character development · content-area writing · fiction · giveaway · mentor texts · narrative · personal narrative · poetry

Tapping Into the Power of Some New Mentor Texts

Mentor texts are important co-teachers in the writing workshop! Here's an in-depth look at the mentor texts I talked about in a recent podcast. After you finish reading, be sure to leave a comment after on this post for a chance to win all ten of the featured books!

content-area writing · Maximizing Writing Time Blog Series

Content Comes to Life: Maximizing Writing Time

Learning content should be joyful and lead to inquiry and creativity...and increased writing time! How do you incorporate writing into content areas? Comment for a chance to win our blog series giveaway!

content-area writing · COVID-19 · crystal-clear clarity · Multimedia · technology · writing workshop

Lessons and Learning from the 2020-2021 School Year

What to keep, what to stop, and what to change? These are questions that I know I will continue to wonder about and discuss with colleagues. For me, the increased technological savviness, multimedia options, and clarity should continue to impact students' experiences and outcomes in positive ways as I move forward in teaching and learning.

content-area writing · Distance Learning · kindergarten · Reflections and Shifts As We Move Forward Blog Series · writing workshop

Cross-Content Connections: Reflections and Shifts As We Move Forward

A topsy turvy year brings with it surprises. Some have been valuable enough to carry forward. I'm looking forward to bringing the best of the year with me and letting the challenges become a memory.

content-area writing · vocabulary

Developing Students’ Content Vocabulary

The Cognitive Content Dictionary (CCD) was first introduced to me in my tier 1 Project Guided Language Acquisition Design training. It is both linguistically and culturally responsive and, above all, brings joy into the classroom.

content-area writing · writing workshop

Weaving Writing Into Other Areas With Intention and Meaning

Sometimes multi-tasking leads to mistakes, sloppiness, and even disasters, admittedly. But sometimes it can lead to getting things done. Necessity can become the mother of inventions, and I'm hoping that these documents inspire some meaningful writing opportunities where maybe they hadn't been before!

audience · authentic writing · coaching · collaborative planning · content-area writing · engagement · Innovators · motivation · student engagement · writing workshop

Thinking Big About Writing

The writing work in our building is transforming, and it is exciting to be a part of the change, to witness the impact on kids as we make our workshops increasingly authentic and compelling. We are constantly reflecting on what’s working—what’s leading to measurable shifts in how we plan for writing (and how kids experience writing)—as well as where we might be getting stuck: places there is genuine motivation to transform the task, and yet, our best intentions are still missing the mark in some significant way.

brainstorming · christopher lehman · content-area writing · engagement · research

Using Writing for Research in the Content Area: It’s Not Just for ELA

Today's guest blog post comes from Library Media Specialist, Shannon Betts.

adolescent literacy · argument writing · awards · blogging · conferences · content-area writing · conventions · digital writing · engagement · Kylene Beers · Lester L. Laminack · punctuation · writing workshop

Snapshots From the NYSEC Conference

My time at the New York State English Council (NYSEC) Conference through snapshots!

christopher lehman · content-area writing · guest blogger · informational writing · research

Informational Writing Can Be Informational Learning: A Guest Blog Post by Christopher Lehman

Students’ informational writing can change dramatically when we include an extra step in between: 1) take notes, 2) experiment with those notes by teaching-through-writing, 3) write a draft.