One Shift That Transforms Reading
December is a month for wrapping things up, but in schools, it’s also a time to tighten routines before the break so we can start 2026 off strong. This issue focuses on a small, high-impact shift: making reading more active and purposeful.
Active Reading
Reading in class should be one of the most active activities we do. But here’s what usually happens: hand kids a text, tell them to “read,” and hope deep thinking magically happens.
In the best reading teachers’ classrooms, though, that’s far from the reality. Students ALWAYS have a specific annotation task as they read.
Instead of “read for the next 15 minutes.” It’s “read for the next 15 minutes, looking for evidence of how the main character’s attitude beings to change.”
Those teachers know reading with a specific annotation task:
Slows students down to actually process what they’re reading.
Allows the teacher to have immediate insight on what they understand and what they don’t.
Prevents the all-too-common “fake reading,” which if you’ve taught older kids, you know all too well.
Makes for much better sequencing of the discourse after reading because you know who knows what before you even start it.
Don’t just make sure they read it. Do make sure they read it, understood it, and are ready to discuss it.
A Simply Great Resource
To help make this idea of "Active Reading" come to life, we've created an Active Reading Task Bank. This gives teachers ready-to-use annotation prompts that push students beyond surface-level comprehension and toward deep analysis.
These tasks help students track character development, analyze theme, and engage meaningfully with text, and give teachers immediate insight into student thinking.
Click here to access this resource!
What's Most Important Right Now?
Winning on the Feedback Arc
Teacher Intellectual Prep: Teachers should be crafting clear CFS for student work (along with exemplars), have a plan for when and how they will give feedback, and plan for what errors they anticipate students making.
Leader Coaching: Real-time-coaching should focus on feedback. When a teacher releases students to work, split the room, look at student work, and then huddle to determine how the teacher will debrief error trends.
Grade Level Bar: Coaches should be observing with a laser-like focus on the quality of written responses and whether they include...
For ELA: evidence, complete, sentences, and discipline-specific vocabulary.
For Math: annotations, clear steps showing all work (including models when necessary), answer statements, and check for reasonableness.
Physical Space: Criteria for success (and ideally an exemplar too) should be posted and visible for students to reference any time they are released to a sustained period of independent work.
Adult Culture: Embrace the season of gratitude! Try picking one adult in the building to write a quick note of gratitude for. Even a quick post-it on their desk will go a long way! Better yet, challenge each of your team members to do the same, and suddenly your school building will be filled with gratitude.
How Can We Work Together?
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