Mentor texts aren’t just for English class. If mentor texts are meant to inspire writing and teach us something about our writing, then they should exist in every genre. And they should exist in every classroom where writing happens. It can be challenging, though, to wrap our heads around mentor texts in the content areas. […]
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Helping Students Find True Writing Mentors
What have you read that is like what you want to write? I posed this question on an introductory survey to a group of creative writers. Most of them responded with a list of the genres in which they wanted to write — short stories, poems, blogs — but only a few of them named […]
I’ve found some mentor texts…now what?
You’ve collected some awesome mentor texts to support your writing study. You’ve photocopied them and passed them out. Then what? How do we connect students with mentor texts in a way that will actually help them write? What are the first steps? My students have been immersed in a mentor text writing study for […]
Meaningful Revision in Five Days
Tara Smith of Two Writing Teachers once posed the idea of an in-between study, a study that occurs during the brief pause at the end of one unit and the beginning of another. In the middle of December, I found myself with an extra week before exams began — not quite enough time to start something […]
Two Writing Workshop Calls to Action
Hi, friends. We’re back. Our little project is safely in the hands of our publisher, and we are so happy to turn our attention back to the blog. Ever since NCTE, I have been thinking about the challenging realities so many teachers face in their classroom. Not only poverty, not only discipline issues, not only lack […]
Be right back…
This scene is lovely and peaceful and not very similar to what we are feeling right now in our very last two weeks of finishing our first book. So, friends, we are on a little break from writing on the blog so that we can finish writing the book. We will be back with all […]
Mentor Text Round-Up: Year-End Lists
As I’ve trolled my Twitter feed in the days after Christmas, it seems that everyone is publishing their year-end lists — bests, worsts, most-shockings, favorites. I started thinking about what a fun mini-study this could be, especially when we return to school at the beginning of a new year and the end of a first […]
What am I doing now? How might I do it better?
My dominant emotion during the holiday season is gratitude with a lot of reflection mixed in. As I wrap gifts, bake treats for neighbors, stand in line at the the post office, assemble holiday cards, vacuum the fallen needles under the tree, my mind wanders from family to school to the new year. What am […]
Happy Birthday, Moving Writers + Some BIG News!
One year ago today, we started a blog. Inspired at NCTE13, we felt compelled to join the global English teacher conversation. So, we picked a name, paid a graphic designer $5 for a logo, and hung a sign in our little corner of the Internet. We started writing. And we have loved it. We love […]
Finding Time for Technology in Writing Workshop
I think my students would tell you that our classroom is a happy, productive place. They would also tell you that it’s predictable. Monday through Thursday, we write during notebook time, read mentor texts and take notes during the lesson, and write and confer during workshop. We do this for 46 minutes four times a […]
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