In this post, I’ll describe the ways I would use Rabbit and the Motorbike as a mentor text for instruction with writers in upper elementary grades through middle school. This is an example of the thinking work I do in advance of sharing a mentor text with students, anticipating what students might notice and planning for the questioning I will do to help them name those craft moves. My goal is always to get kids to the HOW, because that is the level of understanding they need to be able to try strategies out in their own writing.
Teaching Kids to Use the Phonics You’ve Taught
This post can be a jumping off point for learning more about how explicit phonics instruction can be connected to a joyful independent writing workshop for young children
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One Little Word (OLW) to Inspire Your Students (and you!)
2023 is around the corner! Will you choose a OLW to inspire your new year? Will you encourage your students to choose their own OLW?
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Minilesson Alternatives: Considering OTHER Ways to Kick Off Workshop
If you have ever felt that you were going through the motions of a minilesson, know that there are plenty of other ways you can choose to gather as a community and launch writing time. Here are ten alternatives for beginning a writing workshop session - - with joy, intention, and inspiration.
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It’s Tuesday! Welcome to Slice of Life on #TWTBlog!
Making space for writing is a gift. Please join us in writing and sharing a slice of life with the #TWTBlog community!
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Have you ever said this?
We encourage a growth mindset in classrooms. We don't permit children to put themselves down. So why do we do this to ourselves?
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Revisiting Writing Through a Lens of Gratitude
As we head into a season of thanksgiving and celebrations, it is worth it to take the time to simply pause and reflect on writing with our students.
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It’s Tuesday! Welcome to Slice of Life on #TWTBlog!
So grateful for the #TWTBlog community today! We hope you'll join us in writing and sharing a slice of life.
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Write Like Me: Finding Our Voice
What can we discover about voice when we make our own writing--and our students' works--the focus of study like we do any other mentor text?
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Enlist Students as Partners in Conferring
Conferring is a powerful tool to meet the needs of individual writers, but it often feels like students are passive participants in these conversations. Engaging students as partners in this work helps kids see themselves as authors and grow their writing abilities.
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When The “Help Desk” Fails: Rethinking Support for Writers
The Setup: Help Desk, Open for Business It started out like any other writing workshop time. Kids were settling into their work spots, some grabbing keyboards, others tapping away on their iPad screens. There was a certain level of productive noise as students figured out what projects they wanted to work on and how, and… Continue reading When The “Help Desk” Fails: Rethinking Support for Writers
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Pre-Unit Immersion: Involving Students in Noticing, Noting, and Naming
Immersion is helpful for strong writers who need less explicit instruction in order to try out new writing concepts as well as for writers who strive to complete their written work. Sometimes seeing a completed piece is exactly what they need in order to kick their executive functioning into gear.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 