Having productive conversations requires students to listen deeply, reflect on what is said, express ideas clearly, sustain attention, ask insightful questions, debate respectfully, and develop comprehension of information taken in. These essential listening and speaking skills need to be taught and practiced and will help students have successful conversations both inside and outside of school. Read More »
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JAN
12
2016
Making Learning Meaningful: It’s All About the Why
A few years ago, as I looked around the fourth/fifth grade combination class I taught, I saw a student staring at her math notebook and slowly shaking her head. I wandered over…
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FEB
05
2015
Doing Language Arts in Morning Meeting
Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting is a great way to set a positive tone for the day of learning ahead while also having fun and building community. It’s also a great way to…
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SEP
18
2014
Pen Pals With a Twist
Not long ago, my second grade classes started pen pal projects. These weren't your usual pen pal ventures where children write to students in another state or country. These had a twist.
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APR
15
2014
Morning Meeting Lesson Plans . . . Where to Begin?
Do you think a lot about how to create Morning Meetings that positively impact each day and prepare your students for the learning to come? I'll share a little secret that has…
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APR
07
2014
The Hot Seat
Are you looking for interactive learning structures that will help your students gain a deeper understanding of content while also developing and practicing higher level thinking skills? The Hot Seat is a…
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AUG
15
2012
Books for Hopes and Dreams (2012)
Recommending children's books that teachers can use to begin talking about goal-setting and with their students has become an annual ritual for me. (Here are my picks for 2011 and 2010.) This…
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MAR
27
2012
Sharing Idea: Who Remembers My Favorite Book?
Playing a fun remembering game builds on children's listening and memory skills.
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MAR
13
2012
Greeting Idea: Backward Day Handshake
Here’s a Morning Meeting greeting idea from 80 Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades K–2, by Susan Lattanzi Roser: Backward Day Handshake Greeting Students pass along a friendly handshake, but say the greeting…
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OCT
06
2011
Guided Discovery: Paper, Scissors, and Glue
One of my favorite Guided Discovery lessons led children to explore ways they could use paper, glue sticks (or glue), and scissors. I was always amazed at what children could create with…
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SEP
22
2011
Books for Guided Discovery: Crayons
Use a book to kick off a Guided Discovery lesson or to reinforce learning from it. A great read-aloud can open children’s minds to the magic and possibilities of the material you’re…
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SEP
09
2011
More Books for Hopes and Dreams
A recent post on Facebook for more ideas about books to use with hopes and dreams made me think about why some stories work so well to inspire children to think about…
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SEP
01
2011
Back to School with Children’s Books
Reading aloud can be a powerful way to build community and shared understanding at the beginning of the school year. My classes and I used to laugh and talk all year about…
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AUG
02
2011
Do You Teach Writing?
Always on the lookout for resources to help teachers, I recently found a gem: Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice (Stenhouse, 2010). Ruth Ayres and Stacey…
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MAY
20
2011
Celebrating Friendship
Take time at the end of the school year to help children reflect on how they have worked to get to know each other, efforts they have made to be kind, and…
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MAY
18
2011
Read-Alouds for Remembering
How has your class grown this year? What acts of kindness have they done for each other? What have they learned? What do you hope they will remember? Children's books can be…
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MAR
31
2011
Fruitful Mistakes
Recently I left my coat in a classroom in northern California, lost the cover for my Blackberry somewhere between California and Greenfield, Massachusetts, and made a pot of soup for dinner that…
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OCT
12
2010
Read-Alouds: Duck! Rabbit!
Before I moved to California, I had the pleasure of being part of a children’s book club—a group of adults who gathered together once a month to read and discuss children’s books.…
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SEP
16
2010
Read-Alouds for Rule Creation
Classroom rules work best when students understand why rules exist and how rules will help them, as individuals and as a group. I have found several children's books over the years that…
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SEP
09
2010
Books for Back-to-School: School Poems
I’ve been having fun writing about books for the first few weeks of school, and today I have another collection of poems to share: Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other…
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AUG
16
2010
Read-Alouds for the First Day of School
The other day Jen Audley sent me a link to a blog entry about the first day of school that really got me thinking about the children who come to our classes…
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AUG
06
2010
Books for Back to School: Falling Down the Page
I love visiting bookstores, especially children’s bookstores, when I’m traveling. This summer, while I was on the road for work, I discovered lots of new books. (Truth be told, I also spent…
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JUN
25
2010
Summer Reading: Access & Choice
I’d just read Tina Valentine’s post called “Will Your Students Keep Learning This Summer?” when I happened on another article on the same topic in the current International Reading Association newsletter. “Stopping…
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JUN
15
2010
Will Your Students Keep Learning This Summer?
Did you know that two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading can be related directly to unequal summer learning opportunities? Even though I've seen firsthand how students can lose ground in their…
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JUN
01
2010
Read-Alouds for the Last Day
What do you read to your class on the last day of school? I always put so much energy into that last choice. I wanted a book that would celebrate the community…
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MAR
15
2010
Energizers! Spelling Stroll
Energizers are usually more about giving children quick movement and breathing breaks than they are about academics. Still, it’s possible to work in a little academic practice, as long as the focus…
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OCT
14
2009
Here’s an Idea! Songs in Other Languages
Singing a familiar tune or chant in another language can enliven a Morning Meeting, be a fun energizer, and help meet the needs of the growing number of second language learners in…
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