Literacy Coach • Educator • NSU 🔰• MAEd• English • Literature ❤️
Virginia Beach, VA
Joined February 2022
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Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
There’s a possibility that in the not so distant future we reinvent something like network TV or basic cable from first principles.
Why?
Because people don’t just want good stories.
They want shared stories.
When a show was on at one time and on just one network, it was a communal event. You scheduled things around the telling of that story.
You’d talk with people at school or work the next day about it. You’d have watch parties.
The endless sea of options you can consume at any time detached us from the experience of storytelling humans have participated in since we first began telling stories.
The story wasn’t just information consumption, it was a shared experience in community.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
"If we want students to leave school able to think critically about history, they will not meet that goal if we teach them only how to “think like a historian.” We will need to teach them a lot of historical knowledge as well." @daisychristo
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Students need all kinds of teachers.
- The extroverts who bring energy.
- The introverts who lead with quiet thoughtfulness.
- The serious teachers who bring structure and focus.
- The silly teachers that put students in a state of relaxed alertness.
- The spontaneous teachers who model a creative spirit.
- The organized teachers who bring clarity and consistency.
Part of education is learning how to work with, learn from, and relate to people who are different from ourselves.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
A critical element that the "rulebook purists" arguing Balogun deserved a red card are conveniently overlooking:
BALOGUN was the one who was challenged from behind.
The Bosnian player played *through* Balogun from behind and placed himself in the path of Balogun's natural step.
When he begins taking that step, Balogun has no idea the Bosnian player would even be in front of him. In that sense, you can't really even consider his move a "challenge." It was simply a step that incidentally landed in the same place the opponent's foot did.
In fact, the reason Balogun's step came down so hard is *because* the Bosnian player challenged into him and knocked him off balance.
This is not "reckless" or "excessive force" by any stretch of the imagination.
The red card was *obviously* unjustified from the outset. The only thing FIFA got wrong here is not immediately suspending the red card after the match.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Breaking: Folarin Balogun will be available to play in USA's Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday, FIFA announced.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has suspended the red card issued to the USA striker during their Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Everyone's been looking up lately.
We thought we'd give them something to BEHOLD! 💚
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Group work is not automatically better than individual study: it helped pupils only when they already had enough task specific knowledge.
This study found no general advantage for collaborative learning from worked examples. Group work works best when pupils already know enough to take part meaningfully. frontiersin.org/journals/psy…
This is such a good article on the need for educational decision making to be research based, which is what is expected in other fields. One key point in the blog... education has changed, but it hasn't necessarily progressed. I see this in the secondary literacy world with SSR.
The dog ate my homework: Education's evidence echo-chamber.
New Snow Report blogpost
pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2026…
Content knowledge has become underrated, but is necessary for all educators to have a deep understanding of their content coupled with quality questioning, immediate feedback, and the appropriate application of instructional strategies.
We’re often fooled by what looks like effective teaching - charisma, energy, confidence - but engagement isn’t learning. Great teaching requires both subject expertise and the ability to make complex ideas clear to novices.
open.substack.com/pub/davidd…
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Pitch Night competition at Kempsville EBA @vbschools
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Principals across VBCPS share their gratitude for the teachers who are the backbone of their schools in this heartfelt video. 💙
They recognize that they couldn’t do their jobs without the dedication, care, and commitment their teachers bring to classrooms every day.
Thank you to our amazing teachers for everything you do!
#WeAreVBSchools #TeacherAppreciationWeek #VBCPSThanksTeachers
Clarity at work.
I love this idea on the difference between vague and deliberate practice from @nsachdeva2019 . Most PD and teacher coaching I know about focuses on vague practice.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Whitney Whealdon argues that reading standards don't actually measure real comprehension. Unlike clear-cut goals (like passing a baton), understanding what you read is messy and changes with every text. Standards create a false sense we can "master" reading skills like math facts, but comprehension keeps developing. Tests only measure narrow skills, so teachers focus on those instead of helping kids truly understand. She says we should focus on teaching students to understand actual books, not check off standards.
open.substack.com/pub/whitne…
Research to help you improve your rubric game!
My teacher team has recently been discussing rubrics, so I wanted to check out Brookhart's oft-cited research on their quality and effectiveness. Her 2015 review of 63 studies found that rubrics improve student learning, but only when they describe the quality of thinking, not just list tasks to complete. Well-designed rubrics helped students perform better across writing, science, math, and other subjects.
The core problem Brookhart identified: many rubrics conflate different skills or measure nothing meaningful. Take "has three sources" as an example. What does this actually measure—research skills? Source evaluation? Synthesis ability? It's unclear, and that matters. If we provide sources to students, it measures only compliance. If students find sources themselves, it lumps together distinct intellectual skills without clarity. Students can't aim for a fuzzy target, and teachers can't give useful feedback when criteria blur multiple competencies together.
Effective rubrics are precise about what thinking skill they're measuring: "evaluates source credibility using relevant criteria" (research skill), "synthesizes information across multiple sources" (integration skill), or "interprets evidence to support claims" (analytical skill). This specificity helps students understand exactly what quality work looks like and helps teachers see where students actually need support. When rubrics clearly name distinct thinking skills, they guide learning. When they list vague requirements or blend skills together, they just create hoops to jump through. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1…
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Not convinced that we should be looking to solve the AI literacy problem (and whatever that is) until we have solved the actual literacy problem.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Tennessee State and Meharry have an accelerated program for students to become doctors and dentist in 7 years. Currently this program has no Black Men applying. Applicants can email [email protected] and also have them follow @theblackdoctor on IG! Please like and share!
This post resonates with me. I have seen time and again underserved populations harmed by meet them where they are because those systems aren't designed to get them on grade level. Start by teaching foundational skills needed to learn the content & teach the grade level content.
Sharelle Van Natten retweeted
Clueless was an adaptation of Emma. 10 Things I Hate About You was Taming of the Shrew. Lion King was Hamlet. She's the Man was Twelfth Night.
Feels like we used to do lots of kids/teen movies that were based on classic literature, and we just stopped? Should do more of that.
