Workshop teachers struggle with time—building in two teaching sessions, one for reading and another for writing.  There is just too much to do, too many transitions, and very little integration of reading and writing.  To compound the frustration, we find that our students don’t have nearly enough time to read and write independently.

Enter... more

The research is compelling: when teachers differentiate reading instruction, students learn more. But teachers are too often given the expectation of differentiation without the details on how to make it work.   In No More Reading Instruction Without Differentiation, Debra Peterson and Lynn Bigelman offer an instructional framework that adapts instruction based on individual... more

"What if there was a time when things slowed down? No rotations, activities, or worksheets—just you, your kids, and books. Would you take it?" —Debbie Miller and Barbara Moss

We know children learn to read by reading. Is independent reading valuable enough to use precious classroom minutes on? Yes, writes Debbie Miller and Barbara... more

“We need to evaluate how we spend time in our classroom by asking whether it is proportional to how valuable the activity is in fostering students’ independence and growth.”
—Elizabeth Brinkerhoff and Alysia Roehrig

Time is precious, and every teacher needs more. No More Sharpening Pencils During Work Time and Other... more

“Letter-a-week” may be a ubiquitous approach to teaching alphabet knowledge,  but that doesn’t mean it’s an effective one. In No More Teaching a Letter a Week, early literacy researcher Dr. William Teale helps us understand that alphabet knowledge is more than letter recognition, and identifies research-based principles of effective alphabet instruction, which constitutes... more

“Just as word learning is incremental, so is learning about vocabulary instruction. Teachers need exposure to research, best-practice strategies, and fellow practitioners.”
—Charlene Cobb and Camille Blachowicz

The way we’ve learned influences the way we teach, but the vocabulary instruction many of us received—looking... more