Setting an intention...

I am setting my intention right now. For the next 30 days I will be posting a blog post daily as part of #TeachWritetober .

You heard it here, folx.

Here we go!

-Sonja

Good to Great Teaching

I was so excited when my copy of Good to Great Teaching by Dr. Mary Howard arrived just before March Break. Perfect timing! I have been a fan of Mary and her wonderful social media presence since I found her on Twitter a few months ago. Her posts are grounded in research and experience. She always speaks from the heart...

This book is wonderfully no exception!

So, I was happily reading along (Richard Allington wrote the flipping foreword! ACK) and I was stopped in my tracks.

“We do this by choosing to allow only relevant, meaningful experiences into our day. We do this by choosing learning experiences that have the greatest outcome. And we do this by choosing to make personal professional learning a priority – even if we have to initiate these opportunities on our own. These are the responsible choices excellent teachers make every day – choices that reflect the very essence of this book.”

The reason that made me stop in my tracks?

In my job as a Literacy Coach and as a Professional Learning Chair for my cluster of schools,  I am constantly thinking and reflecting on adult learning. The good, the bad and the ugly.

I know teachers do the best they can. every. single. day.

I also know that teachers should be reading and reflecting to ensure their teaching is moving from good to great! No excuses!

So here are the things I do and recommend to teachers to stay current:

-Get on Twitter and Facebook and find a PLN (Professional Learning Network).
-Read excellent professional books by passionate educators.
-Go on EBSCO and read the current research.
-Plan with colleagues. (Collective Teacher Efficacy)
-Request to have a lead/coach come and co-plan/co-teach with you.
-attend after school learning opportunities.
-apply for grants to attend conferences.
-Read, read, read

These are the choices every educator should be making.
No excuses!

Thank you Mary!

Growing as a Learner October 2016

Articles and Blogs
Reading and Writing Notebooks
The 30 Best YA Books of All Time
Reading Motivation...What Research Says
Seven Rules of Engagement
Book Talks
10 Ways to Ditch Reading Logs
Engagement Defined
Students Engagement in Literacy Tasks
Teaching for Literacy Engagement

Books
Opening Minds - Peter H. Johnston
Between Shade of Grey - Rita Suypeta
Embedding Formative Assessment - Dylan Wiliam
Numerous picture books

Resource Websites
http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html
https://www.lexile.com/
http://www.bookwizard.com


Online PL:
#shelfietalk
#ncte

Growing as a learner - Sept 2016

Articles and Blogs
Instructional Strategies to Motivate Students
Motivational Reading Strategies
Chapter Book Mentor Text
Memoir Teachable Texts
Creating a Readerdom!
Discovering Student Writer Identity
PLC book study guide
Conferring with Young Writers
Recommended YA Memoir Books
Book Talk Template
http://blog.stenhouse.com/
The Power of Story
A Step Back a Leap Forward

Books
Mechanically Inclined - Jeff Anderson
Notebook Know-How - Aimee Buckner
Notebook Connections- Aimee Buckner
Visible Literacy
The Sign of the Beaver
Wonder - RJ Palacio

Resource Websites
CC Pensieve

Online PL:
The Educator Collaborative
Twitter #shelfietalk

Mentor Text

Mentor text for middle school.



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