First of all, we are GRATEFUL!  Grateful for all things we have right now - listeners, each other, teachers, YOU! Are you starting a new unit of study soon?  Wondering what you can do to get your mind and self ready? Listen in as Erica and Chara share some (or a lot) of things that you can do to get ready to teach your next unit of study.  This is not to overwhelm you, but instead to ignite a spark for you and your students.  Choose one thing, choose a few things, but nothing feels more exciting than a new unit of study.   Gather your materials, some post its, a few me ..read more

Do you ever shy away from conferring with one of your students because they are holding a book that you have never read? Or do you find yourself ending up in the retell tunnel hearing every single detail of your student's book?  What about sitting down to a conference and leaving feeling more like you just gave a quiz than had a conversation.   I think we have all been guilty of one of these.  However,  you don't have to do that any longer!  Let Chara and Erica remind you of all the ways that you can confer with kids even if you DON'T know the book.   Yo ..read more

Complimenting is an art!  It takes some practice to name explicitly what a child is doing right or almost right.  But it can be one of the most powerful types of conferences.  Who doesn't love to hear a compliment? Listen in to this week's episode to hear Chara and Erica unpack the art of the compliment conference. You will hear about why they love them so much. the criteria to assist you with your compliments and how compliment conferences leave children with not only a smile, but a willingness and desire to get better! You will even hear a demonstration of an upper grade and p ..read more

Keeping MIni-Lessons mini is no small task!  It is something that Chara and Erica have worked on for years with the help of their coaches.  It is one part of workshop that they feel passionately about and continue to improve on.  And lucky you. . . they are going to share a TON of tips and tricks to keep your mini lessons mini.   You will feel challenged, nudged and inspired to take on this task in your own workshop. You will be reminded that the Mini Lesson is not everything and is not for mastery.  And from there, you are invited to start with one or two tips off the ..read more

Do you want some new, fresh ideas for books in your 3-8 classroom?  Come along and listen to Erica as she creates excitement around new titles that you need NOW!  You will be reminded about how to create a book buzz, the importance of them in your classrooms and how to ultimately turn it over to kids.  Check out the Book Buzzes for these titles:  Hi Lo (a graphic novel), Rule the Music Scene like Queen Beyonce, Starfish and The Talk.   Erica will make you want to not only add these titles to your Amazon cart, but also buzz about them immediately.   Her b ..read more

BUZZZZZZZ!  What is a book buzz?  Why should I do them?  How do I get kids excited about the lower level books?  Well, put on your actress hat and listen along.   Join Chara and Erica as they share a basic structure for your Book Buzz.  This kind of book buzz will get your readers excited to read the books in your classroom library, even at the lower levels.  Chara shares 3 different books at 3 different bands of text.   You will hear a book buzz on Big Dog, Little Dog, Croc and Ally and Commander Toad in Space.  Listen along for the structure and e ..read more

This week's show is intended for Parents and Teachers alike.  Chara and Erica are so excited about their guest host, Elizabeth Morphis, assistant Professor of Childhood Education and Literacy at SUNY at Old Westbury. She brings a  wealth of knowledge about all the ways we, as parents, can support our children at home with their literacy skills.  The three of them discuss activities that can be done at the dinner table, in the car or even at bed time.  You will leave with so many ideas about how to support your child at home.   Teachers, this podcast is perfect to pass ..read more

It is that time of year when school is starting, kids are excited and teachers are doing all they can to build their classroom communities.  Listen along to this episode to hear all the suggestions for building up your reading community.  We know relationships are at the forefront. But how do we do it with our youngest learners to our most skilled readers?  Erica and Chara give tips for how to build those strong communities where each reader will flourish and grow!  You will learn about Read Alouds, Inventories, Favorite Reading Memories and Timelines, Book Buzzes and more ..read more

Whether school has already started or you are starting soon, is building a community on your mind? It is on ours!!  Erica and Chara spend this episode talking through all the ways you can build a classroom community within your writer's workshop.  Without engagement, everything else is tricky. Listen in to find out all ways to build community from:  writing partners to mentor texts to writing celebrations.  We would love to hear any other ideas you may have about how YOU build community ..read more

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