Maya Angelou reminds me that when I know better, I can do better. The more I know about how, where, and why a student is functioning, the better I can teach that student.
Category: engagement
Three Ways to Find Joy & Keep Writing
We are now entering week seven in our school district. At the start of the year, there was much to think about and much to worry about. There were many questions to be answered and all of them seemed continuously uncertain. “We don’t know that yet” or “I’m not sure” were phrases that often seemed… Continue reading Three Ways to Find Joy & Keep Writing
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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.
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I Love Watching You Write: Research from the World of Sports Applied in the Classroom
Research on effective sports coaching suggests adults would do well by kids to cut down on criticism and focus more on the joy simply playing.
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Disguising Engagement
True engagement is hard to miss. However, there are several look-a-likes out there. Some are called compliance and participation.
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Where is the Attention?
Sometimes it can be difficult to imagine creating or allowing a wider audience to read our students' writing. But there is great possibility in doing so. It just takes a shift in attention...
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4 Tips for Successful Active Involvement in a Minilesson
In a minilesson, we work to not only demonstrate a strategy sometimes employed by professional writers, but also to provide a quick opportunity for young writers assembled before us to apply it, either in their own writing or in a co-authored class composition. This short segment of the minilesson during which writers 'give a strategy a go' themselves, often called the "Active Involvement" or "Active Engagement," allows writers an immediate opportunity for application in the supportive environs of the meeting area. How can we make this part of the lesson really count?
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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.
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Teaching Students to Self-Monitor
Three strategies to use so that students develop their own ability to monitor themselves as writers.
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If We Build It, They Will Come: Tales From Inside The Sharing Circle
The most important minutes of your writing workshop require zero hassle and no prep--only precious time. The minimal investment is worth its weight in gold. Welcome to the sharing circle with guest teacher Lori VanHoesen: The bridge builder you didn't know was doing the hardest work all along.
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Connecting Through Story
"Story is the basic unit of human understanding." - Drew Dudley, Day One Leadership. We have been learning through story for thousands of years. Our innate fascination for wanting to know what happens is an undeniable trait of humanity. Yet, in spite of what we know about story as a fundamental building block for learning,… Continue reading Connecting Through Story
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Snapshots From the NYSEC Conference
My time at the New York State English Council (NYSEC) Conference through snapshots!
