A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.
Our instructional minutes count more than ever this year. Read on to discover a new professional book that will help you maximize your teaching in reading and writing while helping your students grow in character and mindset. JoEllen McCarthy’s new professional book, Layers of Learning, is a must read! Comment on the post for a chance to win your own copy.
Welcome to the Slice of Life Story Challenge. You are invited to write a slice of life from your week, share it with others by linking below, and give comments of your own to three other bloggers.
As we all venture into another week of instruction, no matter what that may look like, I have three tips for surviving and thriving in these times.
Interval training has added movement and fun to the classrooms I’ve seen try it out. Everyone appreciates a change of pace, and sometimes, this is a great way to add that change up into the classroom repertoire.
Teaching my own kids is humbling to say the least. At home, I am not the special visiting teacher. I’m not even the teacher. At home, I’m mom, and it is the understatement of the century to say that it is a challenge to teach my own kids.
Now’s our time to shine workshop teachers! Hasn’t independence and transfer always been the goal of workshop teaching? Haven’t we always strived to teach in a way that allows students to carry on without us? Here are some resources to collaborate with families and caregivers to make this year successful.
How is it September? This morning’s quote for inspiration is from Chadwick Boseman. Sometimes the ritual of slicing on Tuesday is pressure, but it also inspires me to live and … Continue Reading It’s Tuesday! Welcome to the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
There are many strategies we can use to help us be the best teachers we can be for all of our students, but keeping good strategies in the forefront can be especially helpful for EAL students. By adding some simple strategies, we can also help EALs enjoy rich and meaningful learning experiences in the classroom.
As I considered what to write this week, I decided to share a piece I was crafting for back to school, as an instructional coach/remote kindergarten teacher this year. The process helped me to focus on what families might need, as they experience writing workshop in new ways (i.e. at their kitchen tables).
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.
No matter where or how the year begins for classrooms, getting to know students is one of the most important parts of teaching. Wordless slides worked great!
If ever there were a moment in education to pay attention, be astonished, and tell about it in our writing, I wager it’s now. This is the season of school evolving and changing. This is the back to school season with words we never imagined before- sneeze guards, Zoom breakouts, synchronous and asynchronous, mask breaks, temperature checks, distance learning, hybrid model. What we always knew is no longer, for the most part. What remains? How do we teach well in a COVID-19 world? What matters? What doesn’t? This year, we need to write the moments.
“Let me tell you a story…” are some of the first words that make their way out of my mouth and into the imaginations of students who don’t quite know what to think of me at the start of the year. They come in cautious. In a few days, they will come to school carrying far beyond the simple feeling of cautiousness. They will, many of them, bring with them fear, worry, and anxiety. #TWTBlog
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.
No matter where we gather to teach children, the values we have for children and education should not change.
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.
