Summer Writing Ideas

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 38 seconds. Contains 329 words

Primary Reading Audience: Classroom teachers and literacy coaches

Why It Matters: A common question at this time of year is a welcome one! How can we encourage children’s writing lives over the summer?

Ideas to Try: Here are a few ideas to share.

1. Start a family routine that involves writing. My daughters initially resisted the idea of writing for five to ten minutes before leaving the dinner table, but gradually it became a ritual. We lived with my father who had increasing dementia, and even he participated. We all had writing journals, we wrote about something from the day– no rules– and we shared. This practice shines a light on the value of writing for building relationships.

2. Have children research and report out on planned or possible summer adventures. Even young writers are able to create persuasive pieces about why summer vacation should include certain experiences. Set children up with some information about a place and challenge them to educate and convince other family members about why they should go there. Multi-media presentations welcome!

3. Tap into the power of competition. Even during the summer, there are some writing competitions that are available to young writers. Here are a few with summer deadlines:

• Anti-bullying book contest: Deadline is July 15.
• Ocean Awareness Contest– Deadline is June 15.
• Tadpole Press 100-word Contest– Deadline in November, but submissions are open soon, if not now.
• The Betty Award– Deadline is in October, but submissions are open now.

4. Summer is a perfect time for young writers to submit pieces for potential publication. Here are a few sites that welcome submissions:

• Story Monsters
• Magic Dragon Submissions
• Stone Soup

Go Deeper: For other ideas, check out these posts and podcast:

• End the Year with a Comma: Building Excitement for Summer Writing
• Ideas and Inspirations for Summer Writing
• Some Summer Writing Motivation
• Ready for a Challenge? Keep Learning Going Throughout the Summer

Reset Tough Conferences Quickly: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey – Two Writing Teachers Podcast

Conferences don’t always go as planned, but you can quickly get back on track with a simple reset. Whether a student shuts down, you start over-teaching, or time runs out, each situation has a quick recovery line to try. Pause to rebuild trust, return control to the student, or end with a clear next step. These small pivots help students feel supported and keep your conferences productive. Pick one reset to try in tomorrow’s writing workshop.Thanks to our affiliate, Zencastr! Use our special link (https://zen.ai/mqsr2kHXSP2YaA1nAh2EpHl-bWR9QNvFyAQlDC3CiEk) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. Send a textPlease subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district. Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

1. Reset Tough Conferences Quickly: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey 04:59
2. Foundational Skills of Writing: A Writing Roundtable 43:54
3. Conferring as Equity Work: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey 05:00
4. Writing Together with Slice of Life: A Digging Deeper Dialogue 32:33
5. Interval Training in Writing: A Tip for Tomorrow from Melanie 06:13

The Bottom Line: Just as reading is important during the summer, so is writing! Consider accepting the challenge of inspiring writers to keep writing going when school isn’t in session.