I've been known to use lots of gimmicky things to get kids to write in their notebooks. For instance, I'll create mini-charts (aka: cheat sheets) of the large strategy charts I have hanging in the classroom. Then, I'll have the kids tape them into their writer's notebook to help them get started or to assist… Continue reading Gimmicks
Category: writing workshop
Gearing up for tomorrow’s Workshop
Here's my chart for tomorrow's LOOKING AT YOUR PLACE Activity. I've been contemplating modeling for them, but I'm leaning more towards a guided practice where I take them through the entire exercise step-by-step, revealing each new step every couple of minutes just like George Ella Lyon did for us at the WLU Conference.
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Join the Reading and Writing Teachers Book Club on Goodreads
Feel free to join the Reading and Writing Teachers Book Club!
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Writing Center
My Classroom's Writing Center Originally uploaded by teachergal In the six-plus hours that I spent in my classroom today, I spent at least an hour tweaking the way the Writing Center looked. I think I finally got it right (and yes, I realize the kids will touch it and it won't look like this forever… Continue reading Writing Center
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the balance of teaching writing.
Do you ever feel like you're being pulled in different teaching directions -- conventions and craft and process? Do you sometimes feel guilty when you're teaching about craft that you should be teaching conventions? Or in a conference when you compliment on the great focus of the writing, that you should be correcting the spelling? … Continue reading the balance of teaching writing.
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Keeping Track of Writing Conferences
I often feel like I'm conferring with the same kids over and over again in Writing Workshop. Hence, I've created a new tool, a KID TRACKER, to help me keep track of who I meet with in strategy lessons and for conferences. At the end of Writing Workshop, I intend on shifting the clothespins of… Continue reading Keeping Track of Writing Conferences
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A very different unit of study
What if...? That's a question I ask myself very often when I try to get my imagination running when I'm writing fiction, which is not the easiest genre for me (to write in). However, as I looked over my shoulder to where my scrapbooking supplies are located, I asked myself, "What if we taught a… Continue reading A very different unit of study
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My Writing Teacher Goals
Angela Redden got me thinking about all of my goals for the upcoming school year. I thought this would be a brilliant place for me to articulate my writerly goals, so here goes. 1. To streamline my conference record-keeping for Writing Workshop. (My Reading Conference notes have always been great, but for some reason I… Continue reading My Writing Teacher Goals
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Recipe for Conferring Success
I baked a delicious chocolate peanut butter chip quick bread this past weekend. It came from a mix. (See how honest I am!) However, it required a few ingredients, such as eggs, water, and cocoa powder, to be added. I put all of those items into the Kitchen Aid Mixer and poof! Two minutes later… Continue reading Recipe for Conferring Success
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The first month of school
I met with the other teacher on my grade level today to plan our Reading and Writing Workshops for the first month of school. Our writing teaching points were inspired by five professional book authors: Aimee Buckner, Lucy Calkins, Ralph Fletcher, JoAnn Portalupi, and Jim Vopat. Would you have a look over what we created… Continue reading The first month of school
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What really matters when providing quality writing instruction…
One of Ruth's Colleagues from Indiana, Jen Barney, wrote a post about the top ten things she's learned as a teacher of writing in the past year. I think she touches on some very important ideas in her posting, which reflect the same thinking Ruth and I have about teaching writing. Do stop over to… Continue reading What really matters when providing quality writing instruction…
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Getting Started: Creating CWPs
Heinemann just published a lovely series of three booklets by Jim Vopat entitled Micro Lessons in Writing. I am so excited about infusing these micro lessons into my classroom, starting with some of the ideas presented in the first of the three booklets, Big Ideas for Getting Started. In fact, I loved one of the… Continue reading Getting Started: Creating CWPs
