Guided reading has long been recognized as a dynamic process that supports children's skills as readers in all genres, yet fiction accounts for over ninety percent of the texts we select for these small-group encounters. If children are to be empowered, life-long readers, who read for many different purposes, they need concentrated, small-group encounters with informational texts. In this series, Tony Stead works with third-grade teacher Lisa Elias...

Writer's notebooks allow students of all ages to brainstorm ideas, test strategies for crafting writing, and develop tools for drafting and revision. In this two-part series, Aimee Buckner, a fourth-grade teacher and author of Notebook know-how and Notebook connections, takes viewers into her classroom as students use their writers' notebooks across the curriculum to hone skills and play with language. The video features numerous mini-lessons that...

In A day of words, fifth-grade teacher Max Brand demonstrates how he helps students search for, study, and celebrate words. Taped over the course of one day, we see distinct word instruction segments that Max has planned, along with many spontaneous teaching moments that occur for word work. Students learn more than just spelling skills or vocabulary knowledge; they become more naturally accomplished in their understanding and use of words in all...

Small groups are a crucial element of every teacher's reading program, and their importance only grows as teachers work with more diverse learners. Spotlight on small groups gives viewers an in-depth look at two reading groups led by master teacher and author Debbie Diller. Debbie leads the groups through a structured routine (introduction, guided practice, conferring, check-in, and more practice), demonstrating how to balance whole-group and differentiated...

Mentoring has been proven to be one of the most effective means of keeping new teachers in the profession. In this two-part video series, you'll see demonstrations of and discussions about the effective components of a good mentoring program. Donna Niday and Jean Boreen expand on and illustrate the concepts found in their books, mentoring beginning teachers and mentoring across boundaries. Each video takes you to schools and classrooms in Flagstaff,...

Literacy work stations are being embraced in many elementary schools as a way to ensure students of all ages are completing thoughtful, challenging tasks while their teachers meet with small groups of students. Debbie Diller, author of the book Literacy Work Stations, takes you into two primary classrooms to demonstrate how to create a thriving stations program. Patty Terry's first grade students and Vicky Georgas' second graders work in stations...

This lively video invites you to join Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, authors of Strategies that work, in an middle years reading workshop where students engage in real-world literacy. In this classroom, kids use comprehension strategies to better understand what they read. They grapple with issues, information and ideas that provoke thinking and spur thoughtful conversation. Read, write and talk provides a framework for literacy, supporting readers...

It's a common dilemma: teachers need time to work in one-on-one conferences and in small groups with students during literacy workshop. And yet assigning 'busy work' to the rest of the class won't help all students to develop the essential reading and writing skills they need. Can we really expect young readers and writers to tackle challenging work on their own without constant support and intervention from teachers? This question led Gail Boushey...

During Collaborative conferences, teachers observe a lesson or conference and provide explicit feedback on the teaching and learning interaction. Collaborative conferences use a team approach (with two or more teachers) to support student learning. During the pre-conference, the student's teacher identifies the instructional goal and asks the observing teachers to notice specific writing behaviors. After the lesson, the teachers engage in purposeful...

In this video, Max Brand confers individually with two different boys in this fifth grade classroom, one during writer's workshop, the other during reading workshop. Max demonstrates the key elements of successful literacy conferences with boys, plenty of wait time, homing in on specific text, and discussing reading or writing strategies the student is using. About the author: Max became a teacher because he loves to learn and teaching gives him...