Ways to Warm Up for Writing (At All Ages and Stages)
Athletes warm up before practice, musicians warm up before a rehearsal–so why wouldn’t writers warm up before writing?
Teaching Writing, Learning Writing
As I get ready for the March SOLSC, I’m thinking about ways to support writers when ideas, energy and inspiration waver.
A Step Back, A Leap Forward
Sometimes the most effective way to help writers leap ahead, is to slow things down and take a step back.
Discovering and Developing Student Writer Identity
For writers to grow, they must develop writer identities. How do we help them do that?
Making the Most of Pre-Assessments
We spend a week or so sharing stories, and building excitement for writing stories. We hand out notebooks with fanfare, and writers happily personalize them. They brainstorm ideas for stories … Continue Reading Making the Most of Pre-Assessments
Sometimes we only write in writing workshop
My sixth graders have been busy drafting their feature articles this week, and I had a series of mini lessons planned to begin each writing workshop day. My students, however, had other ideas.
Keeping a writing blog: taking our writing workshop online
With the Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge just around the corner, perhaps some of you are thinking more than ever about starting a class blog just for writing. Over … Continue Reading Keeping a writing blog: taking our writing workshop online
Does “Published” Need to be “Perfect?”
There’s a reason for second and third editions of really great books–a writer’s work is never done, and is certainly never, ever perfect.
Saturday Mornings
This is my vision of you on Saturday mornings: A mug of something warm — coffee, tea, or chai — in your hands Snuggled in a comfy chair Allowing peace … Continue Reading Saturday Mornings
First Draft Writing
When I was first learning about Writing Workshop, it was difficult for me to wrap my head around the process each student would be going through. I spent a lot … Continue Reading First Draft Writing
choice in process.
This trimester I have the pleasure of working in a ninth grade language arts class. The first unit of study has been a deep look into narrative writing. The challenge … Continue Reading choice in process.
Correcting vs. Revising
I’ve been thinking about this post for a few weeks now. I’ve heard teachers ask students to “fix” their writing when asking them to revise. For some reason, this word … Continue Reading Correcting vs. Revising
