slice of life · writing workshop

An Easy Guide to Introduce Slice of Life Writing

Three steps to introduce Slice of Life Writing to your students

writing workshop

Making Progress…Without Getting Frustrated!

A little reflection after the first days of school.

choice · conferring · drafting · engagement · independent writing · writing workshop

Red Dot Side, Green Dot Side, Revisited

With very good intentions, we teach kids to do their best to really finish a story before they move on to the next one. However, a little bit of flexibility will go a long way in increasing engagement, volume, and independence in young writers.

giveaway · mentor texts · writing workshop

Penguin Problems: A Review & Giveaway

This penguin has problems. A lot of problems.

assessment · challenges · narrative · observations · writing workshop

Making the Most of Pre-Assessments

 We spend a week or so sharing stories, and building excitement for writing stories. We hand out notebooks with fanfare, and writers happily personalize them. They brainstorm ideas for stories they could write. And then we stand in front of the class and explain that today is the day we want each of them to… Continue reading Making the Most of Pre-Assessments

partnerships · writing workshop

Setting Up Writing Partnerships

Like so many routines and procedures, the investment of time to establish successful, productive, independent partnerships is incredibly worthwhile!

community · writing workshop

Listening and Watching Intently: Building a Learning Community

A few short weeks ago our new school year began. I am feeling the pressure of getting to know my students, setting up our room, and building a community of learners. In these early days I tread slowly.

writing workshop

Where Do Stories Belong?

We often say things like, "stories are everywhere," but do we really show students where stories can live?

charts · first day · writing workshop

Getting to Know Writers

You can learn a lot about students when you give them a chance to tell you want they know!

collaboration · conferring · nurturing · professional development · responsive classroom · tcrwp · Teachers College · writing workshop

Finding Our Teacher of Writers Superpowers

What teacher of writers superpower would you like to develop this year?

writing workshop

Fast Forward to Today: 7 Things I Want the Writers in my Classroom to Know

A year ago, I wrote a post titled, 7 Things I Want the Writers in my Classroom to Know. In this post, I wrote about what I knew about being a writer and what I thought the writers sharing our classroom should know about being a writer. Today, I offer an update after an another year of writing.

writing process · writing workshop

Writing Through the Hard Parts

How can we teach our students to trust the writing process?