I recently had the pleasure of attending the 25th Annual Comprehensive Literacy and Reading Recovery Conference in Illinois. One of the sessions I attended was led by the brilliant and endearing Christopher Lehman. His session centered around using our stories to generate topics for information writing. It is a unique approach to a genre that can sometimes feel… Continue reading Starting with Story
Category: informational writing
I’m Trying to Love Spiders: A Review & Giveaway
When my principal handed me a copy of Bethany Barton's I'm Trying to Love Spiders, I was intrigued. She had chosen this book as our Everybody Reads title for the month and I was wondering why. I mean, who would try to love spiders? Ew. I was immediately impressed with both the colorful illustrations and the… Continue reading I’m Trying to Love Spiders: A Review & Giveaway
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Quality Reading Instruction Leads to Better Writing: A Review of Jennifer Serravallo’s Independent Reading Assessment
When I tested Jennifer Serravallo’s Independent Reading Assessment (Scholastic), I was an immediate believer. Finally, here is a reading assessment that gives rich, clear information about upper grade readers, using an authentic reading task (It is the only reading assessment system to date in which readers read a whole book. This assessment system is directly correlated… Continue reading Quality Reading Instruction Leads to Better Writing: A Review of Jennifer Serravallo’s Independent Reading Assessment
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New Mentor Texts for Information Writing
The books featured in this post, all of which were published in 2015, represent a variety of information writing. All of these are texts that can pull double- and even triple-duty in your classroom, thereby allowing you to use a text during read-aloud time so you can revisit it during a writing workshop minlesson and/or in a content area.
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Infusing Information Writing Throughout the Day: Diving Into Information Writing
A recovering hater of information writing, this post is my first step towards bringing information writing to life for my third graders! It is a vision and collection of possibliities for infusing information writing across the curriculum through the day.
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Teacher-Written Mentor Texts: Diving into Information Writing
I've long believed teacher-written texts can serve as excellent mentor texts during a unit of study. While I'm a huge advocate of student-written mentor texts, sometimes student writing doesn't have everything we need it to contain. We can tailor our own writing to our units of study. We can do this because we can be… Continue reading Teacher-Written Mentor Texts: Diving into Information Writing
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Allowing Student Choice within Information Writing: Diving into Information Writing
How do you encourage students when beginning the writing process for information writing? Give them choices!
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Preview: Diving into Information Writing Blog Series
We are thrilled to launch our latest blog series, Diving Into Information Writing. Click on for a preview of the week to come on Two Writing Teachers.
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Give yourself a pat on the back!
Take some time to celebrate what your students have accomplished, thanks to your teaching, in writing workshop. Name something -- big or small -- you're proud of from this school year.
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Goals & Techniques Cards
Reflecting on my first experience using TCRWP's goals & technique cards for informational writing with a small group of writers.
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Q&A with Robert Burleigh + a Book Giveaway
I've been a fan of Robert Burleigh's writing for the past few years. I was delighted to receive an advance review copy of Trapped! A Whale's Rescue, his newest picture book that's out later this month. As soon as I finished reading it, I began researching the story on my own and was fascinated. Trapped! tells of… Continue reading Q&A with Robert Burleigh + a Book Giveaway
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Concluding Information Writing and Tailoring Instruction
Recently, Stacey and I were chatting via email about why the teaching of conclusions isn't presented as a separate minilesson in Bringing History to Life, the information writing unit in the 4th grade Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing by Lucy Calkins and colleagues. Rather, conclusions are reviewed in a Teaching Share at the… Continue reading Concluding Information Writing and Tailoring Instruction
