blogging · challenges · Slice of Life Story Challenge · SOLSC Classroom Challenge · writing workshop

Who Is Up For A Challenge? A Guest Blog Post By Michelle Haseltine

How do I manage with thirty to forty students blogging? I blog too. That’s always made it more meaningful for my students.

current events · middle school · writing · writing workshop

Tools of the Trade — A Guest Blog Post by Vicki Meigs-Kahlenberg

We can’t control what happen next in our news feeds or in the lives of our students. By making intentional time in our curriculum for writing, sharing and publishing, we can equip our students with the most powerful tools we have available to develop and strengthen their voices within our classrooms, and create a confidence within to speak their truths out in the world.

greenbelt writing · growth mindset · guest blogger · ralph fletcher · writing workshop

Writing Workshop is Anticipated

 Writing is joyful this year.

brainstorming · christopher lehman · content-area writing · engagement · research

Using Writing for Research in the Content Area: It’s Not Just for ELA

Today's guest blog post comes from Library Media Specialist, Shannon Betts.

LIWP · risk-taking · teacher of writing · Teachers who write

Today is a Great Day to Learn Something New

So, as I enter the start of my school year, I am proud to identify as a lifelong learner in every sense of the word. I am a professional who continuously strives to grow in my craft. I surround myself with people that inspire me to be the best I can be and I actively seek out opportunities to do so as well. I modify and implement what I learn to better my teaching. I learn from my mistakes, take in the advice of others and adjust accordingly. Additionally, I am a curious minded individual who seeks out new experiences, new people, new places and is willing to take risks to better myself. I am leading by example to my students as I follow the mantra hanging in the front of my classroom- “Today is a great day to learn something new!”

assessment · conferring · feedback · formative assessment · writing workshop

A Closer Look: Learning About Our Writers with Formative Assessment

Sound assessment plays a vital role in showing and in detailing progress students are making toward reasonable goals.

professional books

Best Friend Professional Books

Today's guest post is by Kathy Christy, a third grade teacher and professional development coach. She shares her "best friend professional book" of 2017 with us!

audience · engagement · meeting area · reflections · sharing · writing workshop

If We Build It, They Will Come: Tales From Inside The Sharing Circle

The most important minutes of your writing workshop require zero hassle and no prep--only precious time. The minimal investment is worth its weight in gold. Welcome to the sharing circle with guest teacher Lori VanHoesen: The bridge builder you didn't know was doing the hardest work all along.

summer vacation · teacher writing · Teachers who write · writing

A Teacher’s Plan to Keep Writing Going in the Summer

Find your purpose. Find your crew. Find your sunrise. Write.

nonfiction writing

Passionate Nonfiction Writing Starts with a Question

Author Melissa Stewart shares her expertise about the role questions play in nonfiction writing.

nonfiction writing

Making Writing Appropriate, Precise, and Effective

Melissa Stewart, award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children, shares her thinking about the revision process in nonfiction writing.

SOLSC Classroom Challenge

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Try the Classroom SOLSC with Your Students This March

Erika Victor, a third-grade teacher at an international school in Kuala Lumpur, shares her experiences from the Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge with us today.