In anticipation of reading the new Harper Lee novel, Go Set a Watchman, I have been re-reading her classic, To…
Three Growth Mindset Lessons from My Journey as an Instructional Coach
The following post was my share about growth mindset as an ASCD Leader at ASCD L2L in Arlington, VA on…
3 Ways to Make “Turn and Talks” Work
Turn and Talks are a quick low-prep strategy for assessing students, having them share background knowledge or clarify thinking, and…
Blogging Etiquette for Instructional Coaches
After a recent Twitter conversation with some of my #educoach colleagues, I was asked to share my thoughts about the…
Four Easy Tools for Teaching Research
Research is one of the most exciting activities for students. They can select a topic of interest and become experts…
The Coaching Cycle: The Link Between Coaching and Student Achievement
Instructional coaches are tasked with many responsibilities. Leading and developing workshops, collaborating with PLCs, facilitating school-wide assessments, organizing learning walks,…
Four Ways to Battle Burnout
Burnout. It’s common in the world of education. The long hours, the steep workload, the complex relationships, and the political…
The Power of Generating Words
One of the most powerful methods for improving vocabulary is morphological instruction. Morphemes (more often called roots, prefixes, and suffixes)…
Three Banned Books You Should Read
I recently reviewed lists of the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century. As I perused the lists, I…
Historical Literacy in Action
Last year, my colleague Julianna was searching for strategies to help her students read and interpret complex primary documents. I…
Five Movement Strategies in the High School Classroom
With every lesson I teach, the undeniable connection between physical movement and learning becomes clearer. Brain researcher David Sousa claims…
Why I’m Wary of “Best” Practices
During my career as both a classroom teacher and as a literacy coach, I have heard the phrase “best practice”…