Category: writing

Reimagining Writing Assessment: A Reflection + Giveaway
feedback · reflections · rubric · writing · writing workshop

Reimagining Writing Assessment: A Reflection + Giveaway

Betsy Hubbard56 Comments

In the opening pages of Maja Wilson's book, REIMAGINING WRITING ASSESSMENT, Thomas Newkirk gets the ball rolling with this statement, "Rubrics regularly fail to offer help to a writer because they focus on what writing has (features) not what writing does (effect)." Today I'm sharing my reflections as well as offering a giveaway to one lucky reader.

The Quickwrite Handbook, A Review +Giveaway
adolescent literacy · mentor texts · quick write · writer's notebook · writing · writing workshop

The Quickwrite Handbook, A Review +Giveaway

Betsy Hubbard53 Comments

Linda Rief has collected a treasure of mentor texts and created a guide to encourage you to find your own treasures! Start here, get inspired, and then see what you find when you start looking. It can be as small or big as you want when you begin and Linda gives us all the right tools to get started.

Writing on a Snow Day
picture book · Read Aloud · writing

Writing on a Snow Day

Stacey Shubitz23 Comments

Matthew Cordell's new picture book provides inspiration for kids to CHOOSE to write when they're snowed-in during the winter. Read through my Q&A with Cordell to start thinking about how you could encourage your students to decide to write when they're homebound this winter. After you read the Q&A, leave a comment on this blog post for the chance to win a copy of King Alice.

Engaging High School Students in Writing — A Guest Blog Post by the #BowTieBoys
guest blogger · high school · student engagement · student work · writing

Engaging High School Students in Writing — A Guest Blog Post by the #BowTieBoys

guestteacher3 Comments

Ryan Hur, Tam Mandanis, Kellen Pluntke, Rishi Singh, Christian Sporre, and Dawson Unger are six of the Bow Tie Boys who are a group of high school students from Northern Virginia. Today they take on the topic of student engagement in secondary writing classes.

Tools of the Trade — A Guest Blog Post by Vicki Meigs-Kahlenberg
current events · middle school · writing · writing workshop

Tools of the Trade — A Guest Blog Post by Vicki Meigs-Kahlenberg

guestteacher1 Comment

We can’t control what happen next in our news feeds or in the lives of our students. By making intentional time in our curriculum for writing, sharing and publishing, we can equip our students with the most powerful tools we have available to develop and strengthen their voices within our classrooms, and create a confidence within to speak their truths out in the world.

An Invitation to Make Writing That Matters
writing · writing workshop

An Invitation to Make Writing That Matters

Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski8 Comments

Teaching writing isn't easy. We can get lost in all that needs "fixing" in our students' work, lost in the standards and district curriculum maps, lost in the products we need to hang on a wall for a display. We find our way when our WHY is nearest to our hearts: Why do our students need to write well? How will writing play a role in their lives? How will writing make their lives more meaningful? What matters the most when it comes to teaching young writers?