I recently met with an exceptional group of first grade teachers for a follow-up session to a training on a new assessment system their district is implementing this year. The previous meeting had been a quick training on the basics of how to administer the assessment. They had asked some insightful questions in the initial …
Teachers and parents are often frustrated with kids when they don’t do more reading on their own. We talk a lot about the importance of choice,too. But do we do enough to facilitate choice for our students so they’re genuinely invested in the books they’ve chosen? In their new book, Game Changer! Book Access For …
If we want students to fully comprehend nonfiction text, we must provide powerful instruction in the types of text structures authors typically use. In the past I gave a gentle nod to the text structure unit, but lately I’m rethinking my mild indifference. Non-fiction text structures guide the reader in knowing how an author organizes …
Less, but better. –Dieter Rams “Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932 in Wiesbaden, Hessen) is a German industrial designer closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the functionalist school of industrial design. Rams was strongly influenced by the presence of his grandfather, a carpenter. Rams once explained his design approach in the phrase ‘Weniger, …
It happens all the time. I’m sitting at the table with a teacher working on lesson planning or adjusting intervention based on new data. We consider options for instruction and the teacher will at some point say, “I know my principal (or the district, or the team lead) wants me to do _________________, but I …
A couple of years ago, I attended a day-long session facilitated by Jim Knight on using video as a tool for instructional coaching. Jim started the day with his Partnership Principles. I was equally inspired and mortified. I was inspired to learn more about how I can strengthen the partnerships with teachers I support, but …
Lucy: “I’m so excited it’s Valentines Day and we have a party later.” Me: “Wow, you’re dressed up for Valentines Day today with a glittery pink T-shirt and your pink fingernail polish with glitter matches your shirt!” Lucy: “I am. My mom woke me up early this morning and she told me to come to …
Many a parent or guardian has experienced it. The repeated demands from a tiny tyrant to read a beloved book. Beloved by the child. Most likely not so beloved by the adult—after having read it a bazillion times. That one practice alone (repeatedly reading the same book over and over again) does more to promote …
When our daughter, Paige, was five she fell while standing on a chair. She hit her head and was unconscious for what I’m sure was only a few minutes, but to this newb parent it felt like an eternity. We were living in Austria at the time and our pediatrician had practiced in America for …
“I wish I had known that last year,” whispered Imena. Seated between Imena and Adi in the back of their 3rd grade classroom, after listening to their teacher read Rough Face Girl, I asked what life lessons they were considering. Imena said, “The lesson I take from Rough Face Girl is to be strong in …
