TWT's Third Annual Author Spotlight Series begins today. Starting us off is author and illustrator Ashley Spires who has some advice for dealing with criticism.
Category: editing
Five Grammar Lessons With Sneaky Double-Duty Goals
Check out these quick, easy grammar lessons that will clean up and power up your students' writing.
An Eraser-Free Workshop and the Language We Use for Talking About It
When I visit a classroom, one of the first things I often say to kids is, "Today, please don't erase. I want to see ALL the great work you are doing as a writer. When you erase, your work disappears!" Often, this is what kids are accustomed to and they continue working away. But sometimes, kids stare at me as if I've got two heads.
Aim Higher: Setting Goals for Editing
See how my students set personal editing goals.
Grammar Lessons: A Time and A Place
Encouraging kids to make decisions about their writing, rather than blindly following grammar rules helps lifts the level of their thinking, and the level of their writing.
Does “Published” Need to be “Perfect?”
There's a reason for second and third editions of really great books--a writer's work is never done, and is certainly never, ever perfect.
Editing Wonderings
I've been thinking a lot about editing and conventions and writing workshop. My ideas keep twirling around and I'm trying to grab hold, but they don't seem to want to be pinned down quite yet. Or maybe I'm still looking for the thing that interests me the most. What I'm grappling with is the disconnect… Continue reading Editing Wonderings
Quips from Jeff Anderson
Today I listened to Jeff Anderson speak. (Tomorrow I'll be part of a study group he's leading and watch him model in classrooms.) He is the author of Mechanically Inclined and Everyday Editing and he is brilliant when it comes to teaching kids to understand grammar. Not to mention, he's an exceptional presenter. So today's post… Continue reading Quips from Jeff Anderson
Punctuation Is NOT An Editing Tool: It’s a Crafting Tool!
I started reading Dan Feigelson's Book Practical Punctuation: Lessons on Rule Making and Rule Breaking in Elementary Writing yesterday. It's the first time I've sat down and read a book on grammar and actually stayed awake. Seriously! Every other book I've read on teaching kids how to punctuate, use conventions properly, etc. has made my… Continue reading Punctuation Is NOT An Editing Tool: It’s a Crafting Tool!
Editing
Need an editing checklist? Click here to view the one I'm using with my students as they get ready to publish their personal narratives.
Instead of fixing my kids’ spelling errors…
Minimal Marking Originally uploaded by teachergal I'm trying a Vopat Editing Technique called "Minimal Markings." It's basically where you put check marks in the margin of a student's paper, which signals them that there's a misspelled word on a line. Then, it's up to the student to use resources (e.g., word wall, high frequency word… Continue reading Instead of fixing my kids’ spelling errors…
Shifting Gears: From Drafting to Revision and Editing
Poetry is one of my favorite genres to teach. I simply love the way the genre empowers ALL kids to have success with their words. (Quite frankly, I wish I could teach it in November, right before personal essay, but for some reason it never happens that way! Making it the last genre of the… Continue reading Shifting Gears: From Drafting to Revision and Editing