NCTE · Slice of Life Story Challenge

Please share your story with our community.

WRITE your slice. SHARE your link. GIVE some comments to (at least three) other slicers. If you’re leaving your comment early in the day, please consider returning this evening or tomorrow to read some of our evening posters’ slices. For Slicers attending the NCTE Annual Convention in Boston: Tara and I will be attending NCTE.… Continue reading Please share your story with our community.

inspiration · writing

Climbing out of a Writing Rut

I’ve been writing daily for years, but lately I feel as if I haven’t written anything worthwhile. Sure – I’ve written blog posts about family and the teaching of writing.  Sure – I’ve jotted ideas down in my Noteshelf App.  Sure – I’ve worked on a nonfiction writing project I’ve been trying to move forward… Continue reading Climbing out of a Writing Rut

common core · curriculum · national holiday · NCTE · writing workshop

Celebrating The National Day on Writing: Bottom Lines Beliefs

Happy National Day on Writing! One way to celebrate this day is to take a moment to reflect on your bottom line beliefs about quality writing instruction.

engagement · writing workshop

Pump Up the Volume!

I recently had a dream about teaching writing. In my dream the kids wrote and wrote and wrote for hours on end as I floated effortlessly from student to student. You could hear a pin drop. When I let kids know that I was very sorry, but there were only a few minutes left, they… Continue reading Pump Up the Volume!

narrative · writer's notebook

Writing the Hot Spot First

How, she wondered, could we get them to write more focused narratives? And what types of entries could they make in their writer's notebooks to help them with this process?

early childhood · writing workshop

A Tiny Invitation

Tiny hands are limitless story tellers.

assessment · slice of life · writing workshop

Slice of Life in the classroom: How to rubric and grade our project

Launching our yearlong Slice of Life writing challenge is an exhilarating experience for my sixth graders. None of them have done any type of digital writing, and the very idea of posting a slice, seeing it “go public,” and then watching as classmates comment and compliment their writing is, as one of my kiddos put… Continue reading Slice of Life in the classroom: How to rubric and grade our project

writing workshop

Setting Up Writing Partners for Success

We've all been there. Reading your own writing to somebody else can be scary. Even when I am teaching adults in writing institutes and graduate courses I often have to say, "Please don't cover up your writing and just summarize it; actually read your writing to your partner." Even then, there are always a few participants… Continue reading Setting Up Writing Partners for Success

Slice of Life Story Challenge

SOLSC + Social Media

WRITE your slice. SHARE your link. GIVE some comments to (at least three) other slicers. If you’re leaving your comment early in the day, please consider returning this evening or tomorrow to read some of our evening posters’ slices. Seems like Facebook is always changing things around, right? Last week, I learned two Facebook-related things… Continue reading SOLSC + Social Media

assessment · on-demand piece · tcrwp

Scoring On-Demand Assessments

Nothing truly teaches you like rolling up your sleeves and doing something. I came away with five realizations as a result from scoring K - 8 narrative on-demand assessments by myself.

demonstration · informational writing

Demonstration Writing Tips: Information Writing as a Case in Point

Most writing workshop teachers agree that using demonstration writing to teach with is crucial. However, creating it is not always easy. Here are some tips to help you get the most bang for your writing buck.

writing workshop

Introduction: Beth Moore

Hello Readers! Please allow me to introduce myself. I am thrilled to become a part of this fabulous team of teachers and writers. It is such an honor to be a part of this fantastic project. I have always wanted to be a writer. At seven or eight years old, I used to spend whole days… Continue reading Introduction: Beth Moore