While reading Debbie Miller's book, Reading with meaning, or viewing her Happy reading! video series, one wonders at Debbie's ability to orchestrate a buzzing classroom full of first-graders into a cooperative literacy community. The Joy of Conferring lets us focus in with Debbie and see what happens at the individual level as she conducts reading conferences with her students. About the author: Debbie Miller taught and learned from children in the...

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...

When children begin to read and write they are as interested in information as they are in fiction. But information is not conveyed only with print; the wealth of visual texts are often the clearest communicators of information. Charts, diagrams, cross sections, and maps are a few of the elements that are as critical as the words they supplement. In many cases, the visual text is the clearest way to present information. In this video, Steve Moline...

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...

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...

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...

First-grade teacher Debbie Miller chronicles her work teaching reading comprehension in her popular book Reading with Meaning. In this series, Debbie takes you beyond comprehension instruction, and shows how she sustains a thoughtful primary reading program that challenges and supports readers of all abilities and needs. How does Debbie create a learning environment that fosters such sophisticated talk around texts? How is comprehension instruction...

Literacy attendance is an alternative to the traditional attendance roll at the start of the day. Students have the option of sharing reading or writing activities from home when their name is called, and teachers gain insight into students' literacy behaviors in the home environment. The daily activity is scheduled for no more than ten minutes, and provides teachers with a wealth of insight into literacy learning beyond the classroom. About the author:...

Teachers of adolescents are under enormous pressure to cover more content in their disciplines, to make instruction more relevant to students, and to help students acquire the reading skills they need to succeed on standardized tests and beyond. In this video set, high school teacher Cris Tovani brings viewers into her school and classroom and shows how she and her colleagues are meeting the challenge of improving students' reading skills across the...

While literacy development begins long before children are of school age, the kindergarten classroom marks an important moment as students embark on their lifelong journey as writers. This enlightening video program offers a close up view of a master teacher's writing workshop as she focuses on critical topics associated with young children. She addresses conferring with young writers, teaching skills in context, tools for record-keeping, publishing...