When I decided to write a blog for new teachers, I should have begun with this piece of advice. What I’m going to share with you is nothing new or nuanced. I’m sure other teachers (myself included) have already said this 1,000 times on this blog. There are whole books on this topic that dive […]
Tag: writing workshop
First Year Teacher Support: Setting Small Goals
Hey there, new teacher! I hope you’re hanging in there! This is right around the time of the year during my first year of teaching when I learned teaching writing is a lot harder than it looks. By the end of first quarter, I had tried my hand at a writing assignment or two and […]
Writing With Ross Gay’s BOOK OF DELIGHTS to Teach Positive Psychology
Today’s guest post is from K. Keener. K. Keener (www.kakeener.com) has taught English in a variety of contexts across four continents and all levels for 21 years in total. She began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe and most recently taught at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. Currently, she is taking […]
Embarrassed and Alone in the Writing Workshop
When we know we’re not alone, writing (and life) can be a little less daunting.
Deep Dives and Side Quests: Idea Gold Mines
As an American now living and teaching in Canada, I’ve had to learn a lot in a short period of time. I’m teaching a self-contained 3rd + 4th grade class this year, which means I’m teaching Social Studies, and the American Education system doesn’t really give us all that much about our neighbors to the […]
The Emotional Underlife of Writing
Through all the unprecedented changes the pandemic has brought into our classrooms, something that hasn’t changed and is highly unlikely to change is, how, despite seemingly perfect external conditions, the inner condition of the writer affects their writing.
Discovering Language: Field Guide Entries that Explore the Language That Means the Most
Here’s my first post in this series that will give you some background on Language Field Guides as well the foundation of choice word field guide entries. Language field guides are a place where readers + writers make discoveries about the language they explore. It’s how I approach vocabulary instruction in a way that’s meaningful, […]
Talking to Teachers: Reflecting on a Writing Process Unit (Non-Genre Specific)
This is a follow-up conversation with Caitlin Wingers, a grade 3 teacher in Jubail, Saudi Arabia (The initial conversation, that occurred in October, can be found here). This time around, Caitlin reflects on the unit she implemented at the start of the year — a Writing Process Unit that was Non-Genre Specific. A unit that […]
How Single Point Rubrics can be a Game Changer
One day, a few years ago, I was doing what all teachers do at some point: writing a rubric. And it looked something like this… Grammar and Mechanics The writer has a strong command of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The writer has command of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The writer has little command […]
Preventing ELLs’ Failure in Writing Workshop
“One of the burdens of privilege is the outsider’s perspective.”
moving writers 