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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.
Put poetry into your writing tool kit all year!
Naturally, April seems to be the month to introduce poetry units of study as either part of writing or reading workshop, and that is a lovely celebration to look forward to. But, why wait until April? Why not bring the power of poetry into our workshops from the very beginning of the school year?
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Begin the writing workshop year by writing on “Day One”
This year, I’m reaching back into habits of old and carving out time to write during that first day. Here are some things I will keep in mind...
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Creating Classroom Environments: Setting up for the middle school writing workshop.
Teaching writing workshop at the middle school level can be an extraordinarily satisfying experience: middle schoolers are ready and willing to think deeply about issues, they understand more, they want to examine issues about the world and themselves, and writing workshop gives them the perfect opportunity to stretch and grow as individuals and as writers. But ...
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Learning from the Summer Institute via #tcrwp
I was not able to attend the Writing Institute at TC this week, but I was able to live and learn vicariously through a steady stream of Tweets and blog posts - teachers are nothing if not generous with their learning...
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Our End Of The Year Family Writing Celebration
I teach writing very differently from the way in which I was taught writing. I suspect that many of the parents of my sixth graders feel the same way when their kids come home with stories about mini lessons, mentor texts, and genre studies. “What do all these terms mean anyway?” they must wonder, “and exactly how do they advance my kid’s writing?”.
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The end of the year writing survey: looking back to plan ahead
Next week, as we wrap up our writing workshop year and prepare for our final writing celebration, I will have one last task for my kids: the end of the year survey...
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The End of Year Poem: Crafting that “last message”
So, we are all winding down the school year these days. The end of year projects, festivities, packing up, and cleaning out plans are in full swing in my classroom at the moment...and my thoughts are beginning to turn to that last rite of the school year: the goodbye message...
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Six things you need to do before the writing workshop year ends.
Next week, I will have to tear off the month of May from my office calendar and face June. This is always a rather terrifying moment for me - less than four weeks till the end of school...
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The Argument Protocol in action!
At TC’s Summer Institute a few years ago, Mary Ehrenworth introduced our session to the Argument Protocol: a highly engaging and interactive way in which to gather evidence and formulate strong, well-reasoned claims, which could then lead to compelling persuasive writing....
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Conferring Toolkits: Mentor Texts
Two elements form the very heart of every conference: the student, and the mentor text I can use to nudge her writing piece forward. ...
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Putting Into Practice What I Learned about Authentic Information Writing From Ralph Fletcher
The Monday morning after Ralph Fletcher’s presentation on Authentic Information Writing at Vassar College, I gathered my sixth graders at our reading area and shared what I had heard and learned....
