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
Jose the Late Bloomer
Jose was a first grader, the youngest English language learner in my class. I can still remember his messy hair and quiet yawns. He seemed to like school, but it...
Talking Through Characters
Our sixth graders are getting ready to write realistic fiction stories, and one of the important parts of the process is getting to know their characters. In the past, I...
Lifting the Quality of Peer Response
Helping children learn to listen to each other well and give feedback takes a great deal of time. For many years, I just assumed that kids intuitively knew how to...
Writing Partner Feedback in Fifth Grade
In this video, partner teams in Franki Sibberson’s fifth-grade class share their drafts and ask for specific feedback on their opinion-writing pieces.
Writer’s Workshop: Planning for “Dips”
I'm training for a half marathon. I need to keep to a training schedule if I'm going to be ready. In the past, I tend to run from January through...
Finding Topics in Writer’s Notebooks Minilesson
Sean Moore shares the importance of using a writer’s notebook to discover topics in this minilesson with his second-grade students from early in the year.
Collecting Ideas in the Writer’s Notebook
Ruth Ayres confers with third grader Jade about the value of collecting ideas in her writer’s notebook, and shares some strategies for organizing the information.
Conferring with Spencer: Writing Notebook Topics
Katherine Sokolowski helps fifth grader Spencer brainstorm topics for his writing notebook.
Discussion and Summary As a Prelude to Fiction Writing
With the spotlight on the teaching of writing being directed toward expository, opinion, and persuasive writing, fiction writing has been reduced in many classrooms. As the time for the fiction...
First-Grade Writing Conference: Celebrations to Suggestions
Katrina Edwards begins her conference with first grader Allen by celebrating all he is doing well in his writing. She highlights his language and details in writing before moving on...
Avoiding Implementation Through Lamination
I recently attended a professional development session in which one of the speakers urged school leaders to avoid “implementation through lamination.” He was referring to administrators whose primary mode of...
Maximizing Instructional Time at the Start of a New Unit
The launch of a new writing unit is an exciting time. Usually, students have just experienced some sort of writing celebration, and they have felt the pride and energy that...
Writing Workshop Teacherisms
With the beginning of a new school year fast approaching many classroom teachers find themselves reflecting on what worked and didn’t work when launching the previous year’s writing workshop. Everything...
Inside and Outside Views Minilesson
Ruth Ayres explains the importance of “inside” and “outside” views in writing using a student mentor text in this lesson with second graders.
