Grammar notebooks are not the cure-all for the persistent refrains about retention and transfer. However, they do support agency and accountability as students build their understanding and appreciation of words and language.
Category: conventions
Quick & Fun Lesson Closures? Yes, Please!
Embrace the thrill of trying something new. Know that doing so doesn't require abundant time, energy, or preparation. Small shifts have a real impact on classroom energy, enthusiasm, and engagement. How do you add variety, joy, and/or playfulness to lesson closings?
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Tackling Sentence Struggles With Older Writers
If you're a teacher of older students (3rd grade and up) and have ever found yourself asking what you can do for kids who are still struggling with basic capitalization and punctuation, you're not alone! Today's post provides ideas to support teaching and transfer of sentence writing conventions in authentic and fun ways with our older writers.
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Editing Along the Way…Often in 5 Minutes or Less
The other day, I did it again. I drafted an email to my bosses. Read it. Reread it. Hit send. Got distracted. Then… saw it. The error. These moments of regret keep me humble! And so, when I notice students not applying taught spelling and grammar concepts, I remind myself that they are not defiantly… Continue reading Editing Along the Way…Often in 5 Minutes or Less
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Bring on the Fun with Sentence Construction
Who says grammar can't be fun in a third-grade classroom? And who says young writers can't understand complex concepts like dependent and independent clauses? And who knew I'd be using poop, sentence structures, and a variety of clauses in the same sentence in front of a room of third-graders?
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Minilesson Alternatives: Considering OTHER Ways to Kick Off Workshop
If you have ever felt that you were going through the motions of a minilesson, know that there are plenty of other ways you can choose to gather as a community and launch writing time. Here are ten alternatives for beginning a writing workshop session - - with joy, intention, and inspiration.
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Chants for Writing: Support Routines, Conventions, and Craft
Chants are a highly engaging teaching strategy that support multilingual and monolingual learners alike. Try them out for teaching routines, conventions, and craft in writing workshop.
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Many Reasons to Love the Oxford Comma
I love the Oxford comma. But not for the reasons you might think.
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Chatting About Conventions with Jeff Anderson & Whitney La Rocca
Let’s talk grammar! Listen-in to a conversation Stacey recently had with Jeff Anderson and Whitney La Rocca about language conventions.
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Ways to Teach Conventions: Our Favorite Things
Writing involves the integration of so many skills and cognitive processing that it’s understandable when conventions don't show up! Here are some ideas that I hope you can use in your instruction right as the year starts-- and then any time thereafter.Â
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Spinach in a Writer’s Teeth: To Point it out, or not to Point it Out?
When this scenario happened to me (years ago), it did give me pause. As a teacher of writers, I am not the conventions police—I have always been the kind of writer who values content over conventions in the workshop. This is not to say I do not teach conventions or have high expectations for their use. However, it would be fair to say that this particular situation challenged me to think about grammar, punctuation, and spelling differently—shifting the way I approached conventions in the classroom going forward.
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Grammar and Conventions: Meet Writers Where They Are
Have you ever wondered what to do if some of your students don't understand a grade-level grammatical skill? This post will help you determine how to move those children towards the end-of-year expectations for your grade level.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 