In an age of standards, how can teachers bring the creativity and vitality of a writing workshop into the secondary classroom?  How can teachers devote meaningful, consistent time to writing instruction while balancing the demands of literature study, independent reading, test preparation, and a standardized curriculum?

For the #engchat conversation on 3/16/15 (at 7 PM EST), join co-authors Allison Marchetti (@allisonmarchett) and Rebekah O’Dell (@rebekahodell1) as they share some strategies from their blog (movingwriters.org) and forthcoming book, Writing with Mentors (Heinemann, August 2015).

Some questions we may pursue are:

• How can classroom routines support meaningful, consistent writing instruction?
• Where do you see room in your curriculum for units of writing study?
• How can mini-lessons be streamlined and sequenced to both meet the requirements and push past the limits of a standardized curriculum?
• How can the power of mentor texts be harnessed to teach any element of good writing (and reading!)?
• What conferring strategies can help you maximize instructional time and move writers forward?

We can’t wait to share strategies and inspiration with #engchat friends soon!