Margin Notes

We’re happy you stopped by.

Those of you who know us, know we are passionate about all things literacy and are always looking for ways to connect and collaborate.  We hope this blog will be a space for sharing and learning.

Over time, the blog will evolve and grow but our current vision is for Margin Notes to be a place where we make our own learning visible, invite conversation, recommend books and resources, and celebrate literacy.

When we started working together as a team this year, we sat down and compiled our shared beliefs about literacy.  Then, following Warren Berger’s advice, we turned them into mission questions to guide our work and professional inquiry.

This is our end result…

How can our work reflect and be guided by our beliefs that literacy:
• connects us through shared experiences;
• empowers us to understand, navigate, and act on our world;
• helps us see ourselves and others;
• transforms us;
• and brings joy, hope and beauty?

How can we inspire an environment for students that:
• is created with intention;
• is a culture and community of learners;
• is grounded in research;
• reflects literacy in the real world and is connected to their lives;
• is designed to develop independence and agency;
• values student voice;
• reflects the belief that we become better readers and writers by reading and writing;
• and is powered by formative assessment?

How can we make our literacy lives visible to inspire a culture of learning and sharing?

These are the questions we come back to again and again as the foundation for all we do.  We hope you will join us on our journey as we blog about their impact on our work.