Image via Pixabay They say when you turn off one of your senses, one or more of the others gets stronger. That’s what I love about teaching writing. The endlessness of possibilities for process means you get to start all over each time. Each time is an opportunity to focus on one of the “senses” […]
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Thinking Smaller
I am proud that under normal circumstance I can choreograph a lot of “movement” into a single class period, but for this year, I am learning to embrace the fact that I cannot. I need smaller, simpler moves in a writing workshop that we can learn together and execute well. Otherwise, frustration will prevail.
Virtual Teaching Is the Worst Video Game I’ve Ever Played…But I Think I Figured Out How to Beat the Game!
Reconsidering my classroom practices from the perspective of a very serious video gamer…a post about writing that just happens to use video games as a metaphor
Just Right Research Questions
My kids are burning out. Every day for attendance we check in with “how are you feeling” using a scale from the “how are you on a scale of” meme and moods are clearly trending down. I’m right there with them. I’m a solid 5 on this one today. My first instinct is usually “scrap […]
Informative Writing, Travel Article Style: Only in Your Area, Part I
There are units you enjoy teaching, and then there are units you really enjoy because you have a personal attachment or connection with the content. And the best part is when it comes seemingly out of nowhere— like the unit just finds you. In the midst of everything that is going wrong in 2020, I […]
Workshop Routines for Littles, Middles, and More (Part I)
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, […]
Diagnostic Writing: The Springboard for Relearning, Reflecting, and Revising
Earlier this month, the Moving Writers Team collaborated on a post titled “12 Writing Experiences for Processing the Election.” Within the post, I shared an idea where writers use the following prompt to build an argument surrounding the concept of compulsory voting. With my beat this school year being about revision, I saw this post […]
Two Ways to Bring Students’ Voices into the Writing Classroom
“Don’t forget to cast your ballot!” “Vote!” We just passed the most important time of this year: election day. According to the New York Times, this year’s election and candidates led to heavy, and record-breaking, voter turnout, and there were many measures in place to ensure ballots were counted in time. We’ve had crazy high […]
5 Tips for Encouraging Meaningful Reflection in the Writing Classroom
In my last post, I introduced my goal for the school year: to be more deliberate about having students engage in meaningful reflection throughout every step of the writing process. As I have been working toward this goal, I have found that encouraging the type of deep reflection that we want students to do requires […]
Writing Relationships: “Slide”ing into Writing
This year at Moving Writers, I hope to explore various ways to utilize writing practices in your classroom to build strong social-emotional relationships with students despite the physical separations imposed on classrooms by the pandemic. I hope very much that this proves to be a limited series… When I posted my first contribution of the […]