The truth in writing — and in many aspects of life — is that there isn’t really one way to do anything. The strongest writers understand their options and are flexible and intentional with their choices. That’s repertoire!
Almost every student could use these charts to identify what they were working on, how they were working on it, and whether or not they needed instruction of some sort of help.
From the planning process to the creation, read to find out six ways to make kids the center of your charts–the center of learning.
More and more, another way we’ve been making sure that charts become part of our writers’ toolbelts is to create individual ones that are either the same as the ones on the wall or close enough that they don’t require instruction for students to access.
As part my MFA program, I’ve had to write eight page papers on a paragraph or two of text. That’s a lot of words about not too many words. I’ve also watched my… Continue reading
Sharing strategies to prepare for revision later can set up students for success.
Here’s a peek at some of my favorite tools for opinion writing and perhaps some ideas for developing tools for other genres, as well.
As much as I try to flatten the walls of my classroom using technology, the truth is there are still walls. It is me and 25 third graders, and most recently, a fabulous student teacher. Still, the walls are there and often I don’t get to see other teachers in action. Last month, I had the opportunity to remedy that problem for a day.
Over the years, my chartbook has evolved. Here are some of the latest pages.
Kate brought us in closer to consider the importance of the tools’ accessibility and their effect on learning. Not only do these tools need to be accessible to the students, but students need to understand how and when to use them for learning.
You can learn a lot about students when you give them a chance to tell you want they know!
My last post was about some of the reflections that I want to remember when I teach any genre of writing, but I also wanted to share more of our poetry workshop and… Continue reading
My sixth graders have been busy drafting their feature articles this week, and I had a series of mini lessons planned to begin each writing workshop day. My students, however, had other ideas.
See how these first graders added dialogue to their narrative writing.
Come along as I take you on an anchor chart tour in the classrooms of our school.
Start the year off right with charts that make expectations, strategies and tips on writing visible for students.
A chart for first graders
It’s always a joy to learn with Majorie Martinelli and Kristi Mraz. In this interview, they share some excellent advice on using charts to support independence in the classroom.
Learn how literacy coach Mindi Rench has helped middle school world language teachers to construct charts with their students, which has helped students’ writing in French and Spanish.
We are so delighted to be guest blogging here at Two Writing Teachers. We know many teachers who use this invaluable resource and are honored to lend our thoughts on writing. It’s that… Continue reading
