July Vacation

Summer has finally arrived. Even though the work is never really done as a teacher, the change of pace is always a welcomed friend that allows me to read more, write more, and notice more. From all of us at Two Writing Teachers, we hope you get to do the same while taking an extra moment to hug on your loved ones and spend some well deserved days relaxing in the sunshine. If you are like me, it can be hard to completely cut yourself off from learning for too long. No need to worry, even though there won’t be any new posts from now until Wednesday, August 1 when Kelsey welcomes us back, there is plenty to read from our archives as well as so much to look forward to as we start a new school year!

Our Next Blog Series

I will kick off our next blog series titled, Dreaming Big for This Year’s Writing Workshop, the fifth of August. We all have that one thing we wish we had done last year and tell ourselves, “Maybe this is the year.” This August we hope to inspire and nudge you to try that one thing and successfully start and sustain it through the school year.

Our Past Blog Series

As you start to dream big for next year you might find inspiration hiding within these past blog series posts! These are a treasure trove of ideas, visuals, and tools to get you on the right path toward a great start as you begin planning your year.

November 2013: Tailoring Our Teaching
February 2014: Writing About Reading
May 2014: Independent Writing
August 2014: Sharpen Your Workshop Routines
November 2014: Work Smarter, Not Harder
February 2015: Aim Higher: Outgrow Old Goals and Set New Ones
May 2015: Conferring Toolkits
August 2015: Creating Classroom Environments to Launch the School Year
November 2015: Diving Into Information Writing
February 2016: Discovering the Writer’s Life
May 2016: Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts
August 2016: Starting with What Matters Most
November 2016: Assessment Strengthens Writers
February 2017: Authentic Purposes for Writing
May 2017: Keep Learning Going Throughout the Summer
August 2017: Writing Workshop Fundamentals
November 2017: Solving Predictable Problems
February 2018: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
May 2018: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Tuesday SOL

Check in on Tuesdays as Kathleen continues to host our weekly call for Slice of Life Stories through the month of July. If you have been thinking about joining, summer is a great time to share your first Slice of Life Story. Simply write your story on your personal blog, share the URL on Tuesday in our comment section, and leave at least three comments for other bloggers.