assessment – moving writers

October 4, 2021October 3, 2021mrfitzfinkle

Big Picture/Closeup: a model for reading and writing

Closeup elements are how the story is told. Big Picture elements are the story itself.

June 4, 2021June 3, 2021Shawna Easton

It’s a Celebration!: Why We Should Honor Achievements in the Classroom

My 40th birthday is in a couple of days, June 6th to be exact. I expected this to be a difficult time in my life as I don’t like accepting that I’m getting older (turning 30 involved a lot of crying!). It has been kind of the opposite; it has made me appreciate the cliche […]

May 7, 2021May 6, 2021Shawna Easton

Using Writing as a Means of Mastery Assessment

When was the last time you took a multiple-choice test? For me, the last time I took a multiple choice test to demonstrate mastery was during our beginning of the year compliance training courses (you know, those courses we have to take every year). Here is the real question though: Did it show my mastery […]

April 12, 2021April 11, 2021Starian Porchia

Bridging Gaps Through the Power of Writing Through the Eyes of the Student

I have had a lot of conversations this year with teachers about expectations for students, specifically 9th grade and high school students, and it is clear that not everyone agrees on what the expectations should be for writers at the secondary level. Which, honestly is ironic considering the amount of standards and standardized assessments that […]

April 2, 2021March 31, 2021Shawna Easton

Three Authentic Audience Web-Based Platforms to Move Writers

Teaching writing, at first, was a struggle for me. It was a struggle because the kids seemed to detest it. When I asked them why I received all sorts of answers, but one answer that kept coming up was that they didn’t feel like the writing was “real”; they turned in all their writing to […]

March 4, 2021March 1, 2021Abigail Lund

You’re a Poet.. Didn’t You Know It?

Have you heard of the Important Book? Margaret Wise takes us through a mentor text that will help your students engage in a rich vocabulary centered writing lesson and ask themselves.. what is the most important thing? [Perfect lesson to take writing out of the ELA classroom and into math]

February 5, 2021January 30, 2021Shawna Easton

How Single Point Rubrics can be a Game Changer

One day, a few years ago, I was doing what all teachers do at some point: writing a rubric. And it looked something like this… Grammar and Mechanics The writer has a strong command of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The writer has command of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The writer has little command […]

January 27, 2021January 26, 2021noahteach

Did They Really Love That Lesson as Much as You Think?

In my first semester beat, I’m exploring the life-saving power of routines–but not just any routines. I’m talking about routines that make life easier, more efficient, and more familiar–even in the most daunting of times (cough, 2020, cough). I’m talking about routines that allow students to thrive whether you are teaching in person, virtually, hybrid, […]

January 12, 2021January 7, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

What Comes After Mentor Texts? Student-Created Mentor Text Rubrics

I’ve been on a journey this fall to think about ways to move students toward increasing writing independence. We know mentor texts benefit writers of all ages. We know that isolating the moves writers make helps newer, less-experienced writers demystify the writing process and take their own work to new heights. But we also want […]