Write, share, give.
It’s Tuesday! Join us for Slice of Life!
Write, share, give.
Poetry for Community: Cultivating Identity and Belonging in the Writing Workshop
With no rigid rules, free verse poetry invites every writer in. Discover how including poetry at the beginning of the year celebrates student identities and builds an inclusive classroom community.
Share this:
Share this:
From Practice to Transfer
Foundational skills like handwriting, high-frequency words, spelling, grammar, and punctuation need more than isolated practice, they need to make their way into students’ independent writing. Read to learn more about how we can explicitly teach these skills, create opportunities for transfer, and use what we notice in students’ writing to determine what comes next.
Share this:
Share this:
It’s Tuesday! Join us for Slice of Life!
Write, share, give.
Share this:
Share this:
On-Demands Aren’t a Day Off: Getting a Clearer Window Into Your Writers
On-demands can tell us so much more than what appears on the finished page. By actively observing writers, offering thoughtful scaffolds, and documenting what happens along the way, we can gather valuable information about students’ processes, habits, and needs—and use those insights to decide what to teach next.
Share this:
Share this:
Inspiration for the New School Year
As I begin a new school year, re-reading Vivian Gussin Paley's "The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter" provides great inspiration for how I can position myself as a teacher of writing to young children.
Share this:
Share this:
It’s Tuesday! Join us for Slice of Life!
Write, share, give.
Share this:
Share this:
The Life Cycle of a Post-it: Helping Readers Grow Their Thinking
New to teaching writing about reading—or supporting someone who is? This post offers a concrete way to introduce jotting without turning it into an interruption or another task students complete simply because the teacher requires it. Students learn to pause, capture an emerging thought, and return to reading. Later, they revisit and sort their jots, often alongside a partner, club, or teacher, to decide which ideas are worth developing in their reading notebooks. A quick jot can be the beginning of much bigger thinking when students are taught how to grow an idea through writing.
Share this:
Share this:
More Chants for Handwriting and Conventions
Check out these three chants I wrote to help primary students with handwriting and conventions!
Share this:
Share this:
It’s Tuesday! Join us for Slice of Life!
Write, share, give.
Share this:
Share this:
Even When It’s Hard: How I Kept Writing (and Healing)
Every autumn, I come back to reflective writing as part of my high holiday ritual. Last year, keeping a steady writing practice was tough while I recovered from cancer surgery and treatment, but I kept at it. Writing through hard times helped me heal, find moments of joy, and keep growing, one page at a time.
Share this:
Share this:
I’m From “I Think” to “The Evidence Suggests”: Growing the Language of Argument
Sometimes students' thinking has grown, but their writing language hasn't caught up.
