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
Poems Facing Art: Ekphrasis
Minutes before the poetry writing group got down to business, talk was about Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Sotheby’s had just sold the 1895 pastel version for $119.9 million dollars. Petra...
Value-Added: Moving Assessments from “Inflicted” to “Student-Owned”
I looked at Michael’s latest reading reflection and sighed. It was January, and he was still struggling to make progress in his ability to demonstrate deep thinking about his independent...
Poetry All Year Long
“Poetry Bands, take your places. It’s time to begin,” I announce to my eager and anxious poets. It is a warm and sunny Thursday morning in early June. Fourth graders...
Quick Sketch Practice
Linda Karamatic uses quick sketches to teach her second graders about sensory images in reading. This is the second installment in a two-part series.
Quick Sketch Sensory Images Read Aloud: Introduction
Linda Karamatic uses quick sketches to teach her second graders about sensory images in reading. This is the first installment in a two-part series.
Common Core Booklist: Writing Personal Narratives
One emphasis of the The Common Core State Standards in Writing is narrative writing for fourth graders. When looking closely at the standards, students are expected to develop an experience...
Teaching Revision Through Talk, Routines, and Drawing
The Common Core Standards for writing require that students learn the concept of revision from a very young age. When we are working with K-2 students we want them to...
Informational Snapshot Writing
I never pictured myself as a kindergarten teacher, but what does a first-year teacher do when she receives a call to interview for a kindergarten position? Ta-da! Instant kindergarten teacher....
Writer’s Launch
Every year I revisit the same question: Why do children so often begin a home visit or enter my classroom with a need to confess to me all of the...
Mixing Information and Narratives
In this conference from a second-grade classroom, Sean Moore helps Mia flesh out her writing on friendship with examples.
Peer Conferring: The Modeling Phase
Lucy Calkins makes no bones about it: “Research is really clear that even just five minutes of conversation about books ramps up comprehension.” It’s those three words ramps up comprehension...
Staying Focused in Literacy Workshops
Clare Landrigan meets with a group of four 5th graders to talk about goal setting in reading workshop. Each student leaves with a specific goal for their reading.
Conferring for Conventions (Conventions Series Part 5)
Take your age and subtract five. That’s approximately the number of years you’ve been working with conventions in your writing. For me that number is 35. For 35 years I’ve...
Creating Anchor Charts with Multiple Classes
Three years ago my building was moving to a semi-departmentalization concept. Now I would be teaching my own homeroom reading and writing, but I would also teach two additional classes...
The Apple Doesn’t Fall from the Tree: Nurturing Critical Thinking and Choice with Middle School Writers
For our first anniversary, my husband gave me a Granny Smith apple tree. He thought he had come up with a unique, thoughtful, appropriate gift with my apple pie baking...
Aligning the Common Core and Conventions Instruction (Conventions Series Part 4)
Our group of three intermediate teachers was making clear progress in our plans for convention instruction. Meg, a first-year teacher, was growing in her confidence to notice what was “working...
Conferring in First Grade
This video from Katie DiCesare's first-grade classroom demonstrates a range of conferring in the midst of writing workshop -- from quick on the fly conferences, to small group brainstorming of ideas, to more sustained instruction of individual letter sounds and concepts.
Ten Classic Ideas That Still Work
I am not one to use the same activities and materials over and over just because they've worked in the past. I don't keep a file cabinet of things I...
Between Inquiry and Instruction (Conventions Series Part 3)
I've been working with a team of intermediate teachers to develop a plan for teaching conventions. It's a small but diverse group, and we've already worked together to find time...
What Anchor Charts Are Essential?
I can recall a time in my teaching that I didn’t use anchor charts. I didn’t see the value of them. How times have changed. Glancing around my room at...
Ten Things Every Writer Needs to Know: A Podcast with Jeff Anderson
In this podcast, Jeff Anderson chats with Franki Sibberson about his latest book, Ten Things Every Writer Needs to Know. A full transcript is available below the player. ...
