10 Ways to Publish Student Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide
Publishing student writing is the cornerstone of a successful writing workshop program. At the beginning of each of my writing units I tell students they will write many different drafts within a writing genre and pick one to revise intensely and then to publish.
10 Ways to Use PowToon in the English Classroom
PowToon is a fun and fairly easy video creation tool for teachers and students. The company already has an excellent blog post about how teachers can utilize this tool...
The Ultimate Writing Workshop Routines Guide
Every teacher on the planet knows that the first weeks of school are all about routines, routines, routines and more routines. But, over time so many routines in our...
10 Best YouTube Channels for Writing Teachers
Ever spend hours looking for YouTube videos to teach writing? Youtube channels for writing teachers are hard to find! YouTube is an incredible resource bank for writing...
Writing Assessment Just Got Easier
I'm going to be honest here. In my opinion, writing assessment is the worst part of a writing teacher's job. As objective as we try to be while assessing with rubrics...
5 Worst Research Habits Kids Have and How to Fix Them
Researching online is easier than ever. But, thoughtlessness is easier than ever too! Classrooms are transforming. They are spending more and more time learning online....
Teach Argumentative Writing Through Video
Students are glued to their media...YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are the top apps used by secondary kids. As educators our job is to engage our students in...
5 Steps Students Should Take After Googling
Okay, let's be honest here. Everyone Googles everything. Am I right? Hence, the need to teach students how to "Google" properly. Googling has taken over past...
Fifteen Holiday Writing Activities to Save Your Sanity Before Break
Before your pants are covered in green glitter and your classroom floor is littered with candy cane wrappers, make sure to check out these holiday writing activities!...
Five Must Teach Mini Lessons
Many teachers think mini lessons are a way to teach writing or reading skills. THAT IS NOT TRUE! We should all be teaching behavior mini lessons too. Go directly to...
Why You’re Probably Teaching Information Writing WRONG
Most secondary teachers I know, wonderful teachers who are friends of mine by the way, teach information/expository writing using essay assignments. Here's how it...
5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Writing Units
Planning a unit can be time consuming but it doesn't have to be. Planning a unit can actually be quite simple, especially if you plan as you go, based on the needs of...
How to Create Student E-Porfolios
Student E-Portfolios are an easy and engaging way to demonstrate growth and learning. But, what exactly are they and how do you make them happen in your classroom?...
31 Mini Lessons for the First Month of School
What do you write in your plan book the first month of school, how about the first week? If you took a peek at my plan book you'd find mini lesson titles, mentor text...
Realizations About Teaching Writing
Don't have time to read? Listen to this article instead! I've been teaching writing workshop for four years now with no formal training. Last week I attended the Summer...