Category: Nancie Atwell

Writing about reading: offering students choice in reading responses
Nancie Atwell · reading · reading workshop · reading-writing connections

Writing about reading: offering students choice in reading responses

Tara Smith36 Comments

When I first began teaching, Nancie Atwell’s In The Middle was my go to PD book for all things to do with reading and writing workshop.  I modeled so many of my teaching practices on what I learned through that book and through a few workshops with Nancie.  More than anything else, I wanted to… Continue reading Writing about reading: offering students choice in reading responses

conferring · minilesson · Nancie Atwell · purpose

So What?!?

Ruth Ayres21 Comments

I've noticed many of my conferences this week have centered around purpose. I've found myself asking again and again and agian, "So why are you writing this? Why is it important?" Nancie Atwell in her lesson set, Lessons That Change Writers, teaches students to ask: "So what?" when they are writing. I think this sticks with… Continue reading So What?!?

Nancie Atwell · writing

The Zone

Ruth Ayres1 Comment

I've been thinking about Nancie Atwell's book, The Reading Zone, lately. Last week I gave a lesson about this idea in a ninth grade class.  This weekend I've realized how this concept is important for writers too. We must intentionally focus in order to write well, even when we don't feel like it. I'd like to… Continue reading The Zone

Nancie Atwell · reflections

Reflections

Stacey Shubitz

This week my students are reflecting on the drafting process (of their memoirs) more than they're sharing at the end of Workshop time.  I wanted to have-a-go with them reflecting, in lieu of sharing, for just a week, after reading"Academic Resilience and Reading: Building Successful Readers" in Vol. 62, No. 5 of The Reading Teacher. … Continue reading Reflections

books · Nancie Atwell · reading

The Reading Zone.

Ruth Ayres3 Comments

Last weekend I was compelled to return to Nancie Atwell's book, The Reading Zone, in order to be inspired for this week's focus lessons.  As I was reviewing it, I ran across this quote: For students of every ablility and background, it's the simple miraculous act of reading a good book that turns them into… Continue reading The Reading Zone.

Nancie Atwell · writing process

Status of the Class

Stacey Shubitz2 Comments

I don't recall whose workshop I heard it in, but someone mentioned the idea of maintaining a "status of the class" chart so that you always are aware of where you're students are in the writing process. If you Google "status of the class" a lot comes up... The following, though, is the way I… Continue reading Status of the Class

georgia heard · heart maps · Nancie Atwell

Getting Started with My Territories

Stacey Shubitz5 Comments

I decided it was time for me to start doing the work I'm going to ask my students to do this fall with regard to mapping their writing territories. The following photo includes my bulleted list of territories plus one of them with 12 different things I can write about the larger territory. Now I… Continue reading Getting Started with My Territories

art · collecting · heart maps · Nancie Atwell · writing · writing workshop

Heart Mapping & Writing Territories

Stacey Shubitz11 Comments

I've been having my students map their hearts, to help them generate ideas for writing, when they're stuck, for as long as I've been teaching. However, last week when I was at the TCRWP's Summer Institute for the Teaching of Writing, the words "writing territories" seemed to be mentioned everywhere. I was familiar with this… Continue reading Heart Mapping & Writing Territories