by Amanda | Feb 3, 2021 | Mini Lessons, Podcast
Have you ever felt you weren’t supporting a group of students with writing? Maybe these students had IEPs, maybe they didn’t, maybe they were the students who turned in writing that was all over the place, spelling mistakes, run-on sentences, no paragraphs…you...
by Amanda | Jul 14, 2019 | Back to School, Mini Lessons, Podcast
There are so many things we need to accomplish the first week of school. We need to get to the content but we also need to teach students about how our class will run and build relationships and community too. Now you may feel a bit overwhelmed at this point. Not to...
by Amanda | Feb 10, 2019 | Beginners, Mini Lessons, Podcast
Teachers are busy and don’t have time to go looking for mini lessons. If you do have time, here are The Best Places to Find Mini Lessons Online. However, if you you don’t have time, like most teachers on planet Earth, then you’ll want to come up with...
by Amanda | Jul 18, 2018 | Mini Lessons, Podcast, Reading
English teachers struggle to fit it all in. We want to teach the novels we love while also allowing the freedom and choice that reading workshop provides. Can we do both? Yes! Keep reading to find out how…First a bit of background about my interpretation of what...
by Amanda | Oct 7, 2017 | Mini Lessons, Podcast, Reading, Routines, Writing Units
Writing and reading workshop are powerful methods to teach English. But, how can secondary teachers, who have less than an hour with their students, do it all?!?! I think I have found the solution! Here are the two different schedule options depending on if you are in...
by Amanda | Sep 5, 2017 | Back to School, Management, Mini Lessons, Podcast, Writing Units
This article outlines exactly what I did to launch both reading and writing workshop in my classroom. If you are an English teacher wanting to teach using the writing and reading workshop model, then this post is exactly what you’ve been...
by Amanda | Feb 2, 2017 | Argumentative Writing, Make Writing Fun, Mini Lessons, Podcast, Support for Struggling Writers, Videos
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 the process of learning and what better way is there to engage than through video?!?! In this...
by Amanda | Nov 18, 2016 | 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 videos you can use with your writing class today by clicking on any of the links below… 1. What...
by Amanda | Aug 9, 2016 | Mini Lessons
676SharesShare Tweet Pin It 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 lists, scheduled assessments, deadlines, unit plan...
by Amanda | May 13, 2016 | Make Writing Fun, Management, Mini Lessons
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 class to discuss topics all students think about but rarely get the chance to talk about in their...
by Amanda | Apr 14, 2016 | Make Writing Fun, Mini Lessons
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 class to discuss topics all students think about but rarely get the chance to talk about in their...
by Amanda | Mar 31, 2016 | Beginners, Mini Lessons, Podcast
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 of heart. These mini lessons are for writing teachers who want to discuss difficult topics that...
by Amanda | Feb 18, 2016 | Mini Lessons, Writing Independence
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 Mentor Texts Part Three: Guided & Independent Practice Here’s a quick overview of everything...
by Amanda | Feb 4, 2016 | Mini Lessons
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 Mentor Texts Part Three: Guided & Independent Practice Let’s get started with Mini...
by Amanda | Jan 28, 2016 | Featured Post, Mini Lessons
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, easy to chew bits. Join me for this three part series analyzing the components of an...
