To love to read. As teachers, it's one of our basic, core wishes for our students. Some students come to us with a hunger for reading. Give them a thick novel (or better yet, let them bring their own) and they'll happily sit and read for as long as we allow. All day even. We can pretty much guarantee these students fall asleep at night with a book tented across their chest, having squeezed out as much of it as their droopy little eyes could handle. Other students "like" to read. And others "don't mind" reading, if they don't have anything better to do. Others will read at school but rarely do it at home. And still others avoid it like the plague. I want to share five ideas to help get all these other students reading more at home. To be clear, I agree with J.K. Rowling when she said, "If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book." Helping students find the "right book" is irreplaceable. So the......

The question I get asked by teachers more than any other is what to do with "the rest" of the class during your reading block, while you are meeting with small groups or holding one-to-one conferences. Over on my blog, The Thinker Builder , I've written a lot about creating a literacy block schedule , organizing and managing small groups and tracking students' reading progress , so I wanted to take some time to focus on the rest of the class. Because, as you know, the most amazing small group lesson you have planned will fail if "the rest" of your students are disengaged and disruptive. I don't intend to be all-encompassing about your options, because, well, there is plenty of stuff out there that doesn't meet my essential criteria. But there is plenty that does, and it can be difficult to choose a system that jives with your particular group of students and with your own style. So what are my essential criteria? The system you......

It's raining outside (cause). I used an umbrella. (effect). Cause and effect, particularly in upper elementary, is a text structure riddled with opportunity for our reading instruction. BUT we must be careful about whittling down cause and effect to only basic, isolated examples that ignore the complicated and nuanced reality of the concept, because if we do, we can quickly cover up a meaningful angle into understanding a text. Take the raining/umbrella example above. This morning, as my oldest daughter was walking out the door to her bus stop, I say, "Hey, it's raining. Why don't you get your umbrella out of your backpack?" She stands on the porch and claims it's not raining that hard. "I'll be fine," she says. I insist. "You have a soccer tournament this weekend. We don't need you getting sick." Daughter, with attitude, proceeds to take out umbrella, grumbling, "Dad, nobody else at the bus stop has an umbrella. I lo......

Inspirational quotes are, well, inspirational! We teachers love displaying our favorite quotes in our classrooms. A good quote packs a big punch of meaning in a nice little (hangable) package. Using quotes is also a great way to get students thinking critically, and there's a lot we can do with one of these bite-size pieces of text, like: Vocabulary (What words within the quote should we look at more closely to understand the quote?) Literal Meaning (What's the author of the quote saying?) Deeper Meaning (What's the author really trying to say? Is there symbolism? metaphor? analogy?) Language (Does the author use word play? Is there an certain economy of words that adds clarity to the quote?) Context (What are the circumstances surrounding the time in which the quote was said? What is the historical background? What is the author of the quote famous for?) Transcendence (To whom does the quote apply? Does it transcend age? gender? culture? time period?) ......

It's the middle of your writing block and you sidle up to a student to have a writing conference. And it goes great. You feel like you made a difference with that kid. You feel like you accomplished something. But then you start doing the math... "Let's see, I just spent 8 minutes with this student, so at this rate it'll only take me... hmmm... 9,000 years to meet with everyone." It quickly gets overwhelming and you may start wondering, why even bother? Holding one-to-one writing conferences with students is a really effective way to help them grow, but conferences that last 8-10 minutes a pop just aren't sustainable. Even 5-minute writing conferences are tough. So are 4 minute writing conferences. 2 minutes. That's where we want to be. Now, before you start rolling your eyes telling me you'll never get anything out of a two-minute conference, hang on. Let's just for a second assume that you CAN have a meaningful, productive wri......

You probably know the main components of a lesson. You may even be required to write them all down in your lesson plans. Whether it's a lesson you've created from scratch or a plan laid out in your curriculum's teacher manual, whether it's a lesson you've done every year since the beginning of everything (you know, an oldie but a goodie), or one that is fresh and new, these four ideas can help you teach it more effectively. I'm not here to list the obvious. These ideas may not be generic, but they are rooted in solid, effective teaching practice. Ready to amp up the way you teach? STOP TALKING One day a few years ago I lost my voice. Woke up and it just wasn't there. Too much work to make sub plans, so I trudged into school, not sure how I was going to get anything done with my class when my throat was raw and I couldn't talk. It turned out to be one of the most productive days students had in awhile. And it wasn't because I gave them a......

It's difficult to keep students' "reading life" energized through the entire year. The beginning of the school year is the easiest, with bright eyes gazing into your newly introduced classroom library with excitement, hands barely able to hold back from grabbing books here and there. But after a few months, it's easy for students to slide into indifference toward their independent reading, especially if the contents of the classroom library and the routines surrounding it never change. In my (epic!) series of blog posts on how to make the most of your classroom library , I share gobs of practical ideas to keep your classroom library thriving , which in turn pumps life into students' independent reading. One of these ideas is to use a "Current Favorites" shelf. A "Current Favorites" shelf is a spot in your classroom where you keep your own personal favorite children's books. An important part of the idea is that the books change.......