Want to ensure students are engaged as you model a particular strategy, craft, or technique? These four steps can help you do just that!
Category: student engagement
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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Revision at Work: Is This Good?
Do you ever hear the question, "Is this good?"
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(Re-)Launching our Writing Workshops With Joy in January
As I think about returning to school, I want to be excited about the week to come. I want students to feel happy to be back together. Writing workshop is my favorite part of the day, and it’s the perfect place to infuse some intentional joy for all of us. I have a two part plan to do just that.
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Mining the Moments Between Minilesson and Work Time
In those quick moments between minilesson and work time, as writers are settling in (or not), I pay attention to what is—the current reality. I seek leverage points to both know writers better and to support writers in continuing to grow. Over time, I notice as more and more writers find the processes and strategies that work for them.
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Point-Less by Sarah M. Zerwin: A Review and Giveaway
Sarah Zerwin is workshop to her core, and she has found ways to ensure that her assessment practices are not sending conflicting messages to kids. Point-Less will challenge readers to reflect and inspire them to advocate for change.
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Thinking Big About Writing
The writing work in our building is transforming, and it is exciting to be a part of the change, to witness the impact on kids as we make our workshops increasingly authentic and compelling. We are constantly reflecting on what’s working—what’s leading to measurable shifts in how we plan for writing (and how kids experience writing)—as well as where we might be getting stuck: places there is genuine motivation to transform the task, and yet, our best intentions are still missing the mark in some significant way.
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Three Keys to Writing Partnership Success
There can be many moving parts in the writing workshop. Partnerships can be a driving force in the growth and goal setting of writers within your classroom. In my experience, there are three areas I work to strengthen within my writers to ensure partnerships foster this growth and development across the year.
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Questions as Learning Target Prompts
Learning targets, Post-Its, and I Can statements live in classrooms everywhere. Consider building those together through questions and prompts!
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Ten Possible Minutes: Sacred Writing
Every year brings with it new surprises. I was delightfully surprised by just ten minutes this year. Ten minutes made a big difference.
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I Love Watching You Write: Research from the World of Sports Applied in the Classroom
Research on effective sports coaching suggests adults would do well by kids to cut down on criticism and focus more on the joy simply playing.
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Our Job: Noticers-in-Chief
Whether or not you have started school already or you are taking those final deep breaths before your first day, let us remember one thing that sets us writing workshop teachers apart from other methodologies, curricula, programs, and/or approaches to teaching writing: we NOTICE.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 