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
Stopping and Jotting
Let's face it -- we teachers are control freaks. It's in our blood, and what in many ways makes us great at what we do. Yet sometimes that need to...
Scaring Up Better Narratives Part 2
Just in time for Halloween, Aimee Buckner leads a lesson on brainstorming topics in writer's notebooks using the mentor text Some Things Are Scary. In this second installment of a...
Voila! Best Writing and Entry Slips in Second Grade
The word voila in French literally means "see there." Linda Karamatic put time and reflection into creating a binder, or "voila book," that will ease bulging writing workshop folders and...
Common Core Conversations: Reading in the Disciplines
The Common Core Standards demand that the building of knowledge through reading text plays a fundamental role in those disciplines. In history and social studies, the analysis of primary and...
Mentor Texts for Organizing Writing
One of the things I like about the Sunday paper is the coupon section. When I'm finished cutting up the paper, there are coupons strewn all over my kitchen table....
Finding Time for Your Writing with Ruth Ayres (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Ruth Ayres chats with Franki Sibberson about why it's so important for teachers to write, and how she finds time in her packed schedule for writing books...
Kate Messner on Revision (PODCAST)
Franki Sibberson: Kate, can you talk a little bit about the premise of your work around revision? What are the most important things for teachers of writing to...
Writing Celebrations with Ruth Ayres (PODCAST)
In this podcast, Ruth Ayres chats with Franki Sibberson about the importance of writing celebrations in her classroom. Ruth is the coauthor (with Stacey Shubitz) of Day by Day: Refining...
A Drive Through Assessment of My Writing
On the way to school, my son's favorite radio station DJs argued over who was the best driver among them. They decided to have a professional (someone who gives driving...
When You Hate the Book
My family took a vacation to Tuscany this past spring. A dear friend bought my husband and me a copy of The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone. My...
Pitching My Lesson Plans for a Day of Peace and Poetry
One beautiful day in October, I arrived at school to see the most amazing work taking place in the side yard. Our art teacher and several parent volunteers were placing...
Spelling Rules — Or Does It?
I am a spelling nerd. How nerdy? When I hear a word I don't know, I ask someone, "Can you spell that for me?" Then I air-write it or copy...
Three Rules Worthy of Spelling Inquiry
Over the last five years, I've dug into teaching conventions with an inquiry-based approach which I define as: using correct text and artful questioning to get students to wonder about words...
Classroom Changes and Birdhouse Gourds
I work with 24 third and fourth graders in a multiage classroom. Writing is a social endeavor for us - we have writing partners that help us grow our thinking...
Writing Better First Drafts
I love to bake—especially around the holidays. One year, I decided I would bake and build a gingerbread house. I had never done it before, but my neighbor Tina always...
Mentor Texts for a Writing Study in Graphica
Graphic novels have become part of our students' reading lives. It only makes sense that because of this, they'd want to write graphic novels. I am all for students trying...
Preserving Student Writing as a Curator
It's a Friday afternoon when I sit down with second-grade teacher Linda Karamatic. After teaching many years, she's tried different systems of preserving student writing. She's clear on what she...
Making the Reading-Writing Connection with Genre Studies: The “Must Have” Lesson
In many classrooms today, teachers use genre studies as a springboard for teaching writing. Depending on the genre being studied, every student has to write a fable or a personal...
Writing Triage: Dealing with Dialogue Disasters
Panicky emails regarding fledgling writers thrill me. Perhaps, it's nostalgia for the pace of my former favorite Thursday night show: ER. Listening to the intro theme song, I tingled with...
Fireflies: Then and Now
Summer is a recharging time for teachers; it is our time to be at home with our families and provides us with time to ponder teaching and learning. Last night...
Grammar Insecurity: Coaching Editing
Not long ago I was crafting an email and struggling with one particular sentence. Was it grammatically incorrect or just awkward and in need of revision? What's more important? I asked myself. Do...
