lesson plans · small group

Are we Cutting the Right Corners?

No wonder teachers are stressed. Some of the habits that we think are saving us time are having the opposite effect on our mental health and wellness. Writing it down is the equivalent of setting it down—what a relief!

curriculum planning · june planning · lesson plans · month-long planning · plan · plan book

Three Ideas for Planning a Multiage Curriculum Calendar for Writing Workshop

In this post, I'll share three things I've learned from my own school district, where we have many multiage classrooms.

common core · engagement · informational writing · lesson plans · lucy calkins · minilesson · motivation · narrative

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

demonstration · katie wood ray · lesson plans · middle school · minilesson · modeling · Slice of Life Story Challenge · strategies · teacher writing · Teachers who write

Showing Not Telling: Demonstrations Matter

We've all likely taught 'show, don't tell' lessons in our narrative units. But showing not telling can have instructional meaning, as well...

balanced literacy · classroom · independent writing · lesson plans · lucy calkins · minilesson · organization · professional development · tcrwp · Throwback Week · units of study · writing workshop

Throwback Week: How To Read A Unit of Study

Learn some tricks for reading the Units of Study, whether you're new to the units or have been using them for many years.

balanced literacy · classroom · independent writing · lesson plans · lucy calkins · minilesson · organization · professional development · tcrwp · units of study · writing workshop

How To Read A Unit of Study

As the school year comes to a close, many of the schools I work with are launching into a week or so of in-service, summer institutes, and other professional development. It's "curriculum season" in many places around the country. For many writing teachers, that means diving into the Units of Study for Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing by Lucy… Continue reading How To Read A Unit of Study

books · character development · choice · curriculum · curriculum planning · drafting · fiction · focus lesson · free verse poetry · genre · lesson plans · lessons learned from students · mentor author · mentor texts · mentoring · narrative · organization · personalization · plan · poetry · point of view · primary grades · process · publishing · reflections · Reflective Practice · writer's notebook · writing process · writing workshop

Highlights from the Week

I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I've been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or planning meetings. Therefore, I have SO MUCH I want to record. Which leads me to my current dilemma: what do I not… Continue reading Highlights from the Week

lesson plans · minilesson · writing

Writing Lessons at ReadWriteThink.org

After reading through "Using Web 2.0 in the Classroom" in the most recent issue of Reading Today, I went online to ReadWriteThink.org to read through a lesson entitled "Weekly Writer's Blogs." It was too advanced (i.e., grades 9-12) for my students, but I realized it might not be too old for Ruth's. I decided to… Continue reading Writing Lessons at ReadWriteThink.org

balanced literacy · guided writing · lesson plans · writing

Guided Writing Lesson

Guided Writing Lesson Front Page Originally uploaded by teachergal I attended the Literacy for All K-6 Northeast Literacy Conference here in Providence today. Specifically, I attended "Guided Writing in Small Group Settings," which was led by Kerry Crosby, Heather Morris, and Helen Sisk. It was an informative workshop. Here are some of the highlights: Guided… Continue reading Guided Writing Lesson

lesson plans · teaching tools

New Plan Book

Ruth introduced me to Winkflash a few weeks ago. I signed up for their services and received a $19.99 special deal to create a photo book of up to 100 pages. Hence, I decided to create my own lesson plan book. I created templates in Word, scanned them in, saved them as jpgs, uploaded them… Continue reading New Plan Book