Choice Lit Topic: 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.
Results
Purposeful Ways to Incorporate Interactive Writing at the Start of the Year
One of the instructional methods we love the most in primary classrooms is interactive writing. It allows us to target the needs of our learners as individuals and reinforce the...
Authentic Audiences for Writing in School
The first time we posted an article on the blog we shared was several years ago. We weren’t sure that anyone besides ourselves would even read it. At the time,...
Writing in the Wild: Bringing Back Authenticity
Papers, sticky notes, and folders are strewn across the tables as my second graders work on their fantasy books. They've studied several mentor texts of various types of fantasy writing:...
Wheels: Adapting to Change on the Roller Derby Track and in Your Teaching Life
In roller derby, wheels are an important part of the game. Skaters change their wheels based on how much stick or slide they want as they play, adjusting for different...
All the Writing Things: Putting Writers in Charge of Their Writing
It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about? – Henry David Thoreau After 22 years as a high school physics teacher, my...
Not Your Granny’s Grammar: Grammar Manipulatives
Grammar worksheets. They have arguably been the most popular tool for grammar instruction for decades. I’d like to offer an alternative that gives students a more interactive, creative, and effective...
Not Your Granny’s Grammar: So Long, Grammar of Yore
Generally speaking, grammar instruction has not evolved much since our grandmas and grandpas were in school (and their grandmas and grandpas as well). I recently did a deep dive comparing...
Feedback Writers Will Use
Banal It was just one word scrawled at the top of my friend's literary essay. I don't remember if it was written in red or not, but it probably was. ...
Shared Writing with Older Readers and Writers
Shared writing was a successful tool when I taught kindergarten and first grade. I was able to model how reading and writing were intertwined; writers have thoughts and share them...
Now What? We Went on a Field Trip
Field trip. Those two words can get very opposite reactions when brought up in a conversation with teachers. There are teachers who love going on field trips and those who...
Unleashing Writers
Writing workshop had a hamster wheel feel for me, and I’m sure it did for my students too. We had been working through narrative writing standards and goals and then...
Reframing Writers
“You can’t read his handwriting, and he misspells so many words,” his teacher said. “He doesn’t use punctuation correctly, and his writing is all over the page. He ignores the...
I Don’t Hate Graphic Organizers
"I know you hate graphic organizers," a teacher said to me recently. "I don't!" I protested. But maybe I do a little bit. Of course, not all graphic organizers are...
Bit by Bit: Lifting the Level of Storytelling
Writers were filling more lines, but the trouble was at the heart of the stories. What is the problem in these stories? I pondered as I read further through the...
A Poetic Beginning
It is no easy task for students to jump back into writing at the start of the school year after taking a summer hiatus. I used to ask students to...
Kindergarten Celebration of Writing
Our Kindergarten Celebration of Writing was a huge success. Parents filled the room with love and celebration. The kindergarten writers filled it with their writing and beautiful voices. They shared...
Early Writing Opportunities in the Library
Every child is a natural born writer. — Carole Marsh As a kindergarten teacher drops off her students for library class, she tells me, “Jacob keeps talking about the book...
Building Bridges (and Confidence): Planning Solid Essays
The morning after a New England snowstorm, I had forgotten I needed gas to get to school. No problem, I thought, as I made a plan for where I would...
Bet You Didn’t Know: Chicken Eggs and Research
Chicken eggs arrived. We set up our incubator. We placed the eggs inside the incubator. We collected wonders about the eggs on sticky notes and displayed them. I knew we...
Color Coding: An Organizational Strategy
Recently my daughter Megan and I were shopping in a nearby town when she asked if I minded stopping in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. “Um, sure. What are you looking...
Plagued by Plagiarism
Like a stereotypical Gen Xer, I definitely experienced hands-off parenting as a child. My parents didn't hover over my homework time or build my model of a California mission for...
