Last week, we hosted a mini-series on homework and the role it plays in elementary and middle school writing workshops.
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 new book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.
Nightly Writing: Homework and the Writing Workshop
Four ways to encourage students to write after the school day is finished WITHOUT assigning writing as homework.
Share this:
Share this:
Conventions & Presentation: Solving Predictable Problems
Proper use of conventions and the aesthetics of writing pose unique challenges in an elementary writing workshop. Here are solutions to eight predictable problems you may be facing with your students.
Share this:
Share this:
Overview: Solving Predictable Problems Blog Series
Once fall arrives, most writing workshops are well underway. Depending on when your school year started, you're likely teaching your second or third unit of study. Most of you are probably prepping for parent-teacher conferences, which will take place in the next couple of weeks. This is a predictable time of year. As a result,… Continue reading Overview: Solving Predictable Problems Blog Series
Share this:
Share this:
Poems Are Teachers: Interview & Giveaway
Poems Are Teachers, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's newest book, is grounded in the idea of writing workshop. It contains practical lessons teachers can use the very next day, as well as mentor texts written by published and student poets. Learn more about it in an interview with Amy. Then, leave a comment for a chance to win two of Amy's books.
Share this:
Share this:
Doing the Same Work as Our Students
I made many mistakes during my first year of teaching. I'm too embarrassed to blog about most of them since I cringe when I look back on my first year of teaching. I got so much wrong. However, there is one thing I got right from the start during year one. Thanks to the support of Pat Werner, who… Continue reading Doing the Same Work as Our Students
Share this:
Share this:
The Words You Write First Are Anyone’s Words
Regardless of the genre, one of the most important things we can teach our students is how to write words that could come from them – and only them.
Share this:
Share this:
Revisiting the Heart Map
Heart maps can help young writers when they think they don't have anything to write about.
Share this:
Share this:
The Hard Parts
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending the TCRWP August Writing Institute. The week began with Lucy Calkins delivering an inspirational keynote, "Learning from the Hard Parts" inside the Nave at Riverside Church. Parts of it have been rattling around in my mind for the past few weeks.Lucy talked about cultivating spaces in writing… Continue reading The Hard Parts
Share this:
Share this:
An Interview with the Author of Come with Me + a Giveaway
As educators, we are uniquely positioned to teach children to respect and love each other. We have the power to show them how to make the world a better place. We can shape the next generation of children so they will choose to be accepting of people who look different, have a different set of beliefs, or originate from a different cultural background. This is an enormous responsibility, but we are fortunate if we can do this work to bring about change in our corners of the world.
Share this:
Share this:
Minilessons: Writing Workshop Fundamentals
Everything students are asked to do in writing workshop builds on effective teaching during the minilesson. It's important to understand the basics of writing minilessons so we can write them quickly and teach our students to become stronger writers every time we bring them to the meeting area to teach them something new.
Share this:
Share this:
Creating Teaching Tools for Picture Books
Summer is the perfect time to seek out new mentor texts for your writing workshop. This post contains 20+ new picture book -- fiction and nonfiction -- suggestions that you can use to lift the level of your students' writing. Plus, there are book giveaways! (Be sure to read the giveaway information carefully at the bottom of the post.)
