Thoughts on Interpretation: Thinking Alongside Middle School Students
I have the privilege of working across Grades 3-8 on most days. This past year I began staff development in a new school in New Jersey,...
The Weave: Strategies and Text Level Characteristics
My son, who is in first grade, came home the other day with his Scholastic book order. He was so excited to show me all of the books he...
Thoughts on Interpretation: Part 2: Studying Myself in the Company of Others
One of my most favorite short stories to use with older kids is “Mr. Entwhistle” a piece from the book Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean...
Thoughts on Interpretation: Part 1: Thinking Alongside Adult Learners
My colleague and I, Holly, launched in a new district a couple of weeks ago. In many ways it’s a compelling way to begin staff...
The Power of Mentors
My younger son, Christopher, is on the verge of turning three. As his birthday approaches, I find myself reflecting on the past year in...
The Perfect Start to My School Year
The other day a teacher caught a glance of my school year calendar. He was taken aback by the format. The calendar has two columns...
When a Whole Class Novel is EXACTLY the Right Choice
A little over a year ago, I sat at a small table with co-directors at the school where I work as a part time literacy coach. We were...
On Reading Assessment...
I recently enjoyed a solo trip to Barnes & Noble. This meant I had a solid chunk of time that I could actually spend reading and...
A Framework (to Break) for Planning Interactive Read Alouds
An informal survey of teachers I work with revealed that very few of them found the time to plan an interactive read aloud each day. To...
Transferring Our Learning
trans·fer·ence transˈfərəns,ˈtransfərəns/ noun the action of transferring something or the process of being transferred. "education...
