Author Spotlight Series · picture book · writer's notebook · writing process

From Idea to Book: Sharing the Process

When we write, we gain an insider’s perspective on the process. Sharing what we learn with kids makes teaching authentic and meaningful.

Author Spotlight Series · teacher-as-writer · writer's notebook

Doing More to Inspire

The things that motivate author Dana Kramaroff, to push through writing heavy content, are also what motivates so many of her students. She values the habits that energize her process, the tricks she uses to keep going, and the ways in which she helps herself when writing is difficult.

gratitude · reflections · writer's notebook

Revisiting Writing Through a Lens of Gratitude

As we head into a season of thanksgiving and celebrations, it is worth it to take the time to simply pause and reflect on writing with our students.

notebooks · personalization · writer's notebook

From the Outside In: Covering Writers’ Notebooks

How do we help students to see the power in the writer's notebook? It can start before the pen even hits the page. It can start from the outside in.

back to school · games · writer's notebook

Word Games in the Workshop

Creative play with words can spur ideas writers didn't know they had tucked away!

gratitude · notebooks · writer's notebook · writing workshop

Gratitude Journaling

Back in January, my students began writing gratitude journal entries. As unpredictable schedules and interuptions await us, gratitude journaling might be just what your students need now!

Our Favorite Things Blog Series · writer's notebook

Entry Points to Get Students Writing in Their Writer’s Notebook: Our Favorite Things

It takes more than a new writer's notebook and preferred writing utensils to get kids writing! Teaching students a variety of strategies to generate writing in their notebooks is helpful if we want them to view their writer's notebooks as both a workbench and a playground.

community · notebooks · reading-writing connections · Seen, Valued, Heard: Writing to Establish Community Blog Series · shared writing · writer's notebook · writing about reading · writing workshop

Seen, Valued, Heard: Leveraging Shared Writing to Build Community

In my experience, many young writers struggle to use a writer’s notebook as a tool. They’re excited to have a notebook but unclear about what to “do” in there. Shared writing can be a powerful way to teach writers how to generate ideas for writing and to get themselves started, based on the books we are reading and discussing as a community.

strategies · writer's notebook

Journal Writing Strategies While Living Through a Pandemic

"Writing about distressing events and how we feel about them is the only kind of writing that clinically has been associated with improved health," Louise DeSalvo

COVID-19 · reluctant writers · remote learning · writer's notebook

Engage Striving Writers by Keeping a Notebook During the COVID-19 School Closures

Brevity, choice, and routine matter when you’re trying to encourage a reluctant writer to put words on the page when you’re engaging in remote schooling.

focus lesson · giveaway · mentor texts · photograph · poetry · professional books · ralph fletcher · writer's notebook · writing · writing workshop

Focus Lessons: A Review and Giveaway!

Reading Ralph Fletcher's newest book, Focus Lessons, revealed memories of my childhood much the way photos can be revealed in a pan of solution. Slowly, vividly, and magically.

EAL · notebooks · writer's notebook

Wait Time

There have been many times I have had to hang on to patience, hold my breath, and wait. I have had students that do not hesitate to jump into writing and others, not so quick to jump. When our invitations to write are not always quickly accepted or at times declined, waiting for a student… Continue reading Wait Time