Literacy Learning Zone

#cyberPD Book Selections For a decade, #cyberPD has been an anticipated summer event to connect educators near and far in collaborative professional conversation. Through blogs, Twitter, and various digital media, participants share thinking around a common professional title featured for discussion. Though the main event is in July of each year, the conversations and connections carry across the year. Since #cyberPD's first event, we've grown from a group of less than 15 to a community of over 150 educators.   We have found this community to be powerful and the conversations have helped us grow in our journey as educators. These conversations have pushed us, made us uncomfortable, and allowed us the chance to see things from different perspectives. It’s amazing to think that #cyberPD was a pioneer for online book clubs and this community made it possible!   Yet, here we are today. When we got ready to “share our bookstacks,” COVID was in full swing and teachers we...

It's the 9th Annual #cyberPD Summer Event! Check out our NEW  #cyberPD MeWe Group   to learn more! We can't wait for YOU to join in the conversations! ________________________________________________________________ I can't believe it's that time of year already. Where do the days, weeks, months go? I'm ready to slow things down for summer and enjoy a few great books. Ok, who am I kidding? A LOT of great books. The one book always at the top of my list is the professional development book selected for #cyberPD. This book is treasured and shared by many educators across the globe as we come together to learn, to share, to grow, to know better, and to be better in all that we do. Here are the titles we have read over the last eight summers: Here's how #cyberPD Works: NOW ... The time to share your PD book stack! JUNE 1st ... The much anticipated #cyberPD book will be announced! This allows everyone time to purchase the book and begin readin...

Slice of Life is  hosted  at the  Two Writing Teachers Join in and share a slice of your life.  _____________________________________________________ I didn't ask, but I still received. Do you know how amazing that feels? I shared my feelings and  ups and downs with my new role and changes in my professional life. And you were there to lift me up. Reminding me I could do this. Sharing wisdom and advice. Reaching out to connect. Yes, I'm nervous about what is to come. But with you all by my side, this journey next year will be doable. And in case I'm in need of more positive, encouraging words ... I've started yet another Pinter...

This summer a  really BIG! group of educators   are reading and learning together online.  I am participating and  co-hosting this year's sixth annual #cyberPD event  with my online colleagues  Cathy Mere  and  Laura Komos .  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * New this summer!  Weekly Twitter chats about the reading.   The next chat is  Thursday, July 21st  @ 9 AM CST/10 AM EST  using the  #cyberPD  hashtag. *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for  Differentiation, Rigor, and Independence  by Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts   *  *  * ...

The March Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted at the Two Writing Teachers Join us for a month of writing! _____________________________________________________ I had forty-five minutes to myself as I waited for the girls to tap and dance away in their pale pink tutus. I brought my beautiful new "happy" journal, just in case I had an idea or two to scribble about for another slice of life ... I was surprised when all this came pouring out onto the pages of my notebook. After attending an inservice this week, it sparked a little personal reflection as I continue to grow as an educator to make a difference in my small corner of the world.   I wrote and rewrote this blog post, adding and deleting. Yesterday, I was not ready to share it, hence my " I wrote a different slice today" post. I don't like to use this out-in-the-world space to share frustrations ... so even though I felt better about writing about those frustrations in my journal, I d...

This is our fifth annual #cyberPD summer learning event and we are more excited than ever!   Our #cyberPD group has a new meeting place --  #cyberPD Google Community   --  and  Cathy Mere ,   Laura Komos , and I are anticipating  YOU  joining our community and conversations. _______________________________________________________________ It's almost that time of year.  School is quickly coming to a close.  A little extra free time is in the near future.  There will be time for sleeping in.  There will be time for vacations and get-a-ways.  There will be time to just sit and chat.  There will be time to slow down life.   And there will be lots of time to read.    Early in the morning.  The whole afternoon.  Late into the night.   Whether it's picture books, MG books, YA books, or even a PD book or two.   Uninterrupted time to just read.     I know you. ...