Classrooms need to be places where students can take risks, solve problems, and learn to work through the hard parts. But sometimes anxiety and worry get in the way of learning.
Category: writing workshop routines
Finding Time: With Craft Moves on The Poem Farm
Poetry month in my opinion (and my students’) is a celebration of writing! It’s a time when we writers welcome new beginnings and hone the art and crafting of our writing skills. I watch my students take wings and write with grace and confidence during poetry month.
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A Game Plan for Writing Workshop Transitions
Have you ever visited a colleague's classroom or watched a video of a lesson and wondered, "How are those kids so perfect? How do they seem to know exactly what to do, the moment the teacher suggests it?" Just like in sports, practice makes perfect. A sports coach puts time and effort into devising game… Continue reading A Game Plan for Writing Workshop Transitions
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Sometimes we only write in writing workshop
My sixth graders have been busy drafting their feature articles this week, and I had a series of mini lessons planned to begin each writing workshop day. My students, however, had other ideas.
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Teaching Writers about Writing Workshop
Teaching students about the structures and rationales for writing workshop can lead to greater productivity and independence. This post outlines a minilesson that teaches students what to expect and why during each day's writing time.
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Enticing Kids to Revise, Revise, Revise
One of the biggest challenges you might face in writing workshop is this: getting kids to see the power and purpose of revision. Here are a few tips for helping kids understand how important and rewarding revision can be, organized by writing process phases.
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Creating Classroom Environments: Charts to Start the Year
Start the year off right with charts that make expectations, strategies and tips on writing visible for students.
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Work Smarter: How To Wrap Up A Unit of Study
This week my colleagues and I are writing posts that we hope will make your life a little easier. We’re sharing some ways to work smarter, not harder.
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Work Smarter: Use checklists throughout a unit of study …and beyond
I’ll begin by being honest - I don’t like checklists. It’s a personal thing. Checklists make me anxious, they fill me with the fear of impending failure. As soon as I’ve taken the time to assemble a checklist, I am filled with a sense of dread. I wonder, how am I ever to accomplish any of… Continue reading Work Smarter: Use checklists throughout a unit of study …and beyond
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Sharpen Your Workshop Routines: Writing Centers to Organize All Your Materials
Every year, around this time, I start having dreams about setting up my classroom. In the classroom of my dreams, I'm moving around small circular tables, unfurling a brand new rug for the meeting area (the kind with the squares in bright colors), setting up a very large classroom library, and putting labels and color… Continue reading Sharpen Your Workshop Routines: Writing Centers to Organize All Your Materials
