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
Weekend Headlines: Whole Class Share
In this final installment of a three-part video series, Katie Doherty and her sixth-grade students continue the Weekend Headlines activity. Each Monday, students listen to Katie share some of the...
Envisioning Writing: Wow Words and Mental Images in 1st Grade
In this minilesson, Katie DiCesare uses the book My Cat Copies Me to help her first-grade students "envision" their writing drafts. The lesson focuses on creating mental images to conjure...
Fifth-Grade Word Study Homework
Karen Terlecky's fifth-grade students share what they learned from their word study homework.
Old Elm Speaks Conclusion: Connecting Poetry, Observation, and Reading
In this second installment of a three-part video series, Aimee Buckner shows how observation skills, poetry, and reading instruction come together with the mentor text Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems...
Helping Struggling Writers
I've found there are two kinds of struggling writers in my classroom, even though any struggling writer has some unique personality traits. At the start of the year, some students...
Writing Strengths Anchor Chart
When I taught middle school, I liked to have kids display their talents as often as possible. While students usually didn't have trouble sharing their social selves, asking them to...
Learning Curves and Dips: Planning and Goal-Setting for Writing Workshop
I am learning how to run. It sounds silly, "learning how to run," but it's true. At first I just started running a minute, walking a minute. Eventually, I ran...
Helping Students Find Their Own Mentor Texts
We believe a mentor text is a book that offers myriad possibilities for our students and for ourselves as writers. Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through...
Test-Taking Skills: Reading Strategies for Word Problems Part I
If I've learned anything from the past 22 years of teaching, I know how valuable children's playground philosophies are for dealing with the confusing world created by adults. As a...
Keeping the M
In an age of standardization, when even preschoolers are expected to perform flawlessly on literacy tests such as letter naming and recognition, it is important for early childhood teachers to...
Conferring with Emily: Moving from Questions to Content
In this conference with six-year-old Emily, Ruth Shagoury looks for a way into a conversation by using Emily's drawings, previous writing, and interests. Emily's first language is Hmong, and she...
First Grade Guided Writing Group: Goldilocks and the 3 Writers
In this video of a first-grade guided writing group, Katie DiCesare works with three girls on spelling issues that have emerged in their writing. By grouping the students together,...
5th Grade Sentence Observation
This past summer, I spent a lot of time thinking about all the components of my writing workshop. I intended to make it a focus of study for myself throughout...
4th Grade Small Group: Writing Paragraphs
In this video, Aimee Buckner uses a mentor text to demonstrate how writers construct lively nonfiction paragraphs. The small group has been pulled together because the students need more practice...
4th Grade Small-Group Lesson: Dialogue
One of the challenges of working with intermediate writers is helping them understand how and when to use dialogue in their writing. In this video of a small-group lesson, Aimee...
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...
Old Elm Speaks: Connecting Poetry, Observation, and Reading
In this first installment of a three-part video series, Aimee Buckner shows how observation skills, poetry, and reading instruction come together with the mentor text Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems...
Old Elm Speaks Day 2: Connecting Poetry, Observation, and Reading
In this second installment of a three-part video series, Aimee Buckner shows how observation skills, poetry, and reading instruction come together with the mentor text Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems...
Writing Comics: Introducing the Activity
In this lesson from a 4th grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with...
Learning from Graphica: Conferring with Students
In this lesson from a 4th grade classroom, Sarah Thibault introduces students to a writing activity. Students will be creating their own comic books, after extensive preparation and experience with...
Learning from Graphica: Class Discussion
This is the third installment of a video series on using graphica in a fourth-grade classroom. In this episode, Sarah Thibault debriefs with her class after writing workshop. Students are...
