When one of my daughters was switching from playing soccer to playing field hockey, we had several conversations about the similar skills each sport required. It didn't take us long to figure out that her understanding of passing, moving to space, and cutting off pathways would be helpful as she transitioned, not to mention her physical… Continue reading Transferring skills from unit to unit: Solving Predictable Problems Blog Series
Month: October 2017
IT’S TUESDAY! PLEASE JOIN US WITH A SLICE OF LIFE!
WRITE. SHARE. GIVE WRITE a slice of life story on your blog. SHARE a link to your post in the comments section. GIVE comments to at least three other SOL bloggers. HaPpY HallOwEEn!
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Conventions & Presentation: Solving Predictable Problems
Proper use of conventions and the aesthetics of writing pose unique challenges in an elementary writing workshop. Here are solutions to eight predictable problems you may be facing with your students.
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Overview: Solving Predictable Problems Blog Series
Once fall arrives, most writing workshops are well underway. Depending on when your school year started, you're likely teaching your second or third unit of study. Most of you are probably prepping for parent-teacher conferences, which will take place in the next couple of weeks. This is a predictable time of year. As a result,… Continue reading Overview: Solving Predictable Problems Blog Series
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Narrative Writing Makes a Beautiful Gift
The students wrapped their writing in an array of wrapping paper, and they left my classroom eager to share their gifts – the gift of words.
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Poems Are Teachers: Interview & Giveaway
Poems Are Teachers, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's newest book, is grounded in the idea of writing workshop. It contains practical lessons teachers can use the very next day, as well as mentor texts written by published and student poets. Learn more about it in an interview with Amy. Then, leave a comment for a chance to win two of Amy's books.
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Teaching Digital Tools in Writing Workshop: Plan, Purpose, Model
By blending the choice of digital tools into our lessons, we are showing students how they can purposefully use devices and keep the thinking where it belongs, on the writing, not the tool.
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SOL Tuesday
WRITE a slice of life story on your blog. SHARE a link to your post in the comments section. GIVE comments to at least three other SOLS bloggers. If you are a slicer attending NCTE in St. Louis and you’re interested in joining Stacey and me for dinner on 11/18 at 7:30 p.m. (NOTE the TIME… Continue reading SOL Tuesday
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Keeping Narrative Alive
By the middle of October, many students in our district are nearing the end of their first writing unit, and in almost all grades, that first writing unit has a narrative focus. Students are gearing up for information writing, and then later in the year, opinion writing. Sometimes, when we leave a genre, we forget… Continue reading Keeping Narrative Alive
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National Day on Writing: Last Minute Ideas!
It's not too late to plan a celebration of National Day on Writing. NCTE celebrates on this day each year the importance and most of all the delight that writing can bring to our lives using #WhyIWrite as a common theme. Take a look at some quick ideas to get your celebration rolling if you didn't set a plan in motion for this special day.
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The Power of Language Revisited
When it comes to the teaching of writing in a writing workshop, language is everything. It is through the words we teachers choose that writers are created, built up, encouraged, and inspired.
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OLW Check In
What was your OLW and how did it treat you so far this year?
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 