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
Building Reading Identities Across the Year
It was November, and a new intervention cycle was beginning. “What kind of reader are you, Giselle?” Kate asked the student who was new to one of her third-grade intervention...
Finding Time for Writing Shares
“I never seem to get to the share,” a teacher said to me in a recent conversation. We talked more, and it became clear to me that part of the...
Big Table Writing
Max Brand uses the "big table" in his kindergarten classroom as a communal spot for writing. You can see how he interrupts students naturally to make quick suggestions, and allows...
Boosting the Confidence of Writers
The first time I sat down with Aaron, I asked him about his writing identity. “How would you describe yourself as a writer?” I asked. His eyes narrowed a bit....
Charting Mentor Texts
Using mentor texts is one of our favorite things to do with our students in writing workshop, because it pushes them to try things in their writing they wouldn’t have...
Drawing and Learning in Kindergarten
Max Brand demonstrates basic drawing strategies early in the year, and then has his kindergartners attempt similar pictures. He explains how the exercise builds basic skills both in literacy and...
No Pictures Stinks!
All of us teachers have recollections of cringe-worthy moments from the earlier years of our careers. Well, maybe one or two from later in our careers, too. We all painfully...
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...
Student-Centered Notes
I wrote my first research paper when I was in eighth grade. I believe my assigned topic was the death penalty, and I think I probably felt passionately about whatever...
Key Elements of Short Stories
I teach a creative writing elective, and one of the most anticipated assignments of the class is to write a short story. Students get excited about the chance to make...
Growing Toward Stories
At a recent meeting with two teachers who teach combined kindergarten and first-grade Learning Language Disabilities (LLD) classrooms, they expressed concern about their recent training in writing workshop. There’s just...
Alternatives to Graphic Organizers
The first time it happened was on a balmy November day. The room was quiet except for the sound of fingers clicking on keys and a soft baroque instrumental melody...
Writer’s Notebook Tweaks
Have you ever noticed how even the things you love sometimes annoy you? Perfection is hard to come by, and small, niggling issues tend to pop up and overshadow our...
Student-Led Minilession: Planning and Organizing Nonfiction Writing
Katie leads a minilesson in Franki Sibberson's fifth-grade class on organizing and planning nonfiction writing.
Digital and Disney: Conferring with Ben
It would be easy to zip quickly through a writing conference about a vacation story, especially one about a trip to Disney. Franki Sibberson doesn't do that. She slows down...
Stretching Writing in First Grade with Details
Bitsy Parks makes the home-school connection with first grader Grace early in the year as she writes about her birthday party. Bitsy encourages Grace to stretch her writing with more...
A Fresh Take on Persuasive Writing
Can I persuade you to take a fresh look at teaching persuasive writing? This genre has become a pet peeve of mine. It is time to bring it up to...
Student-Led Minilesson: Annotating Reading with Sticky Notes
Reagan from Franki Sibberson's fifth-grade classroom presents a minilesson on annotating reading with sticky notes.
Scaffolding Revision with a Mentor Text
“I’m finished,” Hayden says, waving his arm, clearly proud of his accomplishment. We smile and let Hayden and our other “finished” students place their writing in the basket before we...
Revising Literary Analysis Essays: Supporting Claims
Christy Rush-Levine uses an analogy about putting furniture together to present a minilesson to her eighth-grade students about revising their literary analysis essays.
Revising Dialogue in Narrative Writing
The more I teach young writers, the more I can predict the challenges they’ll have within various genres. Although some children benefit and learn from mentor texts that are more...
