Since the beginning of our school year, our schedule has changed more times than I could count on one hand. Students have come back from virtual learning, some have moved in and out of at-home learning for set periods of time, and the rest have remained in the physical classroom. Our environment is in a… Continue reading Behaviors: Meet Writers Where They Are
Category: nurturing
Writing Celebrations…But Why?
With all the pressures imposed by a segmented, unforgiving middle school schedule, why make time for writing celebrations? Are they really that important? Yes!
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Finding Our Teacher of Writers Superpowers
What teacher of writers superpower would you like to develop this year?
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Gardens of Young Writers
Teaching writing is a lot like gardening. It requires constant attention.
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Christy Is…
Last week I had the privileged of observing Christy Rush-Levine with her eighth grade language arts classes. Deb Gaby, the reading coach in my district, along with two middle school teachers went with me to check out Christy's approach to remediation. At the heart of her work is reading and writing workshop. I began a list a… Continue reading Christy Is…
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Here’s what’s happening in my room this week.
This-Coming Week's Teaching Points Turned Into "I Can" Statements Originally uploaded by teachergal By the end of the week, these are the things my students will know they CAN do to help them write an essay that is based off of research. NOTE: The third bullet should say: "I can use literary examples to support… Continue reading Here’s what’s happening in my room this week.
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Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
News & Announcements Chart for Monday, 11/10/08 Originally uploaded by teachergal In order to keep my demonstrations fresh, I've come to believe that I have to craft a NEW piece of writing each and every year for units I've taught in the past. If I don't, then I find my teaching becomes stale. Plus, I… Continue reading Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
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Considering what one’s piece is REALLY about
Nurturing Originally uploaded by teachergal I put together a mini-chart for my students to tape into their writer's notebooks after tomorrow's minilesson so that they'll have a permanent record of their writerly options when they get to the developing/nurturing point of the writing process.
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“So What?”
Ruth and I spoke at-length this summer about the benefits and detriments of starting off the school year with memoir, as opposed to beginning with personal narrative. While my colleagues and I have chosen to start with personal narrative, there's one piece of my conversation with Ruth that makes me think it's possible to really… Continue reading “So What?”
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Pin-Drop Quiet in W.W.
My room was pin-drop quiet during Writing Workshop today. Why? I did that great Katherine Bomer Activity I blogged about earlier this week entitled "Inside Me/Outside Me." The kids not only pushed themselves, but they were so introspective. Once many of them completed the "Inside Me/Outside Me" Graphic Organizer I created for them, most went… Continue reading Pin-Drop Quiet in W.W.
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Process Log Gets My Mind In-Motion Again
When Lucy had us keep Process Logs for each piece we wrote for one of her classes, I (at first) thought it was a waste of time. I wondered how it would help me as a teacher. But, I trusted my professor, so I kept them. By the end of the semester I realized how… Continue reading Process Log Gets My Mind In-Motion Again
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Walking the Walk
As I was conferring with my students today, I realized that many of their fictional characters were just them, but with different names. (They were choosing seed ideas today and developing their characters.) One boy in particular was stuck on recreating himself, so I sent him out of the room to do a character walk.… Continue reading Walking the Walk
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 