Six Tips to Keep Minilessons Short: Maximizing Writing Time
Keeping minilessons succinct, engaging, and brief is one of the best ways to maximize time since it never feels as though we have enough of it.
Co:Writer
Learn more about a word prediction tool that can assist writers with Dyslexia as they draft, revise, and edit their writing.
Word Love
It almost sounds too good to be true, but I discovered a vocabulary curriculum that engage students joyfully in developing an understanding of new words in about ten minutes per day.
The High Value and High Reward of Including ALL Students in Small Group Lessons
Small group instruction can be for a single lesson or objective or we can plan a course of study over a period of time. Regardless of the time commitment, it’s important to remember that small group work isn’t just for striving writers… it’s for ALL writers.
Be the first reader of your writing!
It’s important to take a beat before sharing one’s writing. With practice and reminders, children can learn how to become the first readers of their work.
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!
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 