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...
How to Support Your Writing Haters
Welcome back! This is part three of a series revealing the truth about writing with mini lessons! In each blog post I provide a mini lesson you can use with your...
Ten Places to Find Mentor Texts
What is a mentor text anyway? A mentor text is any text used to model the type of writing your students are learning. Mentor texts are the backbone of writing workshop...
The Truth About Writing Part Two
Welcome back for part two of this three part series revealing the truth about writing with mini lessons! In each blog post I provide a mini lesson you can use with your...
The Truth About Writing Part One
This is a three-part mini lesson series that will help you reach for the truth about writing with your students. Each post will include a mini lesson, not for the faint...
8 Ways Teachers Kill a Love of Writing in Their Classrooms
Are you a writing teacher who wants to instill a love of writing in your students but aren't sure how? Yes, teaching standards is important and students need to be...
Opinion, Persuasive or Argumentative Writing?
Many teachers think argumentative and persuasive writing are the same. Some would go as far as to say that persuasive writing has just turned into argumentative because...
Mini Lessons Step By Step Part Three
Welcome to Mini Lessons Step By Step Part Three! Part One: Coming to the Meeting Area and Hooking Students In Part Two: Teaching a Targeted Skill & Modeling with...
Mini Lessons Step By Step Part Two
Welcome to Mini Lessons Step By Step Part Two... Part One: Coming to the Meeting Area & Hooking Students In Part Two: Teaching a Targeted Skill & Modeling with...
Mini Lesson Step By Step Part One
So what is a mini lesson anyway? To put it plainly, a mini lesson is a brief lesson modeling a targeted writing skill. In this series I'll break it down into small,...
Writing Chart Fails and Fixes
Charts for workshop can be incredible tools and well...a giant pain. Come on admit it, how many times have you scribbled down student ideas only to stare sideways at...
Let Google Take Over Your Writing Classroom, Here’s How…
If your students have access to Gmail your writing instruction should be completely transforming because of Google! If you don't have access to the teacher...
50 Ways to Get Kids Begging to Write More
Do your students moan and groan when it is time for writing? Does it make you sick to your stomach when that happens? Does it make you feel like you are failing as a...
Week Before Holiday Writing Ideas
Before your pants are covered in green glitter and your classroom floor is littered with candy cane wrappers, make sure those writing skills you taught during that one...