I was reading a professional text recently that, in many ways, moved me to nod my head so frequently as I was reading that I looked like one of those bobble head turtles that you find at every craft fair and flea market. There was so much I loved about what the authors had to say about… Continue reading (UPDATED!) Expecting Too Much–and Too Little–of Literacy Teachers
A Shiny *New* Website!
Hello friends and colleagues! You may have noticed that my blog has developed...er...cobwebs over the past several months. That's because I've been working on a shiny new website that you can check out by visiting https://shawnacoppola.com! Little by little I will be moving the blog posts that have garnered the most engagement on here to… Continue reading A Shiny *New* Website!
Come Learn With Me at the 2019 Opal School Summer Symposium!
Ever since the Fall of 2013, when I happened upon an NCTE session in which several teachers from the Opal School shared the incredible work they did with students in grades Pre-K-5, I was enamored. Their guiding principles, which were (and continue to be) influenced by the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, grounded… Continue reading Come Learn With Me at the 2019 Opal School Summer Symposium!
A Well-Balanced Diet
New post on the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association (CCIRA)’s blog. Looking forward to speaking at their annual conference in February!
By Shawna Coppola, 2019 CCIRA Featured Speaker
I am often asked by colleagues how to help their students break out of comfortable habits as readers and writers in order to facilitate new discoveries, provide greater challenge, and broaden their horizons. As someone who enjoys the security and steadfastness of reading the same kinds of texts (memoir, true crime, YA) and writing within a limited pool of forms and genres (memoir, essays, comics), I understand both students’ desire to stick with what’s “working” for them as well as teachers’ desire–and often, the outside pressure–to nudge students toward a more “well-rounded” reading and writing identity.
It is important to tread lightly when doing this work. Many of the literacy giants whose shoulders we continue to stand on have made a rock-hard case for providing students with lots of choice around their reading and writing (Guthrie & Humenick, 2014, Kittle, 2013; Krashen, 2011…
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My Latest #TheEdCollab Blog Post
Hello colleagues--happy summer! Just recently I had the pleasure of collaborating with Dr. Carla España on a blog post for The Educator Collaborative's Community Blog. It is a response to a gorgeous new book for all ages by Minh Lê and Dan Santat called Drawn Together (2018) that I highly recommend you ask your school librarian to… Continue reading My Latest #TheEdCollab Blog Post
What I’m Consuming: Week of 5/21/18
*runs in panting* YES! I made it. I promised to write these "What I'm Consuming" posts twice a month, and here I am! Just in the nick of time. I'm so proud of me. Let's get right to it, shall we? Here is what I'm consuming right now (week of 5/21/18): READING: The New… Continue reading What I’m Consuming: Week of 5/21/18
What I’m Consuming: Week of 5/7/18
Personally, I like to know what my faves are reading, viewing, and/or listening to every so often. It keeps me on my toes and introduces me to creatives, thinkers, and other interesting humans I may not know about. In that spirit, I'm committing to posting at least 2x/month here on my blog what I'm currently… Continue reading What I’m Consuming: Week of 5/7/18
Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway!
Hello, friends! We've all seen the posts and the memes: "Teachers Are Rock Stars!" "I'm a Teacher; What's Your Superpower?" But do any of us ever really feel like "rock stars" or superheroes? I know I don't. Like, ever. That's why I want to do a giveaway for Teacher Appreciation Week that just celebrates teachers for… Continue reading Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway!
These Lessons Are Good. But They’re Not Enough.
Over the past several weeks, my colleague and I have engaged our fifth and sixth grade students in an inquiry about "single stories" and stereotypes with a particular focus on race, gender, and ability. This isn't our first time facilitating such an inquiry; earlier in the year, she and I engaged a different group of… Continue reading These Lessons Are Good. But They’re Not Enough.
[REPOST]: Mentoring New Teachers Podcast–Episode 2
[REPOSTED from http://blog.stenhouse.com/] We continue our podcast series with Stenhouse author Shawna Coppola and kindergarten teacher Laura, who is in her first year of teaching. In this episode, they tackle behavior charts and social-emotional learning. Mentoring New Teachers Podcast – Episode II: Social-Emotional Learning By Shawna Coppola In the first episode of our podcast focusing on mentoring new… Continue reading [REPOST]: Mentoring New Teachers Podcast–Episode 2
[REPOST]: Mentoring New Teachers Podcast-Episode 1
[REPOSTED from http://blog.stenhouse.com/] Mentoring New Teachers Podcast-Episode 1 By Shawna Coppola When Stenhouse asked me if I wanted to mentor a new teacher through her first year and record the experience for posterity, I barely took a breath before saying yes. As someone who has taught for nearly two decades, I still feel the desire to… Continue reading [REPOST]: Mentoring New Teachers Podcast-Episode 1
My So-Called Literacy Life 