community · illustrations · illustrators · poetry · writer's notebook

Food Writing, Community Building, and a Book Giveaway

Writing workshop thrives when a community of children come together as writers who know each other. The first six weeks of school is when we build community. Here's one way to build relationships and encourage kids to write about one of their favorite things simultaneously. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Eric Carle and Friends' newest book, What's Your Favorite Food?

notebooks · poetry

The Big Book of Poems

Big, blank spaces means big possibilities for a poetry unit!

poetry · writing workshop

Stepping Toward Poetry

Did you experiment with some poetry now that the school year is in full swing? If not, here are a few more ideas to convince you poetry can be woven into your day. It starts with you.

poetry · writing workshop

Poetry Every Day in 5 Minutes or Less

For some, this might be your last evening before school begins. For others, you might be on your third week! Tonight I'm sharing five, five-minute ideas that might just help you fit poetry into your day, each day. I needed to find a solution to the lack of poetry in my day for my students and I'm hoping these ideas might just inspire some of your own as you begin a new year.

end of year reflection · figurative language · plan book · poetry · writer's notebook · writing prompts · writing workshop

Before You Go…

It's that time of year when we start to think about all the things we didn't get to do with our students! Here are five writing exercises I am going to make sure students don't leave without!

creativity · genre · poetry · Student ownership

A Breakthrough In Poetry: How To Bring Playfulness to Every Genre

Kids are inundated by rules. If the gift of writing is freedom of expression, are we imposing too many "rules" on writers? What if the rules of every genre, like poetry, were limited to just two or three?

poetry · writing workshop

Immersion into Poetry with Centers

Third grade poetry centers are one way to immerse students in the different literary devices and figurative language we find in poems.

poetry

Poems Are Teachers: Interview & Giveaway

Poems Are Teachers, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's newest book, is grounded in the idea of writing workshop. It contains practical lessons teachers can use the very next day, as well as mentor texts written by published and student poets. Learn more about it in an interview with Amy. Then, leave a comment for a chance to win two of Amy's books.

community · environment · ideas for the future · independent writing · june planning · modeling · poetry · powerful literacy · teacher writing · writing workshop routines

Building a Community of Writers: Creating the Emotional Space

Building a community of writers is likely a goal for all writing workshop teachers. But what are some ways to be intentional about bringing such a goal to fruition?

Author Spotlight Series · poetry

Writing “Things to Do” Poems: It’s All About the Action Words!

Today's Author Spotlight includes some poetry with Elaine Magliaro, author of the new book, THINGS TO DO.

Author Spotlight Series · poetry

What Trouper (The Three-Legged Black Lab) Has to Teach About Poetry

Meg Kearney provides us with some ways to teach poetry in the elementary school in today's Author Spotlight post.

play · poetry · writing workshop

Poetry Begins with Play

Learning to play with words is an important step for young writers who are learning to create poems.