audience · choice · feedback · goals · Mary Ehrenworth · middle school · response · time for kids

Taking Stock: Moving Forward

As teachers, how might we reflect on our own practice in a way that could make a difference for our students next year? Here are a few lenses for setting some goals...

christopher lehman · homework · Mary Ehrenworth · middle school · scheduling · time for kids

Time to Write

Donald Murray, author of the seminal text A Writer Teaches Writing (Houghton Mifflin, 1985), teaches us that one of the most important things to a writer is time, time to write.  But with the many time constraints faced by teachers, how can we be thinking about time in ways that make a difference for our students?

expository · narrative · prompts · time for kids

Writer’s Prompts

I received a supplement with my students' Time for Kids Magazines today. It was called "Writer's Prompts: 36 Great Writing Ideas! Great writing starts with a great idea." I've chosen to upload and share the best three of the thirty-six prompts that I found in this supplement. That being said, I'm wondering how many teachers… Continue reading Writer’s Prompts

September 11th · time for kids · writing

Reacting to the World

I shared my September 11th WN Entry with my class today since my teaching point was: Writers react to things that are happening in the world around them by writing long about events in their writer's notebook. I was a bit nervous to share it with them since it paints a very vivid picture of… Continue reading Reacting to the World