend so many conferences on professional learning communities if school cultures embraced the essence of this quote? What makes it so difficult to achieve a true professional learning culture in schools? . . . more Demonstration Lesson Debriefs This cluster is designed to spark better conversations about demonstration lessons, with an emphasis on improving debriefs. . . . 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 Draft Stamps: Moving Learners at All Levels Forward Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan ne of our first discoveries as administrators was that our title authorized our membership on countless committees. We never knew so many committees could exist. Our past employment as consultants trained us to be "fee-for service," which basically meant we were paid by the hour. We therefore were accustomed to making the most of our time - never a moment to lose. We found that committee work within districts did not always have the same "fee-for-service" mentality. Each meeting would adjourn with the production of wonderful ideas, lists of tasks to be accomplished, and focus areas for the next meeting. Members would return to the "triage" of elementary school teaching, and with the best of intentions, the list of tasks would remain in the ever-growing pile on the teachers' and administrators' desks . . . 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 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 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 Reading Without Pizza? Well, Almost . . . Ellen McEvoy I had such high hopes that our attempts at building a stronger reading culture would not include a pizza reward. But the day before we began the winter reading challenge, a sixth-grade class bushwhacked the volunteer sent in to explain the upcoming program and motivate the kids. "What's in it for us if we do win?" they wanted to know. The intended answer was "more credits for the book swap." What slipped out was one fatal word: pizza . . . 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 Establishing Common Ground, Benchmarks, and Standards with Colleagues The purpose of this cluster is to invite teachers to think about the importance of working with colleagues to establish common ground in their teaching . . . 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 "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 Talking About Synthesis: Metaphors from 2nd Graders (VIDEO) Karen Szymusiak and Lauren Scott In this six-minute video, Lauren Scott's 2nd graders brainstorm different metaphors for the synthesis process in reading while their principal, Karen Szymusiak, listens and responds. After the students leave, Lauren and Karen chat about how the classroom environment supports sophisticated discussions of learning. . . . more Teacher/Principal Conferring: Reflecting on Readers' Notebooks (VIDEO) Karen Szymusiak In this conference, Principal Karen Szymusiak and fifth-grade teacher Liz Cramer discuss the ways Liz uses readers' notebooks in her classroom. Before the conference, Karen spends an evening reading through the student notebooks, looking for patterns of response. Her role in the conference is primarily one of asking questions, helping Liz make sense of the ways the notebooks support students in their growth as readers and writers. . . . more Music for Literacy Leaders It's remarkable what music can do to lift the mood in a professional development workshop, get kids happily moving between activities in a classroom, or spark reflection among colleagues. Once you begin to listen to songs with an ear toward professional uses, you'll soon see surprising connections everywhere. . . . more Tips for Saving Time from Literacy Leaders From many tasks accomplished, we asked our Choice Literacy contributors to share just one - the way they were able to save time this year. What follows is a compilation of their best advice in different realms of literacy leadership. Perhaps there is a nugget in here that will help you prioritize and plan in the coming months. . . . more Literacy Chats: An Open Discussion Format (VIDEO) Pam Hahlen In my school, the 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 for all groups was to look at the workshop model in our literacy programs, with an emphasis on reading workshop. . . . more Read Our Walls: Bridging Professional Development and Student Achievement Jennifer Allen How do we connect professional development to student learning? Does it really matter that teachers change instructional practices if we can't demonstrate student achievement? These questions have been haunting me all year. . . . more What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About . . .? Melanie Quinn and Ruth Shagoury We've been meeting each week this spring with a group of teachers pre-K through grade 12, all of us exploring literacy teaching in our classrooms around our teacher research questions. We've all been looking closely at one student in our class that we are intrigued or wondering about. This study group activity helped us look closely at our case studies with fresh eyes. . . . more Chatting About Coaching Collaboration (VIDEO) Janet Scott and Gail Boushey discuss how they collaborate as coaches, sharing strategies and common goals across the classrooms they work in. . . . more Rethinking Writing Centers - Winter Follow-Up Shari Frost During the 2006-2007 school year, I began a conversation with the literacy coaches in our network about classroom writing centers. I had noticed that most students were distracted by all of the "cool tools" in the writing centers and were doing very little, if any, actual writing. After a couple of brainstorming sessions with the coaches, we settled upon a two-pronged approach. . . . more Team Sharing of Writing Curriculum Innovations (TEMPLATE) Ruth Shagoury Literacy coaches know that the most successful staff development provides lots of time for colleagues to share their teaching stories, questions, and ideas. Hearing what is happening in the classrooms down the hall or across town is generative--and prompts creative leaps to enliven our own inquiries and curricula. The January doldrums can be swept aside for fresh ideas. . . . more I Believe . . . Some Thoughts on Marathons and Sustained Professional Development in Schools Jennifer Allen I believe that professional learning communities such as teacher study groups are the key to sustainable instructional change. When teachers are given on-going opportunities over time to explore new ideas and time to process thinking among supportive colleagues sustainable change will occur. . . . more Collecting Literacy Stories Icebreaker (PRINT DOWNLOAD) Cindy Hatt Our literacy teachers have responsibilities for small-group literacy intervention as well as support to teachers through in-class co-teaching/modeling lessons and monthly professional development meetings. You will see that the prompts are structured to touch on many aspects of the role. You can download the template for the activity at this link . . . more Creating Structures to Sustain Our Work Jennifer Allen I wish I could bottle the inspiration I felt after listening to Bruce Morgan, Debbie Miller, and Ellin Keene at a recent NCTE presentation. They spoke about professional learning experiences that are successful and promote sustainability. Bruce and Debbie agreed that in their experience as classroom teachers, the most powerful professional development experiences were those in which they have had opportunities to reflect on and talk about their instructional practices with colleagues. Ellin Keene shared that the professional learning experiences that are most successful have a "spirit of experimentation." . . . more Assessing Our Work as Literacy Coaches RESOURCE ROUND-UP What are some useful tools for literacy coaches who are trying to assess what's going well and what's not by late fall? . . . more Sales Clerks and Literacy Leaders Franki Sibberson As a literacy leader I run the risk of being too much like the hovering saleswoman or the missing saleswoman. Knowing the level of support that each colleague needs and wants at any given moment is an important part of my work with them. It's recognizing what a teacher needs that will make us the most effective. . . . more Collaborative Team Meeting: Assessing and Planning Part II (VIDEO) Gail Boushey We continue to share resources we've developed together - in this part of the meeting, we distribute copies of the "Strategies Group" template. This is a tool that can be used to cluster students in reading groups around common needs. . . . more Collaborative Team Meeting: Assessing and Planning Together (VIDEO) Gail Boushey Collaborative team meetings take place every 9-10 days in our schools. In these meetings, teachers from one grade level, literacy coaches, and our principal meet together to discuss individual students, the curriculum, and goals. I want to share video from one team meeting early in the year. In September, three 4th grade teachers, a literacy coach, the principal and I sat down together in a collaborative team meeting to pore over the assessments of students from the previous year, comparing these notes to our ongoing fall assessments of individual students. . . . more How I Flunked Literacy Leadership 101 Jennifer Jones Year four in my role as a literacy leader, and I thought that by now I might have most of the job figured out. I knew going into this year that I would be working with a number of new teachers in my buildings. "New" doesn't always mean brand-new to the profession - some of these colleagues have been out of the classroom serving the field of education in other capacities. . . . more The Conversations Inspired by the Questions We Ask Karen Szymusiak The most effective way to develop a common understanding of classroom practice may be the questions we choose to ask. As literacy leaders it is often difficult to express clear expectations for classroom practice because behind every effective instructional decision we make is a depth of understanding that comes from years of practice and reflection. . . . 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 Fostering More Curricular Collaboration in Teams: The Meeting Notes Form (TEMPLATE) Katie Doherty It's hard to be a team leader as well as the youngest teacher on my team. It can be awkward attempting to implement new ways of doing things when everyone else has been teaching longer and has their own systems established. I felt surprisingly nervous! But as we sat together at our first staff meeting of the school year, I realized how silly I was being. . . . more Helping Classroom Volunteers Become Better Listeners Andie Cunningham In my school, asking students questions when the answer is already known by the questioner was a common practice. Frustrated by these conversations, I decided to see what might happen if I brought some of what I learned as a Courage to Teach facilitator into my classroom. . . . more In Praise of Handwritten Notes Brenda Power When I receive a handwritten note from someone, I know that they were moved enough by something I said or did to make an effort to express themselves, well beyond the energy it takes to dash off an email. And when I take the time to write a brief note to anyone, I am trying to do the same. . . . more Got Space? Jennifer Allen Upon my return to school this year, I was determined to create a resource space for the third grade teachers. As I looked around the closet space, I couldn't find any empty space except for behind the door. So the door it was! I created a Literacy News Resource Board on the back of the closet door in the 3rd grade book closet. . . . more The Books We Can't Live Without in Our Teaching: Resource Round-Up Brenda Power I thought about all the young teachers out there, and those of us who aren't so young. How easy it is to have gaps in our reading of professional books. Think of how busy you were in your first year or two of teaching - how much time did you have to devour new professional books? It would be strange for anyone not to have a few lean years in their professional reading - those early years of teaching, raising families, and just figuring out the culture of a school community are packed. . . . more Easing into Fall Literacy Coaching: Exploring Quotes on Reading Comprehension Ruth Shagoury In September, I'll be starting work weekly with a group of high school teachers across many disciplines who are all choosing to explore reading comprehension with their adolescent students. I decided to start to prepare mentally by creating an "Opinion Exchange" around reading comprehension quotes. This way, I can both share a range of thoughts about what it means to understand what we read. I'll also learn more about the stories, histories, and attitudes this diverse group of teachers will bring to our work together this fall. . . . more Writing Workshop Teacherisms Jennifer Jones With the beginning of a new school year fast approaching many classroom teachers find themselves reflecting on what worked and didn't work when launching the previous year's writing workshop. Everything I have ever read about writing workshop emphasizes the need to invest the time those first four to six weeks establishing routines and to stick with all of those procedural mini-lessons. I'd like to share with you what I refer to as writing workshop teacherisms to keep tucked in the back of your mind as you launch this year's workshop. These teacherisms will help you establish some common language during your workshop, and by introducing them from the start they can become a natural part of your workshop. . . . more Classroom Tours: Learning from Colleagues Barbara Coleman The viewpoint of an outsider was helpful as we set goals and determined next steps for improving the literacy and learning environment throughout the school. We decide to devote a staff meeting to the issue of classroom environments, and we wanted to come up with a format that wouldn't be threatening to the staff, but at the same time would get everyone thinking about ways they might change their classroom libraries and other learning spaces. . . . more Things May Not Be As They Appear Jan Miller Burkins My eleven-year-old twin sons do not brush their teeth. We have to ride, remind, monitor, and penalize. Perhaps their evolving interest in girls will soon motivate them. The challenge has, however, motivated my husband and I to explore various dental care tools. We have the blue liquid indicator they can swish to see the plaque on their teeth. We were certain that this exercise would catapult them into compulsive brushing, but they were uninspired. We buy them electric toothbrushes, flossing tools, glow-in-the-dark toothpaste. I'm sure we spend more than the national average on dental hygiene. . . . more I Think, I Wonder, I Understand: Making Sense of the Work of Literacy Coaches Jan Miller Burkins The "I Think I Wonder I Know" protocol was completed with colleagues at the beginning and end of a semester-long course on literacy coaching. It is a variation on KWLs that I created; it is a little more "open" than KWL - I prefer the language of it. The chart doesn't read across with parallel concepts. It is more of a snapshot of the thinking of my students at the beginning and the end of the class. The first two columns were completed in early January and the last column was completed in late May. . . . more Literacy Coaching Interview Rubric The "Literacy Coaching Interview Rubric" was designed collaboratively with colleagues who are preparing to become literacy coaches. We talked through the different philosophies in school communities about the purposes and roles of literacy coaches, and how we could assess those differences in an interview situation. The rubric is designed not only for interview contexts, but for any situation where teachers, coaches, and administrators are working together to define relationships and roles with literacy coaches. We hope it sparks some in-depth conversations in your school. . . . 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 Mentor Interviews - A Protocol of Questions This is the time of year when many new teachers are hired, and not long after that they are assigned mentors. But what do the mentors expect from this partnership? And how might their expectations differ from those of the novice teacher? This series of interview questions can be adapted to many different purposes. . . . more Memorable Students, Memorable Teachers: A Quick-Write Icebreaker for Teacher Workshops "Memorable Teachers, Memorable Students" is a simple quick-write reflective activity that is especially appropriate for summer or "getting to know you" events early in the year with study groups, teacher mentor programs, or back-to-school gatherings. We've used this activity as an ice-breaker, and because the writing demands are minimal, even colleagues who are reluctant writers are often happy to participate. . . . more The Anticipation Guide: A Tool for Study Group Leaders Suzy Kaback When I was a fifth grade teacher, a typical day ended with a hundred and one important details that needed my attention - planning for the next day's classes, calling parents to talk about a struggling student, gathering books from the library for our new inquiry project-the list seemed endless. Among these preoccupations, faculty meetings and workshops were near the bottom. On an afternoon when I was expected at a grade-level meeting to review benchmark papers, for example, I usually arrived distracted, disorganized, and, therefore, minimally involved in the process. What I needed was the professional development equivalent of that fabled black dress that took a woman from the office to a cocktail party without missing a beat... . . . more Looking Back to Move Forward: The Plan Book Scavenger Hunt for Literacy Leaders Jennifer Jones I don't know about the rest of you out there, but scheduling my time as a literacy coach is not easy. As Jennifer Allen puts it, we are in "no-man's land." We're not classroom teachers, we're not administrators, and people want to know what we are doing with our time. There are a few things that I implemented this spring to help me with planning and scheduling for next year that you might want to consider . . . more Last Words and Next Steps: Closure Activities for Study Groups and Mentoring Programs The final moments of any professional development activity or school community can be among the most memorable of the year. We like final discussions and reflections to feel authentic and natural. We're not big fans of passing out sheets of toilet paper or rationing M&Ms or distributing wiki sticks so colleagues can meter out their words. Instead, we find all most teachers need is a quiet place away from the bustle of the end of the year, a bit of food and drink, and some sort of simple catalyst to think through and chat about what they will carry away from the year. Here are some easy, natural prompts to use to begin those final discussions . . . more Memorable Moments: Two Quick-Write Closure Activities for End-of-the-Year Study Groups and Staff Meetings (TEMPLATES) Every teacher's path in improving their instruction is paved with individual milestones. In the rush of end of the year activities, it's sometimes hard to take time to notice and celebrate those milestones. These two quick-write activities are ideal for the start of a final study group, mentor meeting, or faculty discussion about plans for next year. . . . more New Teacher Conversations: Breaking Through Roadblocks and Sustaining Support by Melanie Quinn and Ruth Shagoury At our final New Teacher Conversations meeting, we wanted to celebrate with the first-year teachers as well as look ahead to their second year. Knowing this was the last scheduled New Teacher Conversation meeting, we felt the need to equip them with strategies for issues that might crop up in their work and with confidence in the knowledge base that they already possess. . . . more "Hard" Reading Workshop: Understanding How Proficient Readers Comprehend Difficult Text This workshop activity is useful for a study group, staff meeting, or mentor meeting where the topic is reading instruction. Over the past two decades, comprehension research has focused on analyzing how proficient readers make sense of difficult text, and how we might teach those strategies to students. . . . more On Board with Literacy Leadership By Jennifer Jones and Charity Meyer It all started last summer when we read Jennifer Allen's book Becoming a Literacy Leader. We wanted to move from our current roles of reading specialists in the direction of literacy coaching. We decided to test out the use of "Literacy News" boards for teachers in our school. . . . more Making the Rounds: Visiting Everyone Jan Miller Burkins Developing systems to prevent leaving something or someone out is insurance against our natural inclination to work in patterns. For example, I have a plan for getting around to all the classrooms in my school. In the past, I have made detailed schedules to make sure I get into every classroom to see every component of the literacy framework. However, this year I have used a much simpler system. I just have a form with teacher names on the top and framework elements down the side, as illustrated in the attached form. Then I simply write the date in the box when I observe a particular instructional model in a classroom. . . . more Two or Three Things I Know for Sure: A Teacher Workshop Activity The title of this teacher workshop activity comes from Dorothy Alison's memoir Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, and the quote from Alison about her Aunt Dot that inspired the title: "Lord, girl, there's only two or three things I know for sure." She put her head back, grinned, and made a small impatient noise. Her eyes glittered as bright as a sun reflecting off the scales of a cottonmouth's back. She spat once and shrugged. "Only two or three things. That's right," she said. "Of course it's never the same things, and I'm never as sure as I'd like to be." . . . more Alert the Media: Publicizing Literacy Events at Your School Brenda Power Local media love literacy events at schools -- who doesn't enjoy images of happy children reading and writing? But haven't we had enough stories about principals kissing pigs on rooftops? Here are some tips for contacting media to attend your events and bring positive publicity to your literacy programs that are ongoing and innovative, rather than one-time stunts... . . . more Time-Saving Tips and Free Web Tools for Designing Literacy Newsletters Brenda Power Newsletters are like bulletin boards -- they can trumpet some of the liveliest work of the year for a larger audience...and they can also become the bane of a literacy leader's existence. But like bulletin boards, newsletters are often worth the time and effort it takes to create them. Brief, well-designed newsletters will be read by colleagues, students, and parents -- there are few better vehicles for getting anyone's attention. The good news is that there are many time-savers available to help educators create newsletters in a fraction of the time it took in years past... . . . more Collaborative Teaching: Finding Common Ground First (CHECKLIST) The questions on this checklist are designed to be used by teachers, coaches, or mentors working as partners in co-teaching or demonstration teaching situations. Ideally, the partners should get together for an informal discussion of the questions before work begins. Addressing these issues in advance helps ensure good communication and shared understanding of goals and work styles throughout the collaboration... . . . more We Are All Shamu: What Literacy Leaders Can Learn from Exotic Animal Trainers Brenda Power I am ambivalent about the word training, no matter the negative history in education. Ballerinas aren't "facilitated" -- they train. Those exquisite leaps come from intense hours of sweat on the barre. Likewise the regimens of endurance athletes -- they don't just prepare, they train, with all the focus and commitment the word implies... . . . more Reflective Observation: Helping Teachers Observe, Analyze, and Guide (TEMPLATE) Jennifer Allen Our new teacher support group includes monthly observations of peers, with time scheduled following the observations for group discussion and analysis of what everyone saw. I wanted to develop some observation tools the teachers could use that wouldn't intimidate the observer OR the teacher being observed... . . . more The Curricular Support Menu: A Collaborative Tool for Assisting Colleagues Pam Hahlen and Erin Marr We work as curricular support teachers in the Dublin, Ohio school district. We share a classroom, and each of us spends half the day supporting our colleagues throughout the building. We developed the attached menu to help our peers understand our role, and possibilities for how we could collaborate with them. . . . more Letters from Home: Letting Families and Friends Teach Us Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Power We've found one of the most enjoyable ways to get to know others around us is the "Letters from Home" assignment. The task couldn't be simpler - we solicit letters from family members or friends of those in our school community, asking them to help us understand the personality, quirks, and learning histories of their loved ones. . . . more Charting the Course: A Yearlong Professional Development Plan for New Teachers (SCHEDULE) Jennifer Allen My first task in thinking through how to work with new teachers was to design a professional development plan for the entire year. Only then could I be sure the group would receive both the content . . . more