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TWT Voxer Book Club 2.0

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At the start of the summer, I read and reviewed Patty McGee’s Feedback That Moves Writers Forward. It’s a book, I believe, that can change my teaching of writing for the better…and maybe yours too. It’s a book I want to dive into more deeply, rereading it and sharing my ideas with other educators in a book club. I know that the beginning of the school year is a challenging time to ask teachers to take on anything additional. But here I am anyway, inviting you to take part in a Voxer book club to discuss Feedback That Moves Writers Forward. So why should you?

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SOL Tuesday

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Welcome to our weekly Slice of Life Story Challenge!

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An Interview with the Author of Come with Me + a Giveaway

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As educators, we are uniquely positioned to teach children to respect and love each other. We have the power to show them how to make the world a better place. We can shape the next generation of children so they will choose to be accepting of people who look different, have a different set of beliefs, or originate from a different cultural background. This is an enormous responsibility, but we are fortunate if we can do this work to bring about change in our corners of the world.

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If We Build It, They Will Come: Tales From Inside The Sharing Circle

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The most important minutes of your writing workshop require zero hassle and no prep–only precious time. The minimal investment is worth its weight in gold. Welcome to the sharing circle with guest teacher Lori VanHoesen: The bridge builder you didn’t know was doing the hardest work all along.

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Protecting Student Writing Time

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As the school year approaches and we are knee deep in planning our schedules it seems a good time to keep this (previsously run) post in your mind.  What do you believe about… Continue reading →

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It’s Tuesday! Time to Share a Slice of Life!

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Write. Share. Give. Have fun.

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Ideas for getting started with google forms

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Google forms helps with record keeping and planning next instructional moves in writing workshop and more. Here are some ideas to get started!

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Sorting Out Your Edge Pieces

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Are you motivated and ready to dive into writing workshop this year after the Writing Workshop Fundamentals blog series? Here are some things to consider as you begin to piece together the big picture.

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Risk-taking in the Writer’s Notebook

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We learn when we experiment and take risks. The writer’s notebook could be a place worth considering as a place to do some risk-taking!

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The Intentional Educator Planner (Giveaway)

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I’ve always wanted to keep a reflective journal about my teaching but in the hustle and bustle of a busy school day, that seemed to be the first thing to go from list of “to-do’s.” I’m hopeful that having  a place to reflect right in my plan book will encourage me to take time to write down my thoughts and ideas each week. The 2017-2018 Intentional Educator Planner will be just the place!

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In Case You Missed It: Writing Workshop Fundamentals Blog Series

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Last week, my coauthors and I created a series of posts that we hope you’ll find helpful for getting your school year off to a great start. Whether you are new to writing… Continue reading →

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Tuesday Slice of Life!

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Welcome back to the Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge. Write your post. Share the permalink here in the comments section. Be sure to comment on three other posts sometime today. If you… Continue reading →

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Environments: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Working with the intention of creating writing environments with our students that are reflective of the beliefs and the needs of all should be our goal.
While each writing workshop is unique to the writers within the workshop, there are basic design components true of all writing workshops.

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Mentor Texts: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Today, in writing workshop, we intentionally teach students how to write by using authors as our co-teachers.  As teachers, we write for and with our students, and our writing can show them the possibilities for their own pieces. We highlight student work too as a mentor text, creating a bridge from what students are currently doing to a more effective way of writing.

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Small Groups: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Our blog series on writing workshop fundamentals continues through the weekend. Take a look at how you can benefit from incorporating small groups into your daily writing workshop routine.

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Conferring: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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“Lift the ball with your right hand, and pretend your right knee is tied to your right elbow.”  Placing the orange ball uncertainly in my right hand, I glanced over at Mr. Brown,… Continue reading →

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Minilessons: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Everything students are asked to do in writing workshop builds on effective teaching during the minilesson. It’s important to understand the basics of writing minilessons so we can write them quickly and teach our students to become stronger writers every time we bring them to the meeting area to teach them something new.

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Structure: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Writing Workshops have important structural components.

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Unit Planning: Writing Workshop Fundamentals

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Planning a unit of study is like planning for anything in life. You can’t predict exactly what will happen, but you can project what you think will mostly likely happen, based on what you know.

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Blog Series: Fundamentals of Writing Workshop

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Growing up as a young person, I devoted a great deal of time to playing sports.  Now, I didn’t participate in a lot of different sports — I played primarily soccer, with short… Continue reading →