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
Make a Really BIG List
When I look through my writer’s notebooks, I notice lists. Some are jotted in the margins; others are written on sticky notes and placed in the notebook. Some are lists...
What Matters? Teaching Conventions Series
What matters, then? Poetry matters, and the line that will not break under the weight of history. What matters then? A single gardenia broken from the dark-leafed bush. What matters...
Writing Workshop: Preparing for Publication
Beth Lawson helps her fourth-grade students work through a checklist of items to prepare for publishing early in the fall.
Running and Reading Logs
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan have ideas to assess and refresh logs in the classroom. In this video excerpt, Clare uses the analogy of how runners use logs to chart progress and set goals and encourages the students to come up with a log that will help them as readers.
Launching a Punctuation Study in Second Grade
Linda Karamatic begins a punctuation study with her second graders, sharing mentor texts, starting an anchor chart, and engaging students in punctuation inquiry partnerships.
Finding a Fit (The Power of Conventions Series)
While students whizzed through fill-in-the-blanks worksheets and circled the correct number of nouns in a sentence, when the opportunity came for students to apply what they learned to their drafts...
Nonfiction Word Hunt
Word study and nonfiction reading are combined in Franki Sibberson's whole-group nonfiction word hunt activity. Each child shares which word he or she found, where it was found, and reflects on what the discoveries mean to the community of word learners.
From Reading to Writing Informational Texts
I first met Sal and Anthony in Mrs. Bean’s second-grade classroom on a Monday afternoon. It was about 45 minutes before school let out, and the class was finishing up...
Supporting Young Writers with Opinion Texts
I believe that effective teaching is about hearing all the voices -- making sure that every student is valued, heard and respected and knows that his or her voice can...
The Joys and Challenges of Co-Teaching
As I began working on my schedule for this year, it seemed like I was missing something. Looking it over and thinking about each class, specials, and planning time, I...
The Blank Page and Better Teaching
I would be a better teacher if. . . Have you ever thought these words? I would be a better teacher if . . . I’m sure everyone has...
Revising My Recording Form for Writing Conferences
Writing conferences—the one-on-one conversations we have with students while their classmates are busy writing—are the most important teaching opportunities we have in the writing workshop. —Carl Anderson in Assessing Writers...
On Perfection and Goals
When I began teaching, Mark McGwire was breaking the home-run record in major-league baseball. We sat in the stands and cheered home runs 67 and 68, awed by the consistency...
Dear Eve Bunting
“I’m going to send this to Eve Bunting. Will you get me the address?” Allie shoved a book in my hands, along with a letter. Dear Eve Bunting, it began....
When Are Students Ready for Writers’ Notebooks?
My brother and sister in-law just had their second baby boy, Zachary. Zachary is a big baby (as far as newborns go) and he eats like a honey badger. (This...
Coaching in Kindergarten: Conferring
What's in a name? For kindergartner Maria, it's the start of learning how letters and sounds work. In this coaching session, Joan Moser of "The Sisters" helps Daniel understand how to use a child's name as a beginning point for teaching letters and sounds.
Field Experience: Writers’ Notebooks
Writers' Notebooks are an important tool for writers. This field experience showcases how elementary teachers use notebooks with young writers. Topic: Writing Instruction Grade Level: Elementary Using Writing Notebooks Video...
Listen In: About the Author
Heather Rader confers with second grader Myia over the “About the Author” piece she’s started on her own. Together they study mentor texts and generate attributes of good author biographies to lift the quality of Myia’s writing.
Introducing the Common Core Standards in Writing (Part 2)
We began our morning with this objective: “We will read, unwrap and reflect on the ten Common Core State Standards related to writing and the first three language standards. We...
From Playing to Drawing to Writing in Preschool
Kelly Petrin guides Drew from playing to drawing and finally writing during this conference in her preschool classroom.
Writing, Graphic Organizers, and Mentor Texts
In this video from Sean Moore's second-grade classroom, Sean demonstrates how to use a graphic organizer with his own writing as the mentor text.
