Pacing your writing instruction isn’t an easy thing to do, especially if you’re a new writing teacher. The question I get the most when it comes to writing is “What does your writing calendar look like?” I, like many...
Mini-lessons are a great way to teach students about small tidbits of writing without overwhelming them. These sessions are 10-15 minutes long, which is the perfect amount of time to engage elementary students without them losing interest. In my...
Procedures and Classroom Management Many people are concerned about Writer’s Workshop because of the different type of students they have in their class. Here are things that you may be concerned about, but that Writer’s Workshop will be...
Are you ready for more writing about reading in your classroom? I was recently asked to do a presentation for new teachers on the new Common Core ELA standards and how to fit it all in to our dwindling ELA block. The major issue that most teachers...
The movement with the Common Core State Standards is to reference text in writing. This isn’t completely new, but is something that usually isn’t taught until middle school and high school. Last year I began using anchor text, or text...
Do your students write opinion pieces that don’t include supporting evidence? My students did at first, so I knew I needed a great mini-lesson on writing opinion pieces. In this post, I’ll walk you through using NewsELA, which is a free...