Participant Information Form #SOL20
Attention first-year and returning Slicers: Please fill out this year’s participant information form. Filling out the form takes less than five minutes and helps us stay organized during the Challenge.
SOL Tuesday + Slicer Swag #SOL20
Before you leave the link to your slice of life story today, please take a moment to read the announcements and enjoy a quote about writing.
Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay: Expand the Possibilities of the Genres You Teach
Are students constrained when they write five-paragraph essays? If we change our working definition of essay writing, then we can teach beyond the five-paragraph essays we often see in schools.
SOL Tuesday #SOL20
We’re less than one month away from our month-long writing challenge! Get warmed up for our “March Marathon” by writing every Tuesday this month!
Gathering Inspiration from Mentors
Here’s an idea for using art to inspire students who are reluctant to use mentor texts. After all, creating something beautiful — inspired by someone else’s work — is something artists, and writers, often do.
Finding Accessible Fonts for Classroom Use
Fonts that look whimsical and childlike may place a stumbling block in front of students with language-based learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia. Get tips from four industry professionals who will help you find an accessible font without sacrificing personality.
Re-imagining Classroom Work Spaces: Reaching Your Writers
We cannot always afford to provide students everything we want to give them, but it’s important to find ways to give all kids what they need. It is possible to create a space with flexible seating options on a limited budget.
Positive Feedback That Moves Writers
Specific feedback helps students replicate what you want them to do in their writing.
A Mentor Text to Inspire the Next Generation of Writers and Activists + a Book Giveaway
I’ve found a hybrid mentor text that will inspire young writers and budding activists.
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Scot Ritchie’s new book, Join the No-Plastic Challenge.
The Good-Enough Writing Workshop
When we’re new at doing something, we try to achieve perfection too soon. Greatness isn’t something that can be achieved when we begin teaching writing using a workshop approach. It helps to extend ourselves some grace and accept being “good enough” when we start.
Food Writing, Community Building, and a Book Giveaway
Writing workshop thrives when a community of children come together as writers who know each other. The first six weeks of school is when we build community. Here’s one way to build relationships and encourage kids to write about one of their favorite things simultaneously.
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Eric Carle and Friends’ newest book, What’s Your Favorite Food?
How to Deal with “Too Much” Energy in the Classroom + a Book Giveaway
Every writing workshop I’ve ever taught or consulted in has had at least one child who is in perpetual motion. Many times, that child is the kid who talks their classmates during independent writing time, interrupts their teacher during a writing conference, or cannot respect their peers’ space in the meeting area. The first few weeks of school are the perfect time to begin conversations about living in a classroom community where all learners have different needs.
Susan Verde, author of Unstoppable Me, chats with Stacey about the ways we can build classroom writing communities that welcome kids with who are often seen as having “too much” energy.
The Importance of Establishing Routines: Nurturing Independence from the Start
There are some routines that are more important to teach than others during the first six weeks of school. In the midst of building classroom community and starting to teach curriculum, there are a dozen routines one can model with students so writing workshop runs efficiently.
June/July Vacation
Summer is almost here, which means our team is taking a break from now through August 1st. (Well, except on Tuesdays. We always SLICE on Tuesdays.)
Six New Narrative Picture Books for Your Mentor Text Basket
Just as we reflect our teaching practices in the summertime, we can rethink some of the mentor texts we use and find new ones to share with students in minilessons, writing conferences, and strategy lessons.
Introducing a New Co-Author and Two Contributing Writers
It’s my pleasure to introduce three new members to the #TWTBlog Team. I am confident our readers will benefit from their expertise in the years to come. Please join me in welcoming them by leaving a comment after you read more about them.
