assessment · volume · writing workshop

Interval Training With Writers

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.

COVID-19 · stamina · volume · writing workshop

Resources Teachers Can Share With Families: Increase Writing Volume and Stamina at Home

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.

At-Home Learning · choice · writing workshop

At-Home Learning Resources Teachers Can Share With Families: Choices for Writing

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.

writing workshop

It’s Tuesday! Welcome to the Slice of Life Story Challenge.

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 cherish moments differently. “You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.”-Chadwick Boseman Write… Continue reading It’s Tuesday! Welcome to the Slice of Life Story Challenge.

EAL · English as an Additional Language · language · visual thinking strategies · writing workshop

10 Strategies to Help Keep All Students Learning and Growing, Especially EALs

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.

back to school · conferring · family · parent involvement · remote learning · routines · writer identity · writing workshop · writing workshop routines

A Letter to Families as we Launch Remote Writing Workshop

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).

middle school · remote learning · teaching tools · technology · toolkits · writing about reading · writing prompts · writing workshop

Writing About Reading: Building a Resource Toolkit for Middle School

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.

community · writing workshop

Wordless Slides: Another Way To Get To Know Students

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!

back to school · COVID-19 · notebooks · remote learning · slice of life · Teachers who write · writing workshop

Write the Moments: Documenting a Most Unusual School Year

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.

narrative · personal narrative · storytelling · writing workshop

Oral Storytelling Before Writing

“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

assessment · authentic assessment · data · feedback · formative assessment · giveaway · goals · growth mindset · high school · middle school · monitoring student learning · peer conferring · personalization · reading-writing connections · record keeping · Reflective Practice · Sarah M. Zerwin · self-assessment · standards · student engagement · Student ownership · writing workshop

Point-Less by Sarah M. Zerwin: A Review and Giveaway

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.

Belief Statements · classroom environment · COVID-19 · digital tools · Distance Learning · writing workshop

Belief Statements: The Breadcrumbs of Teaching Near and Far

No matter where we gather to teach children, the values we have for children and education should not change.