checklists · choice · games · partnerships · teaching tools · toolkits

Play Up Partner Time! 3 Quick Games That Yield Joy, Ownership, & Success

Finding small ways to infuse a playful spirit into writing workshop keeps me (and students) feeling excited about each day’s experience. When we tinker with new ways of approaching workshop learning routines, everyone wins! Today’s tips are focused on simple ways to play up partner time. 

coaching · curriculum planning · small group · teaching tools · writing workshop

My Top Three Coaching Tools: Planning for Small Groups

Today on the blog, Jessica Carey shares three go-to coaching tools that all support planning for small groups.

Resetting Our Workshop Practices Blog Series · teaching tools · writing utensils

A Writing Tool that Honors the Writing Process Itself: Resetting Our Workshop Practices

Do your students use pencils to write with during writing workshop? If so, you may want to reconsider this practice in favor of something a little more permanent.

note-taking · teaching tools

Tools for Note-Taking

There are multiple potential hurdles that prevent students from becoming effective informative writers, including possible resource texts that may be above their benchmarks, as well as students' lack of experience with specific strategies for note-taking and organization of their thoughts. The use of thinking maps, especially circle maps and tree maps, to help develop their note-taking and informative writing skills can't be overstated when supporting students to becoming more engaged in their writing.

COVID-19 · digital tools · EAL · multilingual · sharing · teaching tools · technology · Voices from the Community

Providing Tools for Writing and Sharing Writing Through the Pandemic

Calling all primary writing teachers. Today Janet Ahn shares how she worked with her Kindergarteners to continue thrive in writing workshop through the pandemic. These young scholars continued to draft pieces, engage in conferring, collaborate to mark up mentor texts, and publish their writing through online platforms. Their dedication to continuing the writing workshop virtually was a reflection of how they truly saw themselves as writers.

middle school · remote learning · teaching tools · technology · toolkits · writing about reading · writing prompts · writing workshop

Writing About Reading: Building a Resource Toolkit for Middle School

Calling all middle school teachers! Today I'm sharing a ready to use resource toolkit for adolescent readers and writers featuring the book, Look Both Ways, by Jason Reynolds.

charts · independence · scaffolding charts · strategy charts · teaching tools

The Power of Silent Teachers: Helping Writers Increase Productivity and Build Independence Through Interdependence with Tools in the Classroom

We give our writers a lot of stuff. Their folders are full of charts, worksheets and examples meant to be helpful for independent writing, but are students using these tools to their fullest capacity? Are writers waiting for us to say “get out ___” or “look at ____”? This post will give you some practical ideas for how to help students achieve interdependence and utilize the silent teachers in the classroom to their fullest capacity.

revision · risk-taking · Teachers who write · teaching tools

4 Tips for Modeling with Your Own Writing

For many of us who work to live as writers and teachers who write, we likely do so in order to appreciate the challenge, the complexity, and the thrill that writing can provide for our lives.  It is living through the process that matters.  But what about turning some of our writing into teaching tools for our writing workshops? Here are four tips...

conventions · goals · punctuation · self-assessment · teaching tools · writing workshop

How Many Stars? Tools for self-assessment and goal-setting

The more we show learners what the work looks like at different levels and the reasons for that level, the better they are able to self-assess, set goals, and improve.