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Partnerships Can Provide Purpose and Power

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All writers seek feedback.  All writers write for an audience.  All writers question themselves. And for these reasons, writers long to bring their work to another person– another set of eyes, another pair of ears.  Hence, the writing partner in writing workshop.  When working well, partnerships can help grow the confidence of each writer in our classes by providing support, authentic peer feedback, and a sounding board for ideas.  Here are a few ingredients to consider when creating a community of writers…

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Building Word Superheroes: With Permission and Invented Spelling

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Teaching students to take the risks necessary to be inventive spellers means I have to respect the stage of development of the student. I can’t expect the students to know (or use) something I haven’t taught.  It also means communicating to parents about what it means to use inventive spelling and its role in developing writers and readers.

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SOL Tuesday

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For the last two weeks, I have had the privilege of visiting classrooms and talking about kindness. After watching the Kid President video, 20 Things We Should Say More Often the teacher and… Continue reading →

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Stepping Toward Poetry

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Did you experiment with some poetry now that the school year is in full swing? If not, here are a few more ideas to convince you poetry can be woven into your day. It starts with you.

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Questioning Traditional Homework Practices

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It can feel scary and uncertain to step away from a traditional practice like assigning homework. Following your teacher heart (and your gut) and reading what other professionals and researchers have shared can make you feel more confident in taking a risk and trying a new policy. Read on to see how one teacher (me) changed how and why homework is assigned.

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Tips for Analyzing and Scoring a Ton of Writing

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Time is precious, and your mental energy even more so. Why waste either when others before you have learned through trial and error? Avoid common missteps by reading these simple tips.

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From Dependent to Independent: Four Ways To Begin Tomorrow

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We’re not just teaching writers to be independent, we’re teaching them how to be independent.

Here are four ways to nurture independence during today’s writing workshop!

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It’s SOL Tuesday

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Today, on the 17th anniversary of the tragic day, 9/11 choose kind.    Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a… Continue reading →

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Pausing to Remember 9/11

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We, at Two Writing Teachers, pause today to remember all the lives that were lost and the heroes who gave their all in trying to save others. Since tomorrow is a Slice of Life Tuesday, our post about 9/11 is published today.

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Books to Begin the School Year

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Add six new picture books to your back-to-school read alouds and to your mentor text collection this fall.
After you read through this post, be sure to leave a comment about how you’d use these books in your classroom for a chance to win all six of them.

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4 Tips for Modeling with Your Own Writing

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For many of us who work to live as writers and teachers who write, we likely do so in order to appreciate the challenge, the complexity, and the thrill that writing can provide for our lives.  It is living through the process that matters.  But what about turning some of our writing into teaching tools for our writing workshops? Here are four tips…

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The Forging of a Writing Community

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No longer scared and timid, our work has forged a community of writers. 

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SOL Tuesday

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As you join us on Tuesday year-round for Slice of Life we hope to learn about how being a teacher who writes is making its presence in your days.

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Poetry Every Day in 5 Minutes or Less

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For some, this might be your last evening before school begins. For others, you might be on your third week! Tonight I’m sharing five, five-minute ideas that might just help you fit poetry into your day, each day. I needed to find a solution to the lack of poetry in my day for my students and I’m hoping these ideas might just inspire some of your own as you begin a new year.

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Playing Around with Instagram Stories

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I’ve been tinkering with Instagram Stories this summer. I’ve discovered several ways teacher-writers can use them as a tool for living and storytelling.

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A Fall To-Do List for Shared Writing in Your K-2 Classroom

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Maybe this will be the year I do a lot more shared writing!

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Writers, Not Just For Workshop

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When it comes to identity and living a writerly life, our work does not begin or end at writing workshop. In this post, I highlight three practical steps for nurturing writers beyond writing workshop.

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Be a Teacher Who Writes!

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Have you resolved to write alongside your students this year? If so, join us today and any Tuesday year-round for #sol18.

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Nudging Students to Think of Ideas

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The fact that these charts have an interactive element is a key part of their usefulness because they end of being not only an idea-generating tool, but also an accountability tool.

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Our Favorite “Back-to-School” Posts

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Whether you’re already back in school or returning in the next two weeks, I’ve rounded up some of our team’s best blog posts that will help you launch & sustain writing workshop in 2018-19.