Throughout the past week, the co-author team at Two Writing Teachers Blog has featured the countless professionals in our school communities who support and strengthen the work of classroom teachers. The goal of this series has been to spotlight and celebrate the collaborative nature of the work we do every day to serve kids and help them grow into independent and proficient writers.
When you stand among your students, we know that it truly takes a “village.”
In case you missed any of the posts in the series, here’s a quick recap:
- Betsy kicked off the series on October 30, focusing us on the many talents each professional who works with writers brings to the table.
- On October 31, Amy highlighted the work that coaches can support across the writing workshop, emphasizing the à la carte opportunities that many of us need to strengthen our practices right now.
- Melanie emphasized the critical role of reflective special education teachers on November 1, bringing her own learning as a former special education teacher to the table and highlighting ways to make this partnership even stronger for developing writers.
- November 2 was devoted to the professionals with the specialized skills to inform instruction around letter formation, spacing, and fine motor development: our OTs. In this post, Beth highlighted her own work with the OTs in her district, sharing some of their guiding principles to help our students become stronger and more efficient writers.
- On November 3, Lainie collaborated with Anna Davis, her Technology Integration Coach, to share a toolkit full of technology resources to use.
- Our paraprofessionals and teaching assistants play an exceptionally critical role in supporting writers, as Leah showed on November 4. In her post, she shared three key tips for collaborating successfully and gave us a glimpse into her own practices with Lucy, a paraprofessional with whom she has developed a strong professional relationship.
- Morgan closed out the series on November 5 by reminding us all of the power of teacher teams, where she showed the impact of lesson study on both student and teacher growth.
Thank you to everyone who has followed our Fall blog series–and thank you to the countless educators who work together every day to support one another and the writers we strive to grow.
Every comment left on any of the above posts entered the commenter into a drawing for our giveaway of a copy Your Students, My Students, Our Students: Rethinking Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms by Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener. Many thanks to ASCD for donating a copy for one reader.
The winner of our giveaway is Sally Donnelly, who commented on Collaborating with Teaching Assistants and Paraprofessionals.
It is the hope of our co-author team that this series serves as a reminder of the incredible professionals who surround you, support you, and push you forward each day. Two Writing Teachers Blog recognizes that teaching writing is a sacred responsibility that lies on the shoulders of far more than the classroom teacher, and it truly takes all of the “people in your neighborhood” to grow tomorrow’s writers. Thank you for being here, sharing in this journey with us, and for playing an important role in the work of teaching writing.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
Last week was super busy- glad to have this series to dig into this week as we have break! <3!
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