Enticing Students with New Writing Challenges
Although the writing challenges Writing Workshop co-developer Shelley Harwayne designs aim to be rigorous, she tries to make sure there’s an element of joy attached. “When assignments are enticing and...
View ArticleHelp Students Discover Their Writer’s Mindset
Chris Hall wasn’t satisfied with the way he taught revision in MS writing workshop. After much reflection he's concluded that the best revision takes place in the mind of the writer during the writing...
View ArticleBuilding a Foundation for In-Class Writing Clubs
Lisa Eickholdt and Patty Vitale-Reilly’s favorite student collaboration is the Writing Club – an opportunity for kids to write in authentic, engaging, and creative ways. They prepare a foundation for...
View ArticleMiddle Schoolers Love to Write Flash Fiction
The flash fiction format is engaging, appealing, and motivating to students and to teachers, precisely because of its brevity, accessibility, and manageability, writes teacher/author Linda Rief. “For...
View ArticleWriting Conferences: A Minimalist Approach
Author and literacy consultant Patty McGee offers a minimalist alternative to heavy correction that provides an engaging, motivating, and meaningful approach to writing conferences. Try McGee’s three...
View ArticleWriting: Let ChatGPT Create Your Exemplars
What if you could concentrate more on lesson development and spend less time creating exemplars (and non-exemplars) to use in writing instruction? Literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo shows how you can...
View ArticleStarting a Writing Club Outside the Classsroom
Want to start a writing club to reach beyond curriculum boundaries and provide a comfortable, social experience for all writers? Sharon Ratliff did just that and shares what worked for students as they...
View ArticleAdd Imaginative Writing to Your ELA Classroom
While integrating imaginative writing into ELA classrooms may seem fanciful in a school culture that prioritizes the expository and analytical, teacher/coach Ariel Sacks shows how regular story...
View ArticleTeach the Writer First and the Writing Second
Recognizing the gap between formal curriculum standards and the emotional and organizational hurdles of writing, Matt Renwick shares some of his ideas for student-centered strategies that acknowledge...
View Article12 Idea-Packed Posts about Teaching Poetry
National Poetry Month is here! If you’re once again rushing to pull together some poetry lessons – or perhaps feeling a bit guilty because you’ve put poetry aside in favor of more high-stakes ELA...
View ArticleGive Students Writing Feedback That Works
Laurie Miller Hornik describes what happened when English department colleagues got together to improve their responses to student writing. The collaboration produced a feedback protocol for reading,...
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