Here at Two Writing Teachers, we believe with all our hearts in issues of professional development, and this is why we're going to devote the rest of March to issues around professional development, both as coaches and classroom teachers...
Author: Tara Smith
I teach Writing Workshop, Language Arts and Social Studies to sixth graders at a middle school in suburban New Jersey. This blog is my attempt to capture all the "stuff" that goes into my teaching life - the planning, the dreaming, the reading, the preparing, the hoping and (above all) the kids.
Please note that the content of this blog is my own. It does not reflect the opinions of my employer.
Writing Workshop with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
A joyous celebration of what writing workshop could be with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.
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Sometimes we only write in writing workshop
My sixth graders have been busy drafting their feature articles this week, and I had a series of mini lessons planned to begin each writing workshop day. My students, however, had other ideas.
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STORIES FROM OUR WORLD: DISCOVERING THE WRITER’S LIFE
We spend so much of our writing workshop time focused on craft moves, and how to make our writing engaging and beautiful; but I want my kids to know that the writer’s life is also about paying attention to the world...
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Join the Fourth Annual Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge!
This March marks the fourth year of the classroom version of the Slice of Life Story Challenge, or Classroom SOLSC. We hope that many of you will join the challenge with your classes!
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Putting the Exploratory Notebook into practice…with thanks to Ralph Fletcher
Putting the Exploratory Notebook into practice...
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Call For Volunteers: Will You Help?
The ninth annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge is just around the corner! Consider joining the team to gear up for the challenge that stretches the writers inside all of us. This year, we will once again be hosting two Slice of Life Story Challenges for the entire month of March. Stacey, Dana, Beth, and… Continue reading Call For Volunteers: Will You Help?
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Tara’s One Little Word of 2016
In the past, I have had to go hunting for my One Little Word, but this year I just knew what it would be.
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Keeping a “for school” writer’s notebook
When I first began teaching writing workshop, I brought my own writer’s notebook into class to share with my students...
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Demonstration Writing: Sometimes They Need To See “Writing Thinking”
Making my writing thinking visible to my students has given them another tool to “get unstuck”...
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Where do your minilessons live?
How do we keep these minilessons alive for our kids? What do we do to make sure our kids have these anchor charts to reference as they begin drafting, revising, editing?
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Using The Writer’s Notebook To Grow Ideas:Diving Into Information Writing
Start students on the road to thinking about topics they might become interested in researching and writing about from day one.
