blogging · podcast · summer vacation

Time to Recharge Our Batteries: A Summer Break and Some Ways to Keep Learning

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes (619 words)

Whether you’ve closed up your classroom for the summer or you’re still waiting to cross the school year finish line, summer is upon us once again. As always, our team at the Two Writing Teachers is taking a break for the summer to rest, recharge, and reset for the upcoming school year.

Summer doesn’t mean the learning and growing has to stop, though. Here are some great ways to keep up (and catch up) with the Two Writing Teachers blog and #TWTpod this summer!

Check Out the Latest TWTPod Episodes!

Stacey and Melanie are wrapping up the second season of the Two Writing Teachers Podcast this Sunday, June 2. Don’t miss the final episode of the season, and make sure to check out some of the highlights from this year, including episodes on AI tools, addressing perfectionism, leveraging oral language, building writing toolkits, and more!

Stacey and Melanie are taking a much-deserved break in June, July, and August and will be back with all-new episodes on Sundays starting on September 1. 

Exploring Best Practices and Research in Writing Instruction: A Digging Deeper Dialogue Two Writing Teachers Podcast

Send us a Text Message.It's the final episode of season two, so we're discussing some of the best practices for writing instruction. We cover the importance of a thriving writing community and the writing process, and we explore the role of oral language in boosting writing stamina. We also discuss the importance of dedicated and intentional writing time, the reciprocity between reading and writing, and the thrill of writing for an authentic audience. This episode will tee you up for the next school year!***Many thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Texthelp! Visit text.help/cowriter to learn more about Co:Writer prediction in Read&Write because everyone deserves the power to read, write, and understand.***Go Deeper:Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Writing by Melanie MeehanCollaboration and Community in the Writing WorkshopCraft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts by Stacey ShubitzExploring the Power of Oral Language: A Conversation with a Colleague (with Lainie Levin)Exploring Voice Typing During Writing WorkshopFamily Resources for At-Home LearningResearch Round-up (Build Your Expertise Blog Series)The Editing Minute#TWTBlog Posts about AudienceWriting Instruction Considerations by Carl Anderson & Matt Glover***Thank you 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. ***Please 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. Exploring Best Practices and Research in Writing Instruction: A Digging Deeper Dialogue
  2. Plan Your Summer Learning: A Tip for Tomorrow from Melanie
  3. Co-create Writing Goals: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey
  4. Developing Paragraph Structure: A Tip For Tomorrow from Melanie
  5. Unlock Strategies for Task Initiation: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey

In the meantime, if you have liked what you’ve heard during seasons one and two, we’d be honored if you took a moment to rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you have a favorite episode, please make sure to share it with a friend or colleague!

Revisit a Series

Each TWT blog series is a collection of current thinking, best practices, resources, and tools to support writing teachers in all settings and stages of your career. Catch up on the 2023-24 series:

  • Fall Blog Series: Save a Seat For Every Writer
    Looking for ideas to start next school year with energy for every unique writer in your classroom? This blog series focuses on seeing the strengths in every type of writer to kick of the year with success.
  • Winter Blog Series: Build Your Expertise
    The educational landscape is grounded in evidence-based practices. This blog series is a round-up of the most current research to support writing workshop structures and practices, including oral language, community-building, invented spelling, explicit teaching of grammar and conventions, and more.

Keep Your Learning Going

  • Write with us every Tuesday for our weekly slice of life. Whether you’re a seasoned slicer or new to the community, summer is the perfect time to spread your writing wings and share your story! Post to your blog, share the URL to the call for slices on the blog every Tuesday, and share comments on other writers’ posts.
  • Join Lainie’s Summer Writing Circle. Check out the details here.
  • Catch up on some treasures from years past by checking out our monthly round-up of “From the Archives” posts. Here are a few can’t-miss resources to get ready for the new school year:
  • Follow us on social media, where members of our team will share our learning throughout the summer. You can find #TWTblog on both Instagram and Facebook.
Join us on social media three times each week in June and July for Sunday Strategies, Tech-Tastic Tuesdays, and Thankful Thursday Shoutouts. http://www.facebook.com/twteachers; https://www.instagram.com/twteachersblog.
Starting next week, join us on Facebook for Sunday Strategies, Tech-Tastic Tuesdays, and Thankful Thursday Shout-Outs.

What’s Next?

We’ll return from our summer blogging break on Friday, August 2. Our back-to-school blog series will launch on Sunday, August 4. Here’s a quick sneak peek:

Red background with a white square image of a woman pondering. There's a blue thinking bubble that says: No Ideas! Another Adult? Too much help? New program? The following words appear around the image: TWT Help Desk: a back-to-school blog series from the co-authors of two writing teachers; August 4 - 10, 2024; http://twowritingteachers.org.

We wish you a safe, happy, and relaxing summer and look forward to sharing even more writing tips and ideas in the fall!

    Please rest, relax, and recharge! 

    “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.” -Brene’ Brown

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