The economic bubble burst in 2009 and so did my sense of invincibility. By this time, I had been teaching in the primary grades for six...

Reflection takes courage. Whether you are thinking back to a moment from the past or freeing up your mind to think about what’s ahead,...

What is Shared Reading? As literacy instructors, we aim for the reading and writing instruction we provide to fit together in a way that...

Imagine you have been handed a 1,000 piece puzzle… in a plastic bag. There is no helpful picture on the outside of the box to provide...

Often in the beginning of the year we are tirelessly working on routines and structures that will help students develop independence,...

People (and even some animals!) have used the stars as a navigation tool since prehistoric times. Likewise, in the modern world of...

Language is art. Grammar is meant to be playful and empowering. These are my core beliefs but once upon a time, I believed—and...

I have a confession to make. Sometimes it was easier to take cover in the classroom than it was to assume the role of an informal leader....

Over the past two decades we’ve been developing our tools as teachers of independent readers. We use them in classroom demonstrations all...

I am constantly amazed by how people view middle schoolers. When I meet people and it comes up that I am a teacher, the response often...

Photo credit: Belle Co Inside every writing conference, I have a favorite moment. It lives in those few seconds right after I’ve given...

(Pixabay: Mabel Amber) In my last blog (here) I shared my own slightly scandalous journey of being a young teacher trying to find...

Words matter, and English teachers use a lot of them. Most of us tend to (over) rely on our favorite catchphrases: the phrasings,...

“Readers let’s take a look at our anchor chart. Which conversational starter will you use in your discussions today? Choose one and jot...

When I was first hired as a teacher, I excitedly walked into my classroom to find… the “goods” had been pillaged. There was a teacher’s...

The day started unremarkably--and then something remarkable happened. I had just ended a conference with a young writer, and as I pushed...

My grade level colleague Becca and I huddled around a student’s desk during our lunch period. As we planned learning experiences to...

Our students, throughout their academic lives, have had every important adult they know tell them that they should read. Yet once they...

When I was growing up, there was no word study in schools. We had phonics, and then spelling, and then word of the day. My classmates and...

Like so many novice teachers, I recall spending hours before and after school in my second grade classroom while communing with Liz and...