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Living Differently as Literacy Leaders
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....

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

Take the Great Middle School Challenge
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...

The Quietest Writer's Conference of All
Photo credit: Belle Co Inside every writing conference, I have a favorite moment. It lives in those few seconds right after I’ve given...

How to Put Wind In The Sails of Students’ Curiosity About Language
(Pixabay: Mabel Amber) In my last blog (here) I shared my own slightly scandalous journey of being a young teacher trying to find...

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

Getting to the Heart of Conversation: Inviting Learners to Bring Their Whole Selves to Speaking and
“Readers let’s take a look at our anchor chart. Which conversational starter will you use in your discussions today? Choose one and jot...

The Journey: Taking Language Instruction from Ho Hum to WOWZA!
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...

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

Informal Leadership: Starting Small to Bring About Big Change
My grade level colleague Becca and I huddled around a student’s desk during our lunch period. As we planned learning experiences to...

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

Introducing… Word Study That Sticks!
(A Sneak Peek and a Giveaway)
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...

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

Balance Isn't Just Good for Literacy Instruction
Photo by Volker Stetter We've arrived at the end of our series on creating more meaningful math experiences for learners. We hope you...

Three Strategies to Make the Most of Your Math Planning Time
I can still remember planning a math lesson after school during my second year teaching. I turned to look out the window, hoping to get a...

Balancing Process and Product: Curing The Game Show Syndrome of Rushing to the “Right” Answer
The other day while my children were playing with their cousins, I decided to watch some TV while I folded mountains of laundry. When I...

Launching a Year of Meaningful Math: Ideas That Go All Year
For years in my classroom, literacy was the “it girl” getting all the attention and beginning-of-the-year hoopla: inquiry-driven...

Introducing the Math Makeover Series
It’s summer, but you’re already planning for the year ahead. You envision last year’s students engaged in reading, or happily lost in...

7 Books In 7 Days:
Inviting Students to Take Action… Today, Tomorrow, & All Summer Long
“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” ―...

Summer Reading
We all have THAT book. The book that you couldn’t get enough of. That one book that when it ended, you were at a loss for what to do...