Harnessing the Strength of “I’m Really Into” Essays: Straight from the Classroom

Monday August 14, 2023Sunday August 13, 2023 guestteacher5 Comments

Discover the transformative power of "I'm Really Into" essays in the aftermath of a school fire. This engaging teaching approach fosters student connection, amplifies voices, and sparks authentic exploration, while offering practical tips for implementation. Experience the joy of learning with this insightful guest blog post.

agency · immersion · personal essay

Pre-Unit Immersion: Involving Students in Noticing, Noting, and Naming

Wednesday November 16, 2022Thursday November 17, 2022 Melanie Meehan3 Comments

Immersion is helpful for strong writers who need less explicit instruction in order to try out new writing concepts as well as for writers who strive to complete their written work. Sometimes seeing a completed piece is exactly what they need in order to kick their executive functioning into gear.

COVID-19 · digital tools · personal essay · writing workshop

Active Engagement with Pear Deck

Monday December 7, 2020Wednesday October 12, 2022 Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski3 Comments

Active engagement looks different now than it did pre-COVID-19. One digital tool for active engagement is Pear Deck. Read on to find out how I'm using Pear Deck with my third grade writers!

body paragraphs · Expand the Possibilities of Genres You Teach · expository · literary essay · paragraphing · personal essay · teacher of writing · Teachers who write

Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay: Expand the Possibilities of the Genres You Teach

Wednesday February 5, 2020Tuesday December 21, 2021 Stacey Shubitz33 Comments

Are students constrained when they write five-paragraph essays? If we change our working definition of essay writing, then we can teach beyond the five-paragraph essays we often see in schools.

literary essay · paper · personal essay · persuasive writing

Paper Choices for Opinion and Argument Writing: Reaching Your Writers

Friday November 15, 2019Sunday December 11, 2022 BethMooreSchool16 Comments

Providing options for paper allows all your students to do the same type of writing (opinion, persuasive, or argument) in many different ways. Differentiating the materials makes it possible for all your students to do the work--without having to resort to a formula or fill-in-the-blank worksheet.

elaboration · personal essay · writing workshop

Think More, Say More, Write More: Elaborating with Personal Essay

Friday November 23, 2018Tuesday November 20, 2018 Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski4 Comments

How do you help writers bridge the gap from paragraph writing to essay writing? What are your favorite strategies for elaboration?

katie wood ray · personal essay · Reflective Practice · writing workshop

Pausing to Reflect: Personal Essays

Friday February 17, 2017Thursday February 16, 2017 Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski6 Comments

My third graders are wrapping up their unit on personal essay. While some have grasped the structure and have articulated reasons and examples to support their argument, others have struggled to understand the concept of an essay. I want to take some time to think about what went right when teaching this unit and where the breakdowns occurred.