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! In this article you'll find my exact schedule and how I work both reading and writing workshop into one period! Join the Secondary Series Facebook group to get more live videos … [Read more...] about How I Teach Reading & Writing Workshop in 54 Minutes
Mini Lessons
Launching Writing Workshop: The First 14 Days Done for You
I've finished the first three weeks of school and launched both writing & reading workshop. 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 looking for! You'll find my exact lesson … [Read more...] about Launching Writing Workshop: The First 14 Days Done for You
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 videos you can use with your writing class today by clicking on any of the links below... 1. What is a mini lesson? Often, students raise their hand, shout out, play with their shoelaces or whisper to their friend … [Read more...] about Five Must Teach Mini Lessons
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 lists, scheduled assessments, deadlines, unit plan goals and most importantly my philosophy for teaching writing...students and teachers ARE WRITERS. Here, take a look at my first week... Some few notes on … [Read more...] about 31 Mini Lessons for the First Month of School
Realizations About Teaching Writing
I've been teaching writing workshop for four years now with no formal training. Last week I attended the Summer Writing Institute in NYC organized and facilitated by the leading think tank in writing instruction today, aka Lucy Calkins and her incredibly inspiring and talented crew. It is a daunting task to synthesize a life changing week into one blog post, but it is a MUST, … [Read more...] about Realizations About Teaching Writing