One key idea threads through my series this year about poetry as part of the writing process for other genres: poetry sharpens our diction. Frequent practice in reading and writing poetry tunes our eyes and ears to what works and does not work in our choice of words, the same way practicing guitar helps train […]
Image via pixabay.com. Scaffolding. This is exactly what I had on my mind on the eve of a busy day this semester. I had spent the first quarter of the school year working intensely to give my senior honors students as much commentary on their writing as possible. Along with conferring with them verbally during […]
Think about how much thought goes into the creation of a rubric. There is so much to consider: How many criteria should it have? What are the appropriate criteria? How should each criteria be weighted? How should this rubric be set up? Should it have boxes, a checklist, or something else? These are big decisions […]
First off…a reminder that my ‘beat’ for this 2019/20 academic year will revolve around the concept of ‘connection’. My first post was related to establishing habits of daily writing at the start of a school year by way of relationship building. Connection #1—Early Set-up of the Formative and Revision Process Inspired by: A colleague that I truly appreciate […]
Last month I wrote Part 1 of this topic. It focused on the “messiness” of the writing process. Actually, it focused on the necessity of it. For it is within the messiness that student engagement and ownership over their writing increases. This post is about what comes after that messiness…what to do with all of […]
It’s that time of year. Yeah, we may sometimes feel like we’re in survival mode with eager tallies marking how many Mondays are left in the school year, but as much as we might be counting down, we’re also starting to plan ahead for next year. We’re waxing reflective and submitting school supply lists to […]
Focused feedback equals focused writing and revision!
Inspired by Rebekah’s decision to quit grading earlier this year, I have been trying to take more risks with assessment in my own classroom. I haven’t gone grade-free quite yet, but I’m looking for more opportunities to involve my students in the assessment process. Since it is end-of-term time for many schools, I thought […]
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 […]
Lucy Calkins’ wisdom about teaching the writer (and not the writing) continues to reverberate decades after the publication of her book The Art of Teaching Writing. Yet many of us do not teach in a way that promotes writers. I know because I was one of them. In the past, I taught writing one composition […]
