We are over at the Heinemann PLC Series this week chatting about mentor texts & discovery . Read — and watch — more here!
Category: Allison Marchetti
3 Reasons Literary Analysis Must Be Authentic
Hello, friends! Oh, how we have missed you! Allison and I are still in the midst of finishing our new book on teaching analytical writing, but we couldn’t resist a quick check-in with you to share some of what we have been up to! Yesterday we had the great fun of doing an hour of virtual […]
a Writing With Mentors Webinar!
Maybe you’ve got the broad strokes of teaching with mentor texts — show students authentic examples of writing in a genre to guide and inspire their own writing. But what does this look like in your plan book? How do you move students from reading like readers to reading like writers? How do you introduce […]
The Heartwork of NCTE 2016
How do you begin to process the wonderfulness that is NCTE 2016? All the people you met, the sessions you attended, the Uber drivers you shared conversations with, the authors’ hands you shook? In the past we’ve offered a top ten list, but this year we are going to share our NCTE heart maps. Underneath the […]
The Only Four Questions You’ll Ever Need to Ask Your Writers
Carl Anderson taught me to begin every writing conference with the simple question, “How’s it going?” I love this question for two reasons: it’s a question we ask our colleagues, our friends, and our family members when we want to know how they are doing. In other words, it’s an authentic question that shows we care. […]
Reader Mail: How do you balance writing and reading instruction?
“Would you rather teach only writing or only reading?” The question my husband asked me during a marathon session of Would You Rather (we were driving from Virginia to Maine). “Writing. Hands down.” From the time I was a little girl, I’ve kept diaries, written letters to friends near and far, submitted poems to contests. […]
Infusing Writing Lessons with Mentor Texts
We spend a lot of time touting the benefits of mentor texts for students for obvious reasons! Mentor texts — professional pieces of writing that are current and relevant to this year’s students — can guide and inspire their writing in ways that we alone can’t. Additionally mentor texts: connect our writers to their passions […]
Writing With Mentors on the Talks with Teachers Podcast!
We were so excited to chat with Brian on an episode of one of our favorite education podcasts, Talks With Teachers! Listen to us talk all things mentor texts here!
3 Simple Exercises to Help Your Students Read Like Writers
Imagine you’re eating at your favorite go-to restaurant, that small table for two in the back corner by the window. You place an order for dinner without the menu. You have been here more times than you care to count. You don’t need a menu! Now imagine that the head chef at this restaurant has […]
Happy Birthday, Writing With Mentors
This was us one year ago, celebrating Writing With Mentor‘s publication in the world. It’s been a wonderful year as we watched this book work its way into your hands, spoke to teachers across the country, and led workshops on how mentor texts can change your students’ writing. And it’s been an exhilarating fall as […]
moving writers 