end of year reflection · portfolio · reflections · Reflective Practice

If Your School Year Were a Book: Endings

As the end of this particular school year draws near, you might think about the qualities of your favorite stories to help you plan an ending that is meaningful for your students.

classroom · independent reading projects · independent writing · independent writing projects · management · portfolio · preparation · publishing · writers · writing · writing folder · writing workshop · writing workshop routines

Work Smarter: How To Wrap Up A Unit of Study

This week my colleagues and I are writing posts that we hope will make your life a little easier. We’re sharing some ways to work smarter, not harder.

mentor texts · poetry · portfolio · response · writing · writing workshop

Poetry Portfolio Guidelines

My colleagues and I met during our Common Planning Time today and solidified this year's Poetry Portfolio Guidelines, which is an adaptation of what my fifth graders did last year. We're going to have three sections: mentor poems/texts, original poetry writing, and responses to poems that the kids love. I'm pretty happy with it and… Continue reading Poetry Portfolio Guidelines

authentic assessment · poetry · portfolio · units of study · writing workshop

Gearing Up for Poetry

Poetry Portfolio Originally uploaded by teachergal It's May. National Poetry Month is over. However, that means that I'm just three weeks away from the start of our final unit of study: POETRY! 🙂 I decided to take the eight poems I had done for the One-Week Poetry Challenge and put them into a binder. However,… Continue reading Gearing Up for Poetry

billy collins · haiku · portfolio

Haiku

I pulled the grays out but they're sprouting back again they make me feel old. I wrote this after hearing Billy Collins speak last week. I thought it might be good to write a Haiku, especially if I'm going to teach this form to my students this-coming school year. (I've never taught my kids Haiku… Continue reading Haiku

genre · portfolio

Resume Writing

How many kids do you know that have resumes? Well, I now know five since I just helped to create resumes for five of my former students on Career Kids, which is a website that prepares students to take charge of their future. I'm starting to believe that resume writing is a type of technical… Continue reading Resume Writing