partnerships

Partners in the Process

We’re hunched over a table, sitting in chairs made for kindergarteners. The sun hasn’t fully risen yet, and the hallways are still quiet. There’s a typed piece, a draft, laid out between us. On that draft is black chicken scratch, the initial thoughts, and suggestions made by my writing partner, Dawn. One line at a… Continue reading Partners in the Process

balanced literacy · conferring · minilesson · partnerships

Shake Up the Structure of Workshop

Writing workshop is not about playing someone else’s setlist. Workshop is a flexible set of practices that are meant to be improvised. The structure of workshop is one more way teachers can customize learning for those currently in the room.

middle school · partnerships · writing process

Building Stronger Writing Partners

As schools begin to restart, I have been thinking a lot about ways to begin building community within our new COVID reality. Specifically, I have been thinking about ways we as teachers might harness the structure of writing partnerships as a means by which to help create meaningful, supportive connections between writers. Here are a few ideas . . .

community · COVID-19 · partnerships · Seen, Valued, Heard: Writing to Establish Community Blog Series

Seen, Valued, Heard: Writing Partnerships to Establish Community

In our blog series this week, the team at Two Writing Teachers hopes to support you in the common purpose of building community in your classrooms, however those classrooms may look this year. One important building block of community is helping kids feel connected through partnerships. Read on for ideas on this important topic . . .

partnerships · sharing · student engagement · Talking · work space · writers · writing space · writing workshop · writing workshop routines

Three Keys to Writing Partnership Success

There can be many moving parts in the writing workshop. Partnerships can be a driving force in the growth and goal setting of writers within your classroom. In my experience, there are three areas I work to strengthen within my writers to ensure partnerships foster this growth and development across the year.

Mary Ehrenworth · middle school · partnerships

Strengthening Writing Partnerships, Part 2

In my previous November post about partnerships, three ideas were shared: (1) Study existing partnerships to assess current and potential effectiveness; (2) Teach a replicable process for meaningful revision; and (3) Teach writers how to create process pages.  Today I will share just a few more strategies for supporting and strengthening writing partnerships...

Mary Ehrenworth · middle school · partnerships · revision

Strengthening Writing Partnerships, Part I

A writing partner provides a sounding board and creates a social opportunity for feedback, criticism, and notions of what improvement could look like or sound like. The problem with partnerships, however, is that left to their own devices kids are not very good at being partners. How can we help kids get better? Here are a few strategies...

partnerships · peter h. johnson · writing workshop routines

Partnerships Can Provide Purpose and Power

All writers seek feedback.  All writers write for an audience.  All writers question themselves. And for these reasons, writers long to bring their work to another person-- another set of eyes, another pair of ears.  Hence, the writing partner in writing workshop.  When working well, partnerships can help grow the confidence of each writer in our classes by providing support, authentic peer feedback, and a sounding board for ideas.  Here are a few ingredients to consider when creating a community of writers...