In a world where digital literacy is evolving at breakneck speed, are we preparing our students for the writing challenges of tomorrow? Discover how infographics can transform your students into active content creators, equipping them with the skills they need in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Category: informational writing
Diving Into Information Writing: From the Archives
Nine years ago, the #TWTBlog co-author team shared a blog series on information writing for classroom teachers and literacy coaches. Each of the eight posts provided practical strategies aimed at enhancing teaching practices. The series remains relevant today for any educator seeking to improve information writing instruction.
Share this:
Share this:
Ten Types of Facts for Nonfiction Writers
Naming and modeling different kinds of facts offers tangible ways for students to revise and elaborate informational texts.
Share this:
Share this:
Energizing Information Writing
While none of these ideas for information writing require that students go through the entire process of writing an introduction-to-conclusion information piece, they do have the potential to inspire students to do some on-the-spot information writing, and sometimes these short spurts provide the practice or jump-starts that students need.
Share this:
Share this:
Keeping the Energy In a Unit of Study
A six to eight-week writing unit may not be the equivalent of running a marathon, although some may beg to differ this year, but it still requires some creativity for strong and energetic finishes. As I work with several teachers who are in the final third of their information writing units across a variety of grades, here are a few ideas for maintaining energy.
Share this:
Share this:
Identity Webs to Generate Ideas for Information Writing
When it comes to generating ideas for information writing, my experience has been that some students freeze. There are two things I have learned about why this occurs.
Share this:
Share this:
Use Oral Rehearsal to Aid Note-Taking
Anyone who has ever taught research-based writing to upper elementary school students knows, this is hard, but important, work since children need to know -- from an early age -- that they need to take notes in their own words. Oral rehearsal can help!
Share this:
Share this:
Moving Along — and Backing Up — in Information Writing
When any task involves many skills, there are a lot of places for a metaphorical bump in a straw. When we break the task down, the final product involves many potential downfalls!
Share this:
Share this:
The Immersion Phase of a Unit: Reading and Writing Collide
The immersion phase of a unit allows us all to get to know our subject. For students, it might be ideas they have and for teachers, it is about getting to know their writers a bit better.
Share this:
Share this:
Narrative Writing: Expand the Possibilities of Genres You Teach
So many stories, so many possibilities for weaving narrative writing into other genres-- and so much fun we can have doing it!
Share this:
Share this:
A Peek Into the Start of an Information Unit
When we show students examples of what they should be creating before and during their writing, we are, in many ways, providing them a figurative ride up the chairlift with many good skiers in front of them. In two separate classrooms, I introduced an information writing unit with a classroom teacher with a pile of books and writing samples and the students sitting in a circle. "Your job," I said, "is to look at these books and pieces like writers. What did the author do? How did they do it?"
Share this:
Share this:
On Rethinking the Publishing of Information Writing
When it comes to writing, a need for writers to have a clear vision is one of the big reasons we provide mentor texts in writing workshop. Kids need to see not only a goal or end toward which they may aspire, but I would add that they need to be provided models to become inspired. For we all know the effect inspiration can have on anything we are up to in life, right? It matters. It helps. And certainly, writing is no exception. Read on to learn about why making a big deal of publishing informational writing is worth considering...
