By taking some time in May and June to try new writing projects, we can motivate students to stay connected and continue living the writerly life when no one is assigning them to do it. They can write (and read) because it’s part of who they are and how they live each day. Let’s not allow May and June become movie-watching, worksheet-filling, killing-time days. Let’s make each day count and keep our writers enthusiastic about all the possibilities being a writer brings.
Category: writing workshop
Student Self-Reflection: Looking Back and Moving Forward
Someone once told me (or maybe I read it somewhere) that the best stories are like pearls on a string. Each moment or scene in the story is polished, lovely to read. But it is the string of scenes, all tied together that gives the whole story meaning and purpose. The pearls on their own… Continue reading Student Self-Reflection: Looking Back and Moving Forward
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Three Ideas for Oral Storytelling in the Classroom
Some sit at a keyboard and the words just pour out. Others use a pen and paper, working slowly and deliberately. I know one writer who prefers a typewriter to a laptop. And then there are the storytellers.
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Write at the Start: No More Morning Worksheets
How can we let writing be part of a "soft start" for students instead of making them complete joyless worksheets? How do your students start the day or class period? Please join the conversation!
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How Many Stars? Tools for self-assessment and goal-setting
The more we show learners what the work looks like at different levels and the reasons for that level, the better they are able to self-assess, set goals, and improve.
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Super Spellers: Review + Giveaway
How do you approach teaching writers to spell? Mark Weakland's book Super Spellers: Seven Steps to Transforming Your Spelling Instruction might have some new insights for you!
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Reflections on the Classroom SOLSC 2018
The Classroom SOLSC is over for this year...now come the reflections!
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No More Cookie-Cutter Teaching
As educators, we need to take ownership of our teaching. If you think your tried and true lessons are lackluster, change them. Start with looking at your students and asking yourself, what do my students need? What are their strengths? Next, look at the VERBS in your standards. Precisely what is it your students need to master in this unit? Finally, embrace the art of teaching, follow their lead.
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Reinvigorate Your Classroom by Putting Kids First: An Interview with Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz
Reinvigorate Your Classroom by Putting Kids First: An Interview with Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz
Learn how Hertz and Mraz's newest book, Kids 1st from Day 1, can impact your writing workshop.
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Day 31 of the March SOLSC #SOL18
We are all better teachers, better writers, better noticers, better people when we are finding moments to reflect on and share each day. Thank you to all of you!
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Day 30 of the March SOLSC #SOL18
Tomorrow is the last day of March and the last day of the 2018 SOLSC. We all know that, and it still seems important to say!
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Immersion into Poetry with Centers
Third grade poetry centers are one way to immerse students in the different literary devices and figurative language we find in poems.
