strategies · writer's notebook

Journal Writing Strategies While Living Through a Pandemic

"Writing about distressing events and how we feel about them is the only kind of writing that clinically has been associated with improved health," Louise DeSalvo

goals · independence · Reaching Your Writers Blog Series · strategies · strategy charts · writing workshop

Entry Points to Build Independence: Reaching Your Writers

Where are the places your writers find themselves stuck? Identifying our writers' sticky spots can help us determine entry points for writers to pull themselves out of being stuck and instead strive!

memories · narrative · strategies · writer's notebook

Memory Chains: A Strategy for Writer’s Notebooks

Here’s a fun strategy you can try to generate writing in your notebook this summer. Come back-to-school time, you can teach your students how to use this strategy if they get stuck.

demonstration · katie wood ray · lesson plans · middle school · minilesson · modeling · Slice of Life Story Challenge · strategies · teacher writing · Teachers who write

Showing Not Telling: Demonstrations Matter

We've all likely taught 'show, don't tell' lessons in our narrative units. But showing not telling can have instructional meaning, as well...

Jennifer Serravallo · strategies · strategy charts · strategy lessons · writing workshop

The Writing Strategies Book + Giveaway!

Ever wish you could have all the best strategies from your favorite writing teachers in one place? Atwell, Fletcher, Ray, Calkins, Heard and more are among the many hat tips in Jen Serravallo's newest publication, THE WRITING STRATEGIES BOOK. Come take a look at how Jen expertly weaves her own expertise and ideas along with tried and true favorites from the best of the best.

conferring · Jennifer Serravallo · professional books · strategic conferring · strategies · strategy lessons · writing about reading

The Reading Strategies Book

Have plans mid-June? Cancel them and prepare to run to your nearest bookstore. The Reading Strategies Book by Jen Serravallo is a must and is intended for grades K-8!

choice · routines · strategies · writing workshop

Structure + Choice

Here's what I've been thinking about lately: How do we provide both structure and choice in writing workshop? Both are essential to empowering young writers. Structure is necessary to lift the level of every writer in the classroom. Choice is crucial for writers to learn to write with energy and strength. Yet they sometimes seem… Continue reading Structure + Choice

ELL · strategies · strategy lessons · writing workshop

Supporting ELL Students in Writing Workshop

One of the best closing sessions I attended at the Writing Institute was given by Amanda Hartman.  "Scaffolds and Supports We Can Put in Place to Support Our ELLs (K-2)" was a 45-minute session that provided teachers with practical ways to support English Language Learners, or ELLs.  While the session was targeted to primary grade… Continue reading Supporting ELL Students in Writing Workshop

IRA · minilesson · strategies

Follow the Dialogue

Tomorrow morning in Reading Workshop, I'll be teaching a lesson with the following teaching point: Readers keep track of who is speaking in a text, regardless of whether or not there are dialogue tags. The reason they do this is so they always know who is speaking. I'm going to be using two passages from… Continue reading Follow the Dialogue