Do you have ELL students in your classroom? Support their language development within the writing workshop with language-focused strategy groups!
Category: strategy lessons
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.
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This is the Year I’m Going to Create and Use Strategic Writing
“It’s a practice,” is a common refrain from the instructor in my yoga class. That being said, if my mat is anywhere close to a certain yoga rockstar, I admit it--I find myself glancing over to check out her poses. She gets into positions that I’m sure would cripple me. I would fall on my… Continue reading This is the Year I’m Going to Create and Use Strategic Writing
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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.
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Instant Minilesson Follow-Up
A strong active engagement, and a routine for informally assessing student work during the minilesson can give you the tools you need to be sure that no student leaves the meeting area completely confused.
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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!
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Quick Tips for Writing Teaching Points
A guide to crafting your own teaching points for 1:1 conferences, strategy lessons, minilessons, mid-workshop interruptions, and share sessions.
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Tailoring Our Teaching: No Need to Wing It If You’ve Got Great Conferring Notes
Lucy Calkins, author of many books on teaching writing, often says that conferring is the heart of writing workshop. I once heard her say to a group of graduate students that she wished we called it “conferring workshop.” This way it would be clearer to everybody that it is the conferences that really make the… Continue reading Tailoring Our Teaching: No Need to Wing It If You’ve Got Great Conferring Notes
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New Blog Series: Tailoring our Teaching / Assessment-based Strategy Groups for Expository Writing
When I first began teaching using a workshop model, I spent forever planning my minilessons. I wanted to make sure that my language was exactly right, and that I got to each part of the minilesson (I often forgot the active engagement). I felt that the quality of my minilessons was the measure of my… Continue reading New Blog Series: Tailoring our Teaching / Assessment-based Strategy Groups for Expository Writing
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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
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Record-Keeping Forms
I recently tweaked some of the record-keeping forms I disseminate when I consult with teachers about conferring. Some of the forms now have space to record the mentor text a teacher studies in alongside a child in a conference or with a small group in a strategy lesson. I think it's important to keep track… Continue reading Record-Keeping Forms
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Sign-Up to Confer With Me!
My kids were getting ready to publish their personal essays yesterday. However, I knew they were all in different places. Therefore, I allowed them to sign-up for strategy lessons today based on their needs. Here's what the sign-up "sheet" looked like:
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 