analysis – moving writers

November 1, 2021October 31, 2021mrfitzfinkle

Reading As Writers: Big Picture and Closeup

Great student writers, the ones whose work I can’t wait to read, notice what writers do and begin to see how it all works together.

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021Starian Porchia

Bios, Threads, & Retweets: Moving Writers with Twitter Simulations

We know that writing strategies are everywhere. And, I am amazed at the amount of writing skills and strategies that are embedded into social media platforms. Although the student writer may not actually notice the author’s craft and intention that goes into well-crafted tweets, they are there in abundance, and I realized recently that these […]

April 16, 2018April 15, 2018Rebekah O'Dell

But how do you start a unit of analytical writing?

One of my colleagues just went out on a limb and had her sixth graders compose graphic essays. I’ve wanted to do this for years but haven’t had the nerve; I had a million questions! She gave me her rationale, her goals for the unit, the methods she used to scaffold the work for her […]

December 13, 2017December 6, 2017Rebekah O'Dell

Analyzing Audience with the College Essay

Today’s guest post is from Paige Timmerman, a high school English teacher in Salem, Illinois. You can connect with her on Twitter at @pbrink12 or via e-mail at timmermanp@salemhigh.com. When I decided to take the plunge and try writer’s workshop over the summer, I knew I wanted a unit on college application and scholarship essays for […]

October 17, 2016October 16, 2016Rebekah O'Dell

Reader Mail: Teaching Writers to Use Copious, Persuasive Evidence

We recently received this email from Angela in South Dakota: I am writing about a podcast interview that you did with Talks with Teachers. You had mentioned you did a unit on using text evidence, and it hit me at my heart as my students struggle with providing relevant evidence in their writing. I searched […]

April 28, 2014May 9, 2014Allison Marchetti

A Lesson for Tomorrow: Writing Like Crime Scene Investigators

I cringed as I listened to a former student explain how her teacher grades discussion. “You have to talk three times to even be graded,” she said, swirling the last inch of iced coffee in her plastic cup. “And you can’t ask questions. Questions show that you haven’t thought something through enough to talk about […]