Want some fresh ways to channel your students to write about history? This post offers some light and fast tips that could easily be turned into weighty and meaningful instruction.
Category: persuasive writing
Five on Friday: Travel Edition
A recent visit to San Francisco inspired me to think about oral story telling, publishing, an persuasive writing. Here are five things my trip left me thinking about. PLUS, leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of a new picture book from Chronicle Books.
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Purposeful Persuasion
"Mom, you need to talk to Noah and tell him I need more cinnamon on my morning toast." I raised my eyebrows at the first grader. "I doubt you need more. You already go crazy with it." "Seriously, Mom. Noah skimps on the cinnamon. I tried to tell him, but he says I have enough.… Continue reading Purposeful Persuasion
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Learning the Language of Lawyers: Writing Compelling Arguments
We are thrilled and honored to be guest blogging here this week. We are both huge fans of the blog, the Two Writing Teachers community and of Ruth and Stacey’s work. Having recently watched the Grammys, it feels a bit like we are hanging with Beyoncé and Jay-Z for a night! Many of us are… Continue reading Learning the Language of Lawyers: Writing Compelling Arguments
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Persuasion with Karen Caine
Last week I was fortunate to spend the day with Karen Caine. Are you familiar with her work? It is the book that I have had to buy the most -- SIX times -- because my copy keeps coming up missing. (Luckily Karen signed a copy for me last week, so I should be able… Continue reading Persuasion with Karen Caine
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Opinion Writing in Kindergarten
In one of the kindergarten classrooms I've been working in, we've been learning: Writers share their opinions. This has been a unit of study inspired by the Common Core State Standards, which place a heavy emphasis on opinion writing. What does that look like in kindergarten, I wondered. So I've been trying out a few… Continue reading Opinion Writing in Kindergarten
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Approaching Common Core + PARCC
Yesterday I heard James Kofi Annan tell his story of child slave to business man to freedom fighter for the children in Ghana. Check out this CNN video for a taste of what I had the privilege of hearing first hand. His story moved me and compelled me to think about how I can use my corner… Continue reading Approaching Common Core + PARCC
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Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
Yesterday in Mr. Gause's third grade class, some incredible thinking was happening. This week we launched into reviews. Earlier in the week, he asked students to test different toy cars and then select the one they thought was the best. Then they met as a group and talked about their choice. Yesterday, during the minilesson,… Continue reading Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
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Review Mentor Texts
I'm excited to share this with you. It was one of those times when things just worked out in writing workshop. In one of the third grade classes studying reviews, we began talking about using details to support your opinion. I try to avoid the word details as much as possible. I think it's an… Continue reading Review Mentor Texts
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REVIEW Unit Launch
This week I launched a REVIEW UNIT in several third grade classrooms. On the first day I asked, "Have you ever heard of a review?" Heads shook. "Okay, then, let me show you some," I said. We spent time looking at some reviews I pulled up via the internet on the SmartBoard. We read reviews… Continue reading REVIEW Unit Launch
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A Persuasive Touchstone Text
Karen Kaufman Orloff wrote I Wanna Iguana, which quickly became one of my favorite texts to use with my students to teach voice in persuasive letter writing. She's out with a new book, I Wanna New Room, which can be added to my growing list of touchstone texts for a persuasive unit. If you're familiar… Continue reading A Persuasive Touchstone Text
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Some Executives Have Some Mail Coming to Their Offices Now!
Dropping a Stamped Persuasive Letter Into the Outgoing Mail Basket IS a Form of Publishing! Originally uploaded by teachergal Eleven of my kids showed up to school on this very icy Monday. 10:11 of them completed their persuasive letters when they had off on the snow day. (WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Therefore, all of them were able to… Continue reading Some Executives Have Some Mail Coming to Their Offices Now!
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 