Welcome to Our Blog
Spring 2024: 8-Week Online Graduate Courses
Stay cozy this spring and improve your career with an online course, where you can learn at your convenience.
Three Reasons Why a Writer’s Notebook is an Important Tool for Writers
Encouraging your students to keep a writer’s notebook can nourish their informational and literary writing all year.
Inviting Writers Into the Process: Three Strategies for Increasing Access
Author & Elementary Writing Coordinator Melanie Meehan explains how she makes the writing process more accessible to students who are struggling.
Trusting Emergent Readers
Literacy consultants Hannah Schneewind & Jennifer Scoggin discuss the importance of developing students’ reading identities.
Restorative Reading for Educators
Enhance the reading experience to soothe the body, spark the mind, and connect readers together.
Calling All Coaches: Consider Small Language Moves for a Big Impact
If you are a coach, teacher leader, principal or other administrator, you may not fully realize how your language impacts each educator in your school community.
Getting to Know Your Readers
Observational assessment, in the form of a benchmark reading conference, is a good way to begin the journey of teaching literacy in the new school year.
A World of Songs, Poems, and Nursery Rhymes
Have you considered the many benefits of using songs, nursery rhymes, and poetry in your classroom? Here are some recommendations as you get started.
Growing as Educators: Making the Shift to a Culture of Professional Learning
The shift from “professional development” to “professional learning” implies a thoughtful design that is part of the school’s shared vision, values, and beliefs.
Teaching Readers (Not Reading): Peter Afflerbach Discusses the Role of Motivation, Engagement, and Metacognition
Looking back on the recent Summer Literacy Institute at Lesley University, researcher and educator Dr. Peter Afflerbach discussed the importance of instruction that moves beyond skills and strategies.
Upcoming Professional Development
Word Study: Teaching Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling in Grades K-8
Deepen your understanding of the alphabetic linguistic system and learn how to teach for phonological awareness, phonics, word structure, vocabulary, spelling, and word analysis skills in grades K-8.
Leading for Literacy: What Every School Leader Needs to Know
This 4-day institute equips school principals, district administrators, and professional learning leaders to lead, support, and sustain evidence-based literacy instruction in grades K–6. Participants will develop a clear vision for literacy and identify actionable strategies to build collaborative teams and a professional learning culture that accelerates student literacy growth.
The Effective Instructional Coach: Leading Growth, Navigating Challenges
This 4-day training is designed for all school-based coaches including instructional coaches and those who support literacy, math, science, social studies and/or technology. You’ll learn how to better understand your role and how to effectively coach teachers at your school.