Archive for April 2019
Spring Challenge #4: Read Aloud with Purpose
Raise your hand if you believe the Teacher Read Aloud is like the Jan Brady of literacy. Keep your hand up if you identify with any of the following: It’s that thing we do when we need to fill time. It’s often unplanned and lacks focus. It’s heavily fiction, regardless of the genre we are…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #3: Develop Agency
Agency. In a discussion with several professionals recently, we all had different ideas about what this idea really means. However, we could all agree it was something we needed students to embody in order for lasting learning to take place. In her new book What’s the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller unpacks the idea…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #2: The Reading Process
Are you teaching The Book or the reading process? We know you have data, more data, and even more data on top of that. We suggest that as you think about the data, and as you consider the weeks leading up to testing season, you take time to consider that question. Are you teaching books,…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #1: Let Them Read
It’s (finally) spring, and along with the warmer temperatures comes testing season. This year, before you kick into test prep/worksheet hell, try this simple literacy challenge to fine-tune the coming weeks: Track how many minutes students spend reading during one school day. Research is really clear on this: students who read more achieve more. (And…
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