Better Questions . . . Better Classrooms

Questioning strategies are a passion of mine. I’ve been doing some research into what academics call dialogic talk and what teachers call questioning for the better part of 25 years. Thinking about your classroom, I want you to consider the layered and nuanced dimensions purposeful questioning can take in your classroom. First-Write Them Down Do […]

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 […]

The Only Four Questions You’ll Ever Need to Ask Your Writers

Carl Anderson taught me to begin every writing conference with the simple question, “How’s it going?” I love this question for two reasons: it’s a question we ask our colleagues, our friends, and our family members when we want to know how they are doing. In other words, it’s an authentic question that shows we care. […]