Playing with small group structures to maximize cooperation, choice, and most importantly, kids doing big work that will help them grow as writers right away.
Category: small group
Student Agency, Self-Assessment, and Small Group Instruction
Nudging students toward self-assessment and goal-setting leads to students' increased understanding of what they are working on and why they're working on it. That intentionality is a critical aspect of learning!
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Conquering the Blank Page with Borrowed Lines
Borrowed lines from nonthreatening text is one way we can demystify writing for students and help them see the page, not as an empty vast space, but as an opportunity to produce beautiful writing.
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My Top Three Coaching Tools: Planning for Small Groups
Today on the blog, Jessica Carey shares three go-to coaching tools that all support planning for small groups.
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A Small Group in Action: Elaboration Strategies, Here We Come!
Having walked around a classroom of fourth-grade writers yesterday, I had pinpointed four writers who were all ready to think about elaboration strategies. This post describes the first session of a few to inspire these fourth-grade writers to use more elaboration strategies.
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Seven Ways to Help Students Catch Up After a School Absence
Here are several possibilities to get students up to speed after being absent from school.
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Increase the Number of Teachers in the Room with Student-Led Small Groups
An extra teacher is always a gift, especially when working with young authors. But what if we looked for teachers within those tiny writers?
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Mastering the Art of Thin-Slicing
Relying on Malcom Gladwell's work in Blink, Thin-Slicing allows you to look at student work quickly to identify trends and create groups, targeting specific skills to push each writer forward.
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Small Groups, Big Engagement: Expanding the Possibilities and Potential
Here are some fresh approaches from Melanie Meehan and guest authors Julie Wright, Pam Koutrakos, and Maria Walther. In this post, we reimagine when and why small groups come together and expand your small group repertoire.
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Minimizing Transition Time: Maximizing Writing Time Blog Series
When it comes to working out, there are definitely times when I appreciate the break I get during the transition times, and I’m sure that students, maybe even unintentionally, have figured out that longer transitions lead to shorter working time. Yet time on task is critical to move forward on goals, no matter what the goals are. Maximizing time-- in exercise or writing-- leads to progress.
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Are we Cutting the Right Corners?
No wonder teachers are stressed. Some of the habits that we think are saving us time are having the opposite effect on our mental health and wellness. Writing it down is the equivalent of setting it down—what a relief!
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The Power of Progression: Expanding the Reach with Small Group Work
Sometimes the journey of writing can feel overwhelming. Breaking goals into pieces and placing them on a progression can make progress and growth more visible.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 