Teaching Writing
Everyone who writes for Choice Literacy loves teaching writing, because we all write ourselves. We know it is "hard fun," as Donald Murray famously said—exasperating and exhilarating at the same time. The writing workshops you will read about here and see in our videos are busy, noisy, vibrant places. And most days, we wouldn't want to be anywhere else than in the midst of 'em! Here is where you'll find our latest discoveries, insights, and occasional boneheaded mistakes in teaching writing.
Latest Content
Digital Literacy Workshop
Maria Caplin has suggestions for making transitions to digital literacy in reading and writing workshops.
We Are All Writers with Louise Borden (PODCAST)
In this podcast, author Louise Borden talks about writing from a historical viewpoint.
Ralph Fletcher on Mentor Texts (PODCAST)
If you’re spending some time sifting through new books and thinking about teaching with them, you’ll enjoy this podcast with Ralph Fletcher.
The Power of Charts in the Classroom
Melanie Swider shares suggestions for making anchor charts more purposeful.
Quick Take: Starting an Anchor Chart in Kindergarten
Mandy Robek begins an anchor chart with her kindergartners and explains the value of shared writing for creating charts about reading strategies and behaviors.
Note Taking for Research
Katherine Sokolowski helps her fifth graders build notetaking skills for research.
Choices for Paragraphs
Melanie Meehan finds third grade is a good age for helping students develop paragraphing skills.
Second-Grade Minilesson on Paragraphs
Ruth Ayres uses a student text to demonstrate the importance of paragraph breaks in this second-grade minilesson.
Celebrating “The Voice” of Writers
Melanie Meehan presents a fun activity for late in the school year that uses the format of The Voice television series.
Shared Writing in Kindergarten
Mandy Robek leads a shared-writing session in kindergarten.
Space to Draft
Ruth Ayres argues against lockstep approaches to the writing process.
Group Composing
Gretchen Schroeder finds group composing is a fun way to build community, writing skills, and understanding of how arguments work with her high school students.
Weekly Check-In Sheets
Are you finding effort from students is flagging? Katherine Sokolowski develops check-in sheets as a way to lift student energy and reflection.
Giving Students a Notebook Tour
Melanie Meehan finds a notebooks tour is a terrific minilesson for helping students expand the ways they use notebooks.
Using a Sketchbook as a Tool to Teach Grammar
Melanie Swider describes how she develops notebook pages for minilessons and conferring.
How Long?
Ruth Ayres provides a ready reference guide for the typical length of everything from a minilesson to a conferring session.
Moving Away from Bed to Bed: Conferring with Ty
Ruth Ayres confers with fourth grader Ty about his personal narrative, and works to move him away from a “bed-to-bed” approach in his writing.
Making Memories Stick: Tutoring Kirk
Max Brand tutors a struggling fourth grader who produces very little writing.
Guiding Principles for Conferring
Melanie Meehan shares what’s essential in conferring.
Raising the Quality of Word Work
Shari Frost has some practical suggestions for more thoughtful word work.
Small-Group Writing: Steps for Success
Cathy Mere provides grouping guidelines for primary teachers.
Going Public with Word Work
Maria Caplin is discouraged at the low level of transfer of new vocabulary in her fifth graders’ writing, so she makes some changes in her classroom.
Science Observations in Kindergarten
Mandy Robek helps her kindergarten students complete science observations.
10 Ways to Publish Student Work
Erin Ocon compiles a list of the ways she publishes writing of her teen students.
Letter Writing with High School Students
Kim Campbell instills a love for a lost art in her high school students.
Twitter in the Classroom
Katherine Sokolowski and her students find Twitter is an essential element in their fifth-grade reading workshop.
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Message
Julie Johnson has advice on classroom uses of tech resources.
Organizing Craft Minilessons
Mary Helen Gensch concludes her series on crafting your own minilessons with tips on organizing and storing your plans.
How to Notice: Mining Children’s Books for Craft Minilessons
This is the second installment in our new series on creating your own writer’s craft minilessons.
Character Traits and Vocabulary Development
Gigi McAllister shares how she combines vocabulary instruction with analysis of character traits in her fourth-grade classroom.
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