This series is called “Just Like Starting Over” because there are points throughout the semester (breaks, starting new units, abandoning disaster situations, etc.) in which we are given the opportunity to start over. In this series I’ll be asking a few important questions of myself, and in turn, of you, dear reader: what if you […]
Publishing is a big part of writing workshop — whether students publish in Teen Ink or through a writing contest or simply by sitting in the “author’s chair” (something middle and high school students still love, surprisingly) and reading their favorite line. But often the school community, administrators, and parents miss these big moments. They just […]
We are back with another buddy post! The more we talk about what building authentic relationships with our writers looks like in our classrooms, the more we realize we have similar strategies that work with our different populations. This month we’re tackling low stakes writing and how we use it to create a culture of […]
This series is called “Just Like Starting Over” because there are points throughout the semester (breaks, starting new units, abandoning disaster situations, etc.) in which we are given the opportunity to start over. In this series I’ll be asking a few important questions of myself, and in turn, of you, dear reader: what if you […]
Happy Holidays, friends! Alas, technology is getting me down today, so you’ll have to accept all my written words instead of a quick tip video this week. Thank you for being brave and carrying on. A few weeks ago, I shared one way of creating a triangle of communication between teacher, parent, and child […]
I came across one of those well-intended but ultimately wrong-minded tweets today while scrolling through Twitter. It offered advice for “ELA teachers” from someone who isn’t one. It suggested encouraging students to try out a new Microsoft Word feature that will basically auto-suggest (or replace, if I interpreted the gif correctly) segments of student writing […]
(Sorry for the grainy sound today, folks!) Having students create documents that compile the writerly work in their notebooks has been a huge win! Students are able to share an often invisible process with their parents, they are able to share their reflections with me, and they are able to show themselves how far they […]
One of my greatest NCTE joys have been the times members of the Moving Writers team have gotten to join forces at NCTE. I love these people — their deeply-felt philosophies about teaching writing to make a difference in children’s learning and lives, their practical, boots-on-the-ground, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that brilliance. Here are some of the resources from […]
Sometimes I forget to make space for writers to communicate with me. In the hustle of the day-in-and-day-out, I slip into communicating AT kids instead of communicating WITH kids. One easy way I have found to change this is to make their writing goals super-visible — in the student’s face and in my face all […]
Screencast author’s notes are the perfect way to build a triangle of communication between parents, students, and the teacher! (And on the very, very most practical level, it gives me a class period at my desk to make sure everyone has submitted a best draft on time while students work!) Here are some resources to […]
moving writers 