emergent writers · giveaway · katie wood ray · kindergarten

Getting Started With Beginning Writers, A Review and Giveaway

In A Teacher’s Guide to Getting Started With Beginning Writers, Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland help us think with our beliefs -- in the decisions we make, in the questions we ask, in our actions, in the language we use, and in how we see children. In everything we do, we send a message, and that message should align with our beliefs.

slice of life · writing

Write. Share. Give.

Welcome to the final month of 2018's Slice of Life community!

expository · mentor texts · non-narrative writing · nonfiction · nonfiction writing · picture book

The Joys of Sharing Expository Nonfiction Mentor Texts with Students + a Giveaway

Consider sharing these six books with your fact-loving students. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win all six books for your classroom library.

narrative · revision · writing workshop

An Elaboration Tool for Self-reflection and Revision

"Show don't tell," we say over and over to students but--it's harder than it sounds, though, maybe for multiple reasons.

Mary Ehrenworth · middle school · partnerships · revision

Strengthening Writing Partnerships, Part I

A writing partner provides a sounding board and creates a social opportunity for feedback, criticism, and notions of what improvement could look like or sound like. The problem with partnerships, however, is that left to their own devices kids are not very good at being partners. How can we help kids get better? Here are a few strategies...

digital tools · digital writing · Multimedia · writing workshop

Digging Into Digital Storytelling

I found myself thinking about my classroom experiences, wondering how I might be able to help teachers get started and just as I started feeling overwhelmed... I heard these words...

writing workshop

SOL Tuesday

WRITE a slice of life story on your own blog. SHARE a link to your post in the comments section. GIVE comments to at least three other SOL bloggers. I loved this tweet that came up on my feed a couple of weeks ago. It SO captures how hard it can be to just get started with writing.… Continue reading SOL Tuesday

adolescent literacy · mentor texts · quick write · writer's notebook · writing · writing workshop

The Quickwrite Handbook, A Review +Giveaway

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.

elaboration · personal essay · writing workshop

Think More, Say More, Write More: Elaborating with Personal Essay

How do you help writers bridge the gap from paragraph writing to essay writing? What are your favorite strategies for elaboration?

holiday · national holiday · thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from #TWTBlog!

We are grateful for the community of educators who read this blog since you are invested in constantly improving the teaching of writing for your students. 

emergent writers · Inventive spelling · kindergarten · spelling

Words Don’t Make a Writer: Supporting Emergent Writers Who Are Not Yet Writing Words

Are we putting additional stress and pressure on kids to write words? With purpose and joy, kids can go from compliance to engagement and become the kinds of writers who add words as powerful information to their books.

writing workshop

It’s Tuesday! Welcome to Slice of Life!

Welcome to Slice of Life! I am sharing a screenshot of an important reminder from author Anne Lamott. At Ted.com, she has thirteen more reminders about living the life of a writer. If you need inspiration, head on over! Write-Write your story. Share-Share it as a comment. Give-Comment on at least three others' slices.