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
“The Wrath of Guess Jeans”: Debrief
In this third video in a three-part series, Katie Doherty leads her 6th graders through a response activity. The text they are reading was written by a middle school student...
Helping Children Build Notetaking Skills
As a paid college notetaker, I shudder to think of the poor students who reviewed my laborious notes. Possibly the sole qualifications of that position were someone who meets deadlines...
Writing and Publishing Book Reviews with Middle School Students
If you've ever spent time with 8th graders, you'll find that they review everything. Whether it's today's lunch, their teachers' outfits, their new assignment, or the latest video game, the students...
Family History Inquiry Project: Integrating Technology with Social Studies in First Grade
Room 14 is buzzing with excitement. Cole and Kai are sharing bicycle stories that their fathers told them. Kai's dad wanted a bike so badly when he was in first...
Injecting Writing into . . . Everything: Ellipsis Stories
I took my husband to see Mamma Mia on our umpteenth anniversary. No, he didn't want to go, but I promised him if he wasn't having fun in twenty minutes, we could...
The Nuts and Bolts of the Family Inquiry Project
In the Family Inquiry Project, we all found that 21st Century learning encompasses so much more than the increased use of technology. Our students expect to be an integral part...
Injecting Writing into Everything: Prediction Stories
"What do you think will happen next?" I asked my student Jerome. "I don't know," he said. "If you did know, what would you say?" He paused and looked up,...
Quick Take: Time Constraints in Conferences
In this two-minute video, Aimee Buckner explains how she deals with time constraints when she is conferring with students.
Drawing to Learn: Conferring with Kyle
In this conference with six-year-old Kyle, Ruth Shagoury listens to him explain the stories and meaning behind his drawings during writer's workshop. Kyle's first language is Vietnamese, though English is...
Procedural Writing in Math
I'm getting ready to make gluten-free oatmeal cookies, and I'm thinking about what a fifth grader said to me: "We spent all this time working on word choice and voice,...
Seedfolks: Connecting Community and Literature
I had my first anxiety dream about school starting last night. It was the first day of school, and I was late. Not just 5 or 10 minutes late. I...
First Grade Guided Writing Group: Targeting Common Spelling Needs
In this video of a 1st grade guided writing group, Katie DiCesare works with children to address common issues with spelling and conventions. By grouping the students together, she is...
Linking Reading, Writing, and Getting to Know You Activities During the First Week of Middle School
The first day of 6th grade in my school is a challenge. The 6th graders get the school to themselves for a day since they are new to the building:...
An Uncommon Place
A mulberry tree came down out back during this latest blizzard. I'm sorry to lose it, even though I won't miss the squashes of berries underfoot and the piling up...
Injecting Writing into Everything: Cover-up Stories
When you read the word cover-up, what comes to mind? Roswell, New Mexico and U.F.O.s? A political scandal? Misappropriated funds? I'm using the term "cover-up" as literally concealing the illustrations...
“I Am the One Who . . .” Building Writing Skills and Community in Middle Schools
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...
Preschool Morning Message
This five-minute video from Melissa Kolb's preschool classroom shows the value of morning message for teaching literacy skills. Melissa explains the skills children develop during this brief whole-class lesson and...
Teaching Blogging to Second Graders
Wikis, blogs, and social networking sites allow us to be creators and consumers of content -- two roles that even younger students are ready to begin understanding using the Internet....
Conferring in First Grade
This nine-minute 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...
Using Comics in Literacy Workshops
Franki Sibberson works with her 3rd and 4th graders to use comics in the literacy workshop.
Ann Marie Corgill on Launching Writer’s Workshop (PODCAST)
Ann Marie Corgill, the author of Of Primary Importance, talks with Franki Sibberson about the launch of writer's workshop early in the year, and how her thinking has changed about instruction...
