Chatting About Conventions with Jeff Anderson & Whitney La Rocca
Let’s talk grammar!
Listen-in to a conversation Stacey recently had with Jeff Anderson and Whitney La Rocca about language conventions.
20 Years Later
Some thoughts on remembering September 11th, 2001 as the 20th anniversary approaches.
Entry Points to Get Students Writing in Their Writer’s Notebook: Our Favorite Things
It takes more than a new writer’s notebook and preferred writing utensils to get kids writing! Teaching students a variety of strategies to generate writing in their notebooks is helpful if we want them to view their writer’s notebooks as both a workbench and a playground.
An Overview of “Our Favorite Things” Blog Series
The Two Writing Teachers co-author team returns this week with a blog series we hope you’ll find affirming and inspiring. We want to bring you back to the things we love most about the workshop model.
Read more to learn about our upcoming blog series and the giveaway, which is being donated by Heinemann.
June/July Vacation
Summer is here, which means our team is taking a break from now through August 1st. (Well, except on Tuesdays. We always share stories on Tuesdays.)
A Review of Teaching Writing in Small Groups
Jennifer Serravallo’s newest book, which focuses on small-group instruction, is a text that explains the fundamentals of small-group work and then provides teachers with support for implementing a variety of small groups that will help students grow as writers.
Announcing the 6th Annual #TWTBlog Author Spotlight Series
For the next week, picture book and middle-grade authors will take over #TWTBlog to share their thoughts on writing, their writing processes, and the path to publishing with you.
Check out their daily posts for book + author chat giveaways!
Improved Conferences: Reflections and Shifts As We Move Forward
As the 2020-21 school year progressed, some teachers reported improved one-to-one conferences when they were conducted through a screen. As students and teachers became more comfortable sharing their screens and recording videos, virtual conferences felt more natural. There are some aspects of virtual writing conferences that can be carried forward once everyone is back to school in-person 100% of the time and/or the masks get to come off indefinitely.
Carve Out More Time for Writing
If your writing workshop has felt squeezed for time, then NOW is the time to chat with your grade-level colleagues or administrator about allocating more instructional time for the teaching of writing.
An Interview with the Authors of The Responsive Writing Teacher + a Giveaway
Have you wanted to be a more responsive writing teacher, but weren’t sure how to go about doing it? Melanie Meehan and Kelsey Sorum’s new book provides a framework to help you hone a more child-centered apporach to the teaching of writing.
The Final Prize Announcement for the 14th Annual SOLSC
While cultivating a daily writing habit and being part of a writing community are the real reward of the SOLSC, there are prizes. Find out if you won one by scrolling through this announcement.
An Extraordinary Way to Inspire Writing About Ordinary Moments
Whether you’re about to embark on the 9th Annual Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge or you’re about to begin a unit on poetry where you want to encourage students to capture the beauty of their ordinary lives in verse, consider using Extraordinary! as a mentor text.
Leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of Extraordinary!
DAY 7 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
The first week is winding down!
Give yourself a pat on the back for writing for seven consecutive days before you share the link to your slice of life story today.
DAY 6 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
Be sure to check out today’s “Be Inspired,” which is a little different.
DAY 5 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
It’s day five of our month-long writing challenge. Time for you to write, share, and give!
DAY 4 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
Today is the final day for returning Slicers to fill out the Community Expander Prize Form if they’ve intentionally expanded this community be getting others to join this year’s Slice of Life Story Challenge. More details in the announcements section of today’s post.
DAY 3 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
It’s the third day of our 31-day writing challenge. Join us by writing your slice of life story, sharing the link to it in the comments section, and giving comments to at least three other Slicers.
Also, if you’re a returning Slicer who has intentionally expanded this community be getting others to join in the Challenge, you are eligible for the Community Expander Prize. More details in the announcements section of this post.
DAY 2 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
Write. Share. Give.
And, while you’re add it, pick up some Slicer Swag! All proceeds from our Cafepress store are donated to the Pajama Program.
DAY 1 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL21
March has arrived, which means it’s time for our month-long writing challenge!
Please take a few minutes to flip through the embedded PPT for some essential information about the Challenge before sharing the link to your slice of life story.
First-Time Slicer FAQs
Do you have questions about the upcoming Slice of Life Story Challenge? Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions. If your question isn’t answered in the post, then contact one of the co-authors (Contact information is at the bottom of this blog post) to have your question answered.
