Be ready for the students who challenge you at every turn. We often learn more about how to teach writers when we work with students who face the most significant writing obstacles.
Category: Student ownership
Stamina Seekers: Save a Seat for Every Writer
Building stamina as a writer takes practice and patience. With the right tools, teachers can provide an environment where students who seek stamina can thrive.
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?
Revision at Work: Is This Good?
Do you ever hear the question, "Is this good?"
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.
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!
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.
A License to Write: Giving Ownership to the Writer
I am a writer and a teacher of writing. I have experienced the pivotal role ownership has on my writing and my willingness to write. As teachers of writing, we have the opportunity to give the students in our classrooms the license of ownership over their writing.
Exposing, Sharing, & Connecting: Helping Writers See Why We Write
When we know the purpose or the why in our work we work intentionally. As teachers, knowing our writers are working with intention allows us to trust the students. With trust, we can step back and allow students to make the decisions about their writing.
From the Classroom to the World: How a Young Writer is Making Her Voice Heard
Find out how Amelia Poor, age 12, learned "at a really young age how powerful writing can be."
Amelia's journey will surely inspire you and your young writers!
Making the Writer Better: Getting Started with Blogging
As I move forward in planning summer professional development for the teachers in my district, I am already finding the infographic invaluable. In planning my session, “Getting Started with Blogging” I found the information on the infographic guiding each slide and each step as I planned the presentation.
Our Most Powerful Tool- Our Words: Looking Back And Moving Forward
In Visible Learning For Literacy, Fisher, Frey, and Hattie, explain “When feedback is delivered in such that it is timely, specific, understandable, and actionable students assimilate the language used by their teacher into their self-talk. (2016, 100)” These words stopped me. When our words become the self-talk of our students, they become the most influential tool we have as teachers.

