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
Conferring, Illustrations, and Emotion in Young Learners
Ruth Ayres confers with second grader Max about the story of his lost dog, and uses a mentor text to demonstrate the power of two-page spreads. Click here to download...
How to Keep Conferring Notes
My husband, Andy, coaches our daughter’s junior league softball team. He is a bit of an extremist when it comes to collecting stats and notes on each player. He keeps...
Charts as Tools, Charts as Teachers
We’ve all been in (or, at times, have been) the classroom that has chart paper as wallpaper. Every open space, and maybe even open window, is occupied by a chart....
Better Mondays Through Quick-Writes
It was one of those Mondays. My students came to me with that glazed-over, deer-in-the-headlights look, and it didn’t seem like they were going to engage with me. I asked...
Plans for Writing Circle
Stella Villalba meets in a circle with her first- and second-grade English language learners to share plans for writing workshop.
Using Mentor Texts to Craft Leads
“Hook the reader” is a phrase that we hear often during writing instruction when students are crafting their leads or introductions for their writing pieces, and it is, essentially, one...
Mentors for Process and Habits
If you are familiar with David Shannon’s book David Goes to School, it is clear that...
From Mentor Texts to Mentors in First Grade
This summer I’ve become hooked on podcasts, from writers such as Elizabeth Gilbert, who hosts the podcast Magic Lessons, and Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnson, who host the Nerdette podcast...
Building a Writing Community in Middle School
In this 12-minute video, Katie Doherty leads her sixth-grade students as they try the prompt "I am the one who . . ." during writing workshop. This is an excellent activity for building classroom community.
Beginnings, Middles, and Endings: The Power of Baseline Assessments
Controlled chaos—or to a passerby perhaps it looked more like complete chaos. A literal buzz was emanating from my classroom during the last week of the school year, to the...
Getting to Know Writers: Using Quotes
One of the ways to jump-start the conversation about writing process is to read and reflect upon what other writers have to say about their own process. Information about authors...
Laying the Foundation for Genre Writing
“These are just terrible!” Elaine said with a sigh. Her colleagues nodded glumly in agreement. This first-grade team was examining samples of student writing and their writing conference notes to...
A Joyful Mess
Learning something new can be messy. When I learned to roll my own pie shells, flour covered the counters and floor and me. A white cloud hovered in the kitchen....
Getting to Know Writers: The Inventory
Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. Louis L’Amour I would imagine this is wise advice for reluctant writers or...
Getting to Know Writers: The Writing Process Survey
Interest surveys are fairly common in upper elementary and middle school classrooms, especially at the start of a new school year. Teachers want to know their students’ interests, hobbies, and...
Conferring with Ben: Brainstorming Writing Topics and Genres
Katherine Sokolowski helps fifth grader Ben brainstorm ideas for writing, and in the process encourages him to try a new genre.
Getting to Know Writers: Introduction
Here’s the thing about writing: it is unbearably hard. Right now, I am sitting in the parlor of a bed-and-breakfast at a writing retreat. I chose to write in the...
Last Chance Workshop
The narrative writing unit had gone on for way longer than I had planned. I had a stack of papers that demanded feedback and not enough time to give them...
“Reinventing Language Every Time You Write” with Ralph Fletcher (PODCAST)
Ralph Fletcher has given teachers playful and provocative ideas for years when it comes to word study. His writer's view of vocabulary learning challenges many teaching assumptions. Ralph is the...
Writing Models with Kelly Gallagher (PODCAST)
Kelly Gallagher, the best-selling author of Readicide and Reading Reasons, talks about the importance of teachers modeling writing for students. You can read more about Kelly's work at his website: http://kellygallagher.org/ A full transcript...
Tweeting a Favorite Author
Katherine Sokolowski helps her fifth-grade student Tyler send a tweet to a favorite author.
