When it comes to working out, there are definitely times when I appreciate the break I get during the transition times, and I’m sure that students, maybe even unintentionally, have figured out that longer transitions lead to shorter working time. Yet time on task is critical to move forward on goals, no matter what the goals are. Maximizing time-- in exercise or writing-- leads to progress.
Category: writing workshop
Writing as Social-Emotional Development: Maximizing Writing Time
Let’s turn our attention to the classroom, to the kids in our care. Like many of us, they need a space to release burdens, to feel the same connection and validation that has kept us afloat. This, my friends, is where we begin. THIS is where we claim our power as writers, as teachers of writing. No matter the age of our students, no matter their readiness level, no matter the constrictions of a mandated writing system, there are ways to create and protect a nurturing, supportive community of young writers.
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Begin With Strong Planning: Maximizing Writing Time Blog Series
Actually doing the work of writers is where writers strengthen their skills—and this takes at least two thirds of the total minutes in any workshop. The more clear we can be while unit planning, the more strategic our instructional time will be, leaving more time for writers to write.
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Above and Beyond the Writing Workshop: A Book Review and Giveaway
My hope is that you win or order this book and take on a challenge or two– maybe even create your own.
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(Re-)Launching our Writing Workshops With Joy in January
As I think about returning to school, I want to be excited about the week to come. I want students to feel happy to be back together. Writing workshop is my favorite part of the day, and it’s the perfect place to infuse some intentional joy for all of us. I have a two part plan to do just that.
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Getting Craft-y: Using Art to Teach Writing
"If kids see writing as just another avenue of self expression, if they realize that craft and skill are necessary for all areas of self-expression, then perhaps they might use these understandings as a foundation for their writing."
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Targeting Instruction to Meet Writing Challenges
Just as hoses tend to kink, so do the writing processes of students, leaving teachers to figure out where those kinks are and what the effective twist will be in order to get those students writing.
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Ruminating Process Alongside Kidlit Creators: Centering Our Why
As we move forward this season, near concluding a challenging 2021, I aim to respect the messy writing process for myself. We will share with our students over and over that getting your ideas out doesn’t have to look one way; that they can move forward and backward and around again. They can toss out ideas and start anew. And while I do that, I’ll hold Jasmine and Olugbemisola’s thoughts close: as educators, let’s not stifle by virtue of supposed tos. There’s no wrong way. The final product need not look the way we initially imagined.
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Three Things Emergent Writers CAN Do
In order to understand what emergent writers can do, you have to understand that writing is more than handwriting and spelling--it is storytelling, composing, and communicating.
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Steering the Craft: Review + Giveaway
Need a writing resource that has something for all ages, yourself included? Look no further than Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
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ICYMI-Expanding the Reach with Small Group Work
The co-authors of TWT sincerely hope you enjoyed last week's blog series on Expanding the Reach with Small Groups! ICYMI, here are the links to all the posts from our blog series. Congrats to two lucky winners of the Candlewick Press giveaway! Read on to see who the winners are...
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Pattern-Seeking Strategies to Optimize Efficiency and Effectiveness: Expanding the Reach With Small Group Work
Pattern-seeking is one of the ways that I keep planning for small group instruction manageable in writing workshop. When I can both anticipate common needs and plan for ways to learn which kids share those needs ahead of time, then I can be much more strategic and efficient with small group instruction.
