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.
Category: small group
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!
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.
A Few Tips for Small Group Instruction: Expanding the Reach With Small Group Work
Small group instruction is one of the most powerful ways to differentiate instruction while offering opportunities for collaboration and connections between students. Here are some tips to increase the leverage and impact of your writing instruction.
Favorite Ways to Teach Foundational Skills in the Primary Grades: Expanding the Reach with Small-Group Work Blog Series
This post covers the how, the why, and the what of introducing stations or centers to support small group work on foundational skills in the primary grades.
The High Value and High Reward of Including ALL Students in Small Group Lessons
Small group instruction can be for a single lesson or objective or we can plan a course of study over a period of time. Regardless of the time commitment, it's important to remember that small group work isn’t just for striving writers… it’s for ALL writers.
Expanding the Reach with Small Group Work: A Blog Series
Even in the best of teaching times, a student’s work is rarely completely one level since there are so many elements that constitute effective writing, and it’s also rare for the same sequence of lessons to meet the learning opportunities of all students. With such variation and discrepancies, small group instruction is more critical than ever in order to address and nurture the range of learners in classrooms. We hope that this blog series inspires you to lean into small group instruction with intention and confidence!
A Review of Teaching Writing in Small Groups
Jennifer Serravallo's newest book, which focuses on small-group instruction, is a text that explains the fundamentals of small-group work and then provides teachers with support for implementing a variety of small groups that will help students grow as writers.
Small Group Instruction Regardless of Platforms
Small groups are possible through breakout rooms, and just as in the classrooms, they offer targeted lessons for what students need right as they need it. It’s so worth figuring how to keep this important type of instruction happening, no matter where!
Five Ways to Maximize Time If Time for Writing Workshop Gets Cut
Time is a precious commodity in elementary schools. Making the time for a daily writing workshop often means that something else has to get short shrift. However, sometimes, the time for writing workshop gets cut by five or ten minutes. Here are several suggestions for what you can do if writing time gets cut.
How do we get to Know our Writers Remotely: A Case Study
There's no question it is challenging to get to know writers deeply via Zoom. And yet. . . something is working, because all of my remote kindergartners are writing. They are all making books. And while I might not have an hour each day to be side by side with them in the classroom, there is no question I am finding ways to get to know what kind of writers they are and what they need.
Virtual Small-Group Instruction
I have learned from Meghan Hargrave, "Hold tight to what we know works and let go of concerns that we can't control."

