My parents stopped by their classroom to meet my students yesterday. They were supposed to stay for a few minutes. In reality, they stayed for over thirty. There was no plan for their visit. I pulled up two chairs for them to sit in, had each student introduce him/herself by name, and then said, "They… Continue reading Special Visitors
Author: Stacey Shubitz
Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.
End of Year Classroom Rituals
I've noticed that a post I wrote last June, about letters I have my students write to me at the end of each school year, has been getting a lot of clicks lately. Since it seems like a lot of people are looking for ideas with how to end the school year with the same… Continue reading End of Year Classroom Rituals
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Memories…
Please share your memories with us today and every Monday.
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Reading Notebooks
Katie asked: How often do you collect and look at notebooks or are you doing it as you conference with students? I rarely read through a student's notebook during a Writing Conference. The reason is that I want to use the conference time to talk with them about their writing, what they're working on at… Continue reading Reading Notebooks
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Our Motto Is True!
Apparently the Two Writing Teachers' Motto, "Write: It's Good for You" is true, according to a Penn State Researcher. Click here to find out why writing can be good for your health.
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Genres in My Upper Grade Classrooms
I’m plowing through the questions Katie asked, last week, methodically. Here are the two I’m going to answer today: Which genres do you teach during the year? Approximately how long do you spend in each genre and how many published pieces do you expect from them at the end of it? Here’s a list of… Continue reading Genres in My Upper Grade Classrooms
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Testing Demands and Writing Workshop
Literacy Spark asked: Do you have to deal with testing in writing...if not how would you deal with? I'm trying to teach it as an immersion genre, like everything else but I'm meeting resistance from administration that wants "test prep." In short, I do deal with testing. In fact, fourth graders in Rhode Island have… Continue reading Testing Demands and Writing Workshop
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Feedback in Writing Circle
During today's Writing Circle Luncheon, I had two of my students share a piece of writing they did this week that they were pleased with and on which they wanted feedback. I wanted to see how they were with providing each other feedback (e.g., peer conferring) by paying each other a compliment and by giving… Continue reading Feedback in Writing Circle
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Slice of Life Story Challenge: May – Part Deux
It's the second SOLSC of the month of May. Share a slice of your day with us by posting it as a comment.
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MM Time!
Please share your memories with us today and every Monday.
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Follow the Dialogue
Tomorrow morning in Reading Workshop, I'll be teaching a lesson with the following teaching point: Readers keep track of who is speaking in a text, regardless of whether or not there are dialogue tags. The reason they do this is so they always know who is speaking. I'm going to be using two passages from… Continue reading Follow the Dialogue
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Tools for Writers
I just created a new Treasury called "Writers and Poets" at Etsy. It contains a variety of writerly things in blues and creams. Click here to view the Treasury before it expires on Wednesday, 5/13, at 8:24 a.m.
