Adventures in First Grade Writing
When you love writing, and love teaching writing, and when you blog often about the teaching of writing, it’s a wee bit awkward when your own first grade son refuses to write in school.
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Reimagining Homework: Homework and the Writing Workshop
This past summer, I found myself questioning homework- why I give it, what it accomplishes and if there might be an alternative.
Engaging Writers: Solving Predictable Problems
If we want engaged writers, and not simply compliant students going through the motions and counting the minutes until writing time is over, we need to find ways to capture their attention and their hearts.
OLW Check In
What was your OLW and how did it treat you so far this year?
Powerful Punctuation!
Punctuation is a pesky problem. Third grade students often forget their punctuation, writing an entire story without a single period in sight. As I launched writing workshop this year, I’ve been looking for ways to show my students that punctuation can add voice and meaning to their piece of writing.
An Invitation to Make Writing That Matters
Teaching writing isn’t easy. We can get lost in all that needs “fixing” in our students’ work, lost in the standards and district curriculum maps, lost in the products we need to hang on a wall for a display. We find our way when our WHY is nearest to our hearts: Why do our students need to write well? How will writing play a role in their lives? How will writing make their lives more meaningful? What matters the most when it comes to teaching young writers?
Knowing My Writers
September is a get-to-know-you month. A community-building-ice-breaker-month. September is a settling-in month, a becoming-comfortable month, a building-relationship month. It’s an ask-the-parents-about-their-child month. A stack of papers month. Artwork created month. September is a launching month, a set-the-vision month, a build-enthusiasm for the work ahead month.
September is an exhausting month, but a month that reveals much about the 24 third graders who inhabit room 215 with me this year.
A Change Will Do You Good
Changing things up can mean extra work and moving away from what you’ve always done. It can also breathe new life into spaces and might move you closer to what you are trying to achieve.
TWT Voxer Book Club 2.0
At the start of the summer, I read and reviewed Patty McGee’s Feedback That Moves Writers Forward. It’s a book, I believe, that can change my teaching of writing for the better…and maybe yours too. It’s a book I want to dive into more deeply, rereading it and sharing my ideas with other educators in a book club. I know that the beginning of the school year is a challenging time to ask teachers to take on anything additional. But here I am anyway, inviting you to take part in a Voxer book club to discuss Feedback That Moves Writers Forward. So why should you?
The Intentional Educator Planner (Giveaway)
I’ve always wanted to keep a reflective journal about my teaching but in the hustle and bustle of a busy school day, that seemed to be the first thing to go from list of “to-do’s.” I’m hopeful that having a place to reflect right in my plan book will encourage me to take time to write down my thoughts and ideas each week. The 2017-2018 Intentional Educator Planner will be just the place!
Mentor Texts: Writing Workshop Fundamentals
Today, in writing workshop, we intentionally teach students how to write by using authors as our co-teachers. As teachers, we write for and with our students, and our writing can show them the possibilities for their own pieces. We highlight student work too as a mentor text, creating a bridge from what students are currently doing to a more effective way of writing.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
It’s Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.
July Blogging Break
Ah, summer vacation! Time to exhale, reboot, and recharge. At Two Writing Teachers, we are taking a short blogging break for the month of July. We will be spending time with our families, reading, writing, reflecting, and, of course, planning new blog posts to share with you as we get ready to start a new school year.
Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: Review and Giveaway
Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode To Transform Student Writing, written by Patty McGee, is a must-read for educators who know we can do far better for students when it comes to talking with them about their writing.
Learning From Student Reflections
I’ve been thinking a lot about my year teaching third grade and the writing my students did. I had thoughts, opinions and ideas about what went right and where I still needed to make changes, refine my practice, be more strategic. Then, it dawned on me: I really need to ask my students what they think.
When Writers Drive The Workshop: Review and Giveaway
When Writers Drive the Workshop is a book with heart. Brian Kissel writes with passion, voice, humility, conviction, and wisdom. The stories he shares from the student writers he worked with are stories that will stay with you, reminding you why doing this work matters so much. Read the rest of the book review and leave a comment for a chance to win your own copy of When Writers Drive the Workshop! (You will want to win!)
Ready for a Challenge? Keep Learning Going Throughout the Summer
Are your students ready to be Summer Writing Ninjas? Some challenges to keep the writing going this summer…