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.
"DOT DOT DOT" – a phrase made famous in Mama Mia, it's also the spark for some writing instruction linked to read alouds from Heather Rader.
Julie Johnson explains how a family history inquiry project in her first-grade classroom builds technology, literacy, and research skills as students explored many cultures. This article is the second in a two-part series.
What happens between kindergarten and upper elementary grades to make students more hesitant about making predictions? Heather Rader has books and teaching suggestions for building prediction skills.
In this two-minute video, Aimee Buckner explains how she deals with time constraints when she is conferring with students.
In this conference with six-year-old Kyle, Ruth Shagoury listens to him explain the stories and meaning behind his drawings during writer's workshop. Kyle's first language is Vietnamese, though English is also spoken in the home.
Heather Rader explains how mentor texts for math instruction need some specific attributes.
There's so much to do during the first weeks of school, but it's important not to skip the most important thing – building a sense of community with your students.
In this video of a 1st grade guided writing group, Katie DiCesare works with children to address common issues with spelling and conventions. By grouping the students together, she is able to use her time well in addressing common needs among students.
Want to get your middle school students’ attention on the first day of school? Read a book about how to ruin it for them.
Franki Sibberson reflects on her nonfiction writing unit, and realizes she emphasizes research skills at the expense of the craft of nonfiction writing. She explains how she revamps the unit to help students focus more on writer's craft in nonfiction texts, including some new mentor texts and different ways of using writer's notebooks.
Science notebooks are a wonderful tool for building outdoor observation and writing skills. Andrea Smith explains how writing in the notebooks leads students to explore different nonfiction text features like infographics and lists.
ERP. The sound can't help but make you grin. It's Heather Rader's acronym for Explicit Revision for Peers, a series of one-minute kinesthetic writing routines to help students learn how to help each other kindly during writer's workshop.
In this two-minute video, Aimee Buckner explains how she selects mentor texts for writing, as well as the importance of using writing by students and teachers in lessons.
Andrea Smith writes about how she uses wonder questions in her science curiculum.
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan offer three strategies to use during writing conferences with struggling students.
We’ve all had the experience of reading a professional book and disagreeing with some of the ideas from the author. It’s just a little more surreal when you wrote the book! Aimee Buckner participates in her school’s study group reading of Notebook Know-How, and finds some of her thinking about notebooks has changed over the past few years.
Kathy Collins looks around the holiday table and discovers that differentiating instruction is similar to hosting a Thanksgiving feast.
When does level matter in grouping students for reading instruction?  Franki Sibberson shares her latest thinking and a template to use in organizing groups.
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan remind us that our own children are often our best teachers. Here they share all they learned from their children during a summer of writing together.
Mandy Robek finds a punctuation unit study with her third graders is a fun alternative to yet another genre study. Her essay includes booklists of children's literature and professional texts.
If you've resolved this year to keep up with your own writing journal so that you can share the good, bad, and ugly of your process with students, you'll enjoy Jennifer Jones' inspirational and practical new piece.
These lists created by S. Rebecca Leigh are a fun way to size up the messages we send students about reading, writing, and drawing, and how these may influence lifelong literacy habits.
Heather Rader shares a concrete analogy that students (and teachers) love for understanding how summaries work.
Letter writing isn't a lost art in Mary Lee Hahn's 4th grade classroom. This unit has timeless appeal for students of all ages.
Karen Terlecky shares how student letter writing about books has evolved over the years. The secret? Karen uses student letters from previous years as mentor texts for moving her 5th graders from summaries to more sophisticated responses.
Teachers can accomplish plenty in a minute if they want to add more nonfiction to their day. Learn how from Andrea Smith.
Aimee Buckner chats with colleagues about notebooks, and finds herself rethinking what she puts in her notebook (as well as what she requires of students).
Expedition Mondays launch every week in Andrea Smith's classroom with a healthy dose of nonfiction.
Kelly Petrin and Ruth Shagoury connect globes and children's literature with a map theme to inspire young children to write more and include visual representations in their drafts. While the examples are from a Head Start classroom, the booklist and activities are appropriate for any K-2 students.
When and how should you launch writers' notebooks in your classroom? According to Aimee Bucker, it depends on if you are a "wader" or a "diver." She shares some of the ways she has slowly and quickly moved students into their notebooks in years past.
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