I've long believed teacher-written texts can serve as excellent mentor texts during a unit of study. While I'm a huge advocate of student-written mentor texts, sometimes student writing doesn't have everything we need it to contain. We can tailor our own writing to our units of study. We can do this because we can be… Continue reading Teacher-Written Mentor Texts: Diving into Information Writing
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.
Writing Lessons Inspired by Guy Fieri
We can teach students about improving their writing process and to write with detail and voice by watching Guy Fieri on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
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Writing in Preschool — Part of #TWTBlog’s Throwback Week
Betsy Hubbard wrote a series of posts on writing in preschool last year. Her preschool series was not only informative about the ways to teach writing to three- and four-year-olds, but it conveyed a deep and genuine respect for our youngest learners. Let's take a look back at what Betsy had to say about these emerging writers.
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A New Mentor Text for Opinion Writing
Finally! I've found a new picture book I can use in opinion writing units of study. Learn more about One Word from Sophia by Averbeck and Ismail in this post. Then, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of this book.
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Get REALLY Good at Conferring
Are you new to writing workshop? Are you trying to get better at conferring? Are you having a tough time making conferring work for you? I've got seven tips to help you become a stronger conferrer.
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How does your school mark September 11th?
I'm compiling a list of tributes classroom teachers and schools do to mark the September 11th Anniversary. Please leave a comment on this post adding what you (and/or your colleagues) do to commemorate this solemn day.
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Walk Like a Writer
Observational walking is useful for professional writers and it can be good for students too! This fall, head outside with your students for a walk around your school's neighborhood. But first, read ASK ME by Bernard Waber and Suzy Lee!
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Moving from Partnerships to Peer Conferring
I attended Kathleen Tolan's "Once You Have Taught Workshops for Years, How Do You Go from Good to Great? Tap the Power of Peer Conferring and Supporting Student Independence and Goal-Setting." Workshop at the TCRWP Writing Institute. Kathleen's session made me realize that once we've been doing this work (i.e., writing workshop) for awhile, it's… Continue reading Moving from Partnerships to Peer Conferring
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Slice of Life Tuesday
Write. Share. Give.
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SOL Tuesday
If it's Tuesday, it's time to share your slice of life stories here at #TWTBlog.
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The Cupcake Metaphor
Find out what sprinkled cupcakes and figurative language instruction have to do each other!
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Tuesday SOL
Please post a permalink to your slice of life story in the comments section of this post. Then click and comment on at least three other Slicers' writing.
