Attention first-year and returning Slicers: Please fill out this year’s participant information form. Filling out the form takes less than five minutes and helps us stay organized during the Challenge.
Engaging High School Students in Writing — A Guest Blog Post by the #BowTieBoys
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.
Three Tricks for Smoother Classroom Transitions
There are a hundred ways precious minutes can be wasted during those pesky transitions, and a hundred ways a rough transition can make for an uphill battle for the rest of writing workshop. Here are three tricks that you might try.
SOLSC Prize Reveal
Here's the prize reveal for the 2018 Slice of Life Story Challenge! Get your slices ready as we gear up for writing every day during the month of March. We have incredibly generous supporters!
It’s SOL Tuesday! #sol18 #TWTBlog
Please read today's announcements before leaving the link to your post.
ICMYI: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
In case you missed any posts from our most recent blog series, Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop, here's a round-up.
Independent Writing Time: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
Last week I met with a teacher about a writer who worries her. “Where’s his writing?” I asked. She pulled out a piece with a date on it, and the date was from over a month ago. This second grader had written a few words on each page, and when we looked closely, many of… Continue reading Independent Writing Time: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
Student-Written Mentor Texts: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
While many teachers seem knowledgeable about mentor texts and teacher-created texts, it is my hope that focusing on student-written mentor texts will lead more teachers to realize students can be mentor authors, too.
Student-Led Small Groups: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
Small group instruction allows for efficiency and strategy sessions with more than one student. Allowing students to lead these groups and sessions gives purpose and opportunity to not only further the understandings of the leader but impacts your community of writers as they grow.
Conferring with Writers: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
"How about we read Goodnight, Gorilla?" Raising my eyebrows, I gazed hopefully at my two year-old daughter. "Or maybe we could read The Grouchy Ladybug? You love that one!" "No!" Her brow furrowed, my youngest was emphatic. "That one! That one! Moon!" Using her tiny pointer finger, she pointed to Margaret Wise Brown's… Continue reading Conferring with Writers: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
Inquiry Minilessons: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
There are many ways to teach a minilesson effectively. Many people think inquiry minilessons are stickier than demonstrations since kids "discover" things on their own. As a result, learning stays with kids longer since they've come to the learning on their own.
Environments for Kids & With Kids: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop
As I thought about writing this post, I considered my day and what needed to get done. I mulled over when I would go to the store, how many loads of laundry I needed to fold, visiting family, and when I'd have time to sit down with my thoughts. As I went through my to-do… Continue reading Environments for Kids & With Kids: Beyond the Fundamentals of Writing Workshop

