Tips to help teachers feel more confident, build more independence and cultivate more engaged learners.
When I was a teacher in the classroom, I used to refer to October as “Dark-tober” because I felt lost and unsure of how to support my readers at this point in the year. I did the running records, got the level, and tossed the...
It’s always smart to start your reading or writing workshops on day one. To understand why, read this article – Yes, You Can Start Workshop On Day One! This article discusses how to set up your class with the expectation that...
Creating a Writing Toolkit If you are like me, having all your tools and materials in one place is important, especially when trying to balance teaching multiple subjects. So when I discovered writing toolkits, I was in heaven....
The first few weeks of the school year are the perfect time to craft a vision for your classroom culture and plan ways to build community with your kiddos. As educators, we want to create classroom spaces that make our students...
Over the past year, I’ve taken up boxing through Class Pass, a membership that allows you to try different workouts and gyms. I tried several boxing studios in my neighborhood. First, I started with the revered Rumble Boxing,...
When I moved into my current apartment, I left behind an ex-wife who was very handy and had every tool you could imagine. She could pretty much repair every household thing. This also meant that I didn’t need to focus on my...
It’s spring already, and you may be thinking ahead to your summer vacation. It’s coming soon, and I know we’re all excited here at LP headquarters. Meanwhile, you may be looking around your classroom, thinking it’s time to do...
When I was teaching in the classroom, I prioritized time for kids to share with partners during the reading workshop. This is important for a few reasons — building stamina helping kids read and speak longer during reading...
It’s time for another teacher confession. When I first started teaching, I paired up my students to do peer editing before publishing their writing. It seemed like a great idea, and it is. Just not the way I did it. After...
Recently, I finally gave in to peer pressure and bought an air fryer. So 2020, I know, but I couldn’t imagine adding another kitchen appliance to my roster back then. After months of feeling uninspired to cook anything and...
As I share articles here on various topics, one thing remains top of mind about the life of an educator that we don’t talk about often enough. It’s about showing up. As an educator, showing up each day for your kids is a daily...
The beginning of the calendar year or the new semester is the perfect time to think about goal-setting. No, not those new year’s resolutions that we all make (or vow not to make) and then forget about by February. Instead, I’m...
When I was a classroom teacher, I admit that I didn’t often use small group instruction with my writers. I knew it was an excellent way to go and would give me more bang for my buck but writing my mini-lessons daily felt like...
Think back to the last time you had to write a cover letter for a new job or the last time a colleague asked you to write a reference letter. What was the first thing you did? The first thing I usually do is Google “cover letter...
I hate paper. While I’m generally a pretty organized person, paper is the beast I’m forever trying to tame: I can never find the piece that I want, I run out of it at the most inopportune times, and the piles of it that need...
I'm a grammar nerd. I listen to the Grammar Girl podcast just for fun. I'm delighted by TED talks about grammar — keep reading for some of my favorites. I even use the words affect and effect properly most of the time. So, I’m...
Whenever I visit New York City, I almost always look for rats scurrying about under and around the subway tracks. I blame Colleen Cruz for this. Nearly 15 years ago, I listened to Colleen talk about how she finds ideas for...
As your partner in literacy, we’re always looking for more ways to bring joy into the classroom and into Reading & Writing Workshop. Passion projects are a fantastic way to give young readers/writers more choices and...
In the age of distance learning, does this sound familiar? “My kids aren’t writing as much as they did in the classroom.” “Writers aren’t trying any of the strategies I’ve taught them.” Many teachers I’ve worked with have shared...
Last year I started a yoga practice. And not just any yoga — but hot yoga. If you’ve never tried it, 2020 probably isn’t the time, but if you have — you either love it or hate it. The second you step into the heated room (often...
Picture it: I’m meeting with a large group of educators and I can’t see everyone on one screen because I’m not techy enough yet to have set up two screens. Someone speaks up, but it takes me an awkwardly long time to figure out...
In this article, Vivian Chen, Literacy Partners senior staff developer, shares a story that will give you some clues as to what your English language learners may be feeling. In Vivian’s words… I’ll never forget walking into my...
In a recent workshop with two of our favorite writing teachers: Carl Anderson and Matt Glover, they talked about how you could do a workshop both synchronously and asynchronously. One of the main things they suggested is, if...
Written by Vivian Chen, Staff Developer, Literacy Partners. Recently, my friends’ daughter graduated from college. I got a text inviting me to a surprise graduation car parade for her. I didn’t want to go. That would mean...
After visiting hundreds of schools, I’ve noticed there’s often confusion around the stages of the writing process. The old school way of teaching writing had everyone doing this: BRAINSTORM → PRE-WRITE → DRAFT → PUBLISH I’ve...
Your kids are at home for a stretch of time — whether this is for the summer months, spring break, or when the schools are closed. You’ll want to keep the momentum going for kids at home. The first thing you’ll want to do is...
I’ve visited hundreds of schools and noticed a lot of confusion around the stages of the writing process. To learn more about the writing process for the upper grades (3-8), you can find it here: Stages of the Writing Process...
A writing center is a place you go to get the materials you need as a writer. Your writing center should be well-stocked with extra pens, paper or booklets (for primary or more emergent writers), staplers, and more. These are...
One of the central tenents of writing workshop is the belief that all students will make progress when you teach them how to write. As workshop teachers, we understand the importance of valuing their progress over their product....
An important book we revisit often is, Don’t Forget to Share. Inside the book, the author, Leah Mermelstein, covers four types of shares — the content share, craft share, progress share, and the process share. In this blog post,...
Inside the book, Don’t Forget to Share! we learn about the four types of teaching shares — the content share, the craft share, the process share, and the progress share. In this article, we’re going to focus on the craft share....
It’s about that time of year. How many times have you walked past your bulletin boards and made a mental note to add something later? Many teachers kick off the school year with blank bulletin boards and have been contemplating...
The book, Don’t Forget to Share! covers four types of teaching shares — the content share, the craft share, the process share, and the progress share. In this article, we’re going to focus on the content share. The Content Share...
When talking with schools and staff developers, we discuss the parts of the reading or writing and its importance. And there’s always one part we dig deep into — the Teaching Share! The teaching share is the very last part of...
It’s the first few weeks of school, and this is a time when you’re establishing routines and procedures to lay the groundwork and expectations for your class. Setting a solid foundation for the new school year is hugely...
In my last message, you learned all about why and how to start with workshops on day one. If you missed it, you can find it here. In that message, we discussed how to set up this year’s class with the expectation that you’re a...
School is just beginning and you may already be excited to get your reading and writing workshop up and running. You’re planning all the things you’re ready to teach the kids: About the writing center How to access and use the...
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