notebooks · poetry

The Big Book of Poems

Big, blank spaces means big possibilities for a poetry unit!

slice of life

SOL Tuesday

It's April! Back to our regularly scheduled Slice of Life Tuesday. With only a one day break, let's get back together, Slicers! Come write, share, give...

professional books · word study · writing workshop

Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices K-6 — Review and Giveaway

Are you looking for ways to make word study more inspiring, meaningful, practical and transferrable? Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices K-6 by Pamela Koutrakos is the resource you need to read! Check out my review of the book today and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book!

writing workshop

Classroom SOLSC: Blogging into Week 3

It's Week 3 of the Classroom SOLSC! If you aren't participating with your students but would like to support our student bloggers with comments, we welcome your support! Students are working so hard this month and comments are very motivating. Just click on the Padlet and select a class to read and respond to! This week we are talking about keeping the enthusiasm going in our second week of the challenge.

giveaway · Slice of Life Story Challenge

SOLSC 2019 Prize Winners Revealed!

If you were fueled by the 12th Annual SOLSC this month your day might get a little sweeter! Prize winners are revealed today and were all donated by generous authors, publishers, and individuals.

coaching · engagement · management · routines · student engagement · writing workshop routines

I Love Watching You Write: Research from the World of Sports Applied in the Classroom

Research on effective sports coaching suggests adults would do well by kids to cut down on criticism and focus more on the joy simply playing.

immersion · mentor texts

Immersion in Writing Workshop is Always Worth the Time

The time investment you will spend in immersion may seem like a lot – especially if you’re providing students with four days to understand a genre. However, students will gain a greater understanding of the kind of writing you are asking them to produce if they have a clear vision for what the end product should look like.

slice of life

SOL Tuesday

It's April! Back to our regularly scheduled Slice of Life Tuesday. With only a one day break, let's get back together, Slicers! Come write, share, give...

narrative · writing workshop

Clearing pathways for narrative writing: Part 1

Once students can say their beginning, middle, and end, know what their story is really about, and can identify their important parts, they almost always can make a solid plan and feel comfortable beginning to draft.  But sometimes it's hard to get them to this point in the process.

SOLSC Classroom Challenge

Classroom SOLSC: Blogging into Week 2

It's Week 2 of the Classroom SOLSC! If you aren't participating with your students but would like to support our student bloggers with comments, we welcome your support! Students are working so hard thismonth and comments are very motivating. Just click on the Padlet and select a class to read and respond to! This week we are talking about keeping the enthusiasm going in our second week of the challenge.

writing workshop

Welcome to Writing Workshop: A Review and Giveaway

Do you have a copy of Welcome to Writing Workshop yet? This is a resource that every educator who works with writers needs. Today, I'm excited to share an inside look at this new resource!

revision · writing process

Revising for Meaning

At the heart of all great writing is meaning.  Writers select details carefully and deliberately, depending on the message we wish to convey to readers. How can we let meaning guide revision? Read here about a few ways...