Writing instruction

Wondering how to sequence writing instruction in the secondary ELA classroom? Writing is a difficult concept to pin down to a formula, but certain approaches are more effective than others. Read more in this post from Reading and Writing Haven.

Check out these great tips and ideas for small group writing instruction and activities, including standards-based guided writing! #teachingwriting #writinginstruction

I have so much to share with you about writing interventions, but first things first: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW BLOG DESIGN?!?!? Please share your thoughts! Every year, I meet lots of middle schoolers who struggle with writing. And every year, I play around with lots of different interventions to meet their needs. Last year, I made establishing sound writing interventions one of my big goals. I spent lots of time (and money!!) on resources that I could use, and by about March, I had…

Writing doesn’t have to be hard. Whenever I talk to fellow teachers about what they HATE teaching… it always seems to be writing. Why is that? I theorize that it’s because writing is very personal. There’s no cut and dry methods that work for ALL students. It is also time consuming to teach AND especially […]

Simplify writing instruction! Writing Tip for the Secondary ELA Teacher: When teaching writing in middle school and high school, break it down and simplify it. This writing strategy will help students become stronger writers by focusing on essential skills one at a time. Teaching Writing | Teaching Tip | Teaching Writing Tip | Middle School Writing | High School Writing | Writing Activities for Secondary ELA | Writing Instruction

When it comes to teaching, one of the most beneficial things I try to do for all of my students in every lesson is provide layers of differentiation and scaffolding so that I reach as many kids as I can. When it comes to teaching writing, one way I scaffold instruction comes in the form of sentence frames. But first, an anecdote. I’ll never forget my first teaching job. It was a long-term substitute position teaching ninth grade English to students who were severely behind grade-level. I was…

Sentence Starters and Transitions Anchor Chart for Informational Writing! Helps Grade 1-3 students transition from their topic sentence, to points, facts, and closing. Great support for independent writing.

This resource has changed my writing instruction. I print this on colored paper and give one to each student. This becomes the most worn paper throughout the unit and it's amazing to see that students start to quickly memorize the transitions!

by The Daring English Teacher Desmond Tutu, a South African theologian, cleric, and human rights activist, once said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” This famous analogy can help teachers in many ways: when they are stressed, when they have a seemingly impossible amount of work to do, and even when they are faced with the daunting task of helping their students become strong writers. Writing is a multi-faceted art, and teaching students how to write, mainly…

Since today's post is all about secrets, I thought I'd start with one of my own: I didn't always enjoy teaching writing. It's true, while I had high hopes of being an amazing writing teacher when I first started my career, I found that despite my teaching attempts, my students were producing pretty lame writing pieces, and it wasn't their fault. Early on, even though I was following the writing process just as it had been prescribed to me, my students were failing. Teaching writing was no…