A recent conference has me thinking about ways to use audio recording to help my students gain independence as writers.
Category: Conferring
Permission to Start the Year with Blank Walls
Starting with blank space allows for more collaborative instruction throughout the year.
Best of 2015-2016: Writing Workshop Workflow
There are a million moving pieces in a functioning writing workshop — this is part of what makes it so exciting, so dynamic. Each student is in a slightly different place in their writing, and it’s our job to try to keep it all organized so that we can best help our students. In this post, […]
When Purpose Drives a Project
The Internet has the power to connect people across the globe. I think we can all agree that’s already been well-established. The realization that I’ve recently had, though, is what a powerful impact this can have on my own professional learning. The first time I participated in a Twitter chat, I felt like a superfan […]
5 Tips for Teachers Who Want to Quit Grading
I would wager that grading is probably the very least favorite element of teachers’ jobs. (I would also guess this is quickly followed by complaining parents and senseless, top-down mandates.) We’ve all had the fantasy of the perfect teaching job that would exist if only we weren’t bogged down in numbers and rubrics and gradebooks. […]
So, I Quit Grading: Part III, A Conclusion
Before reading this post, you might want to catch up with my grand grading experiment this year in my first post and second post in this series! I cried at graduation this year. No, that’s not right. I sobbed at graduation this year. Something that has never happened to me in the previous 10 graduations […]
Discovering a Writing Process that Works
One of my favorites things about the end of the school year—aside from summer vacation, of course—is the opportunity to reflect on another year gone by. And as I look back on this particular year, I see many bumps in the road: lessons gone awry, students I didn’t quite reach, and material I didn’t get […]
Writing Conference Realities
Students need chances to discuss their writing in conferences, but finding the time and stamina to keep them going can be challenging.
Finding Writing Time Where Time Doesn’t Exist
With a little bit of creativity and flexibility, you can add more writing time to your classes!
Conferring With Writers to Learn What We Don’t Know
Uh oh… My stomach sank, and I could feel the gears inside my head turn on and begin whirring, trying to catch up. Trying to think of the answer. The right answer. Or a good answer. Or any answer. This right here — this is the risk we run when we commit to conferring with […]
moving writers 