Writing is hard. The published piece at the end is a source of pride, a beautiful work, but it didn't start out that way. There was a process that went into that finished work. There was a revisiting of the message, the words themselves, that happened before it went out to the audience. That's how… Continue reading Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
Tag: teach writing
What I Do in the First Week of School
The first week of school is a hectic one. No one is quite used to the new routine, everyone is still half in summer mode, and you’re busy trying to welcome and connect with a whole new group of students. There’s a lot of advice out there on those first few days, and people hold… Continue reading What I Do in the First Week of School
What I Learned From Going Standards-Based
School supplies are back in stock at the stores, fall flavors are being advertised, and teachers are posting their classroom decor on social media. All signs point to back to school season, and if my nightmares of being late on the first day are any indication, we are in full swing. As teachers gear up… Continue reading What I Learned From Going Standards-Based
The Case for School Librarians
School librarians are a significant part of the educational experience we offer our students. They provide collaborative, engaging learning environments full of information for our kids. They are a wealth of knowledge on the books they have available, easily able to recommend and direct kids toward their next great read. They develop positive relationships with… Continue reading The Case for School Librarians
Love, Mrs. G
Dear kiddos, It’s here. We’ve made it to the end of sixth grade. Some days have flown by, while others have seemed never ending. But we did it. Congratulations on successfully navigating your first year of middle school. You have come so far from the kiddos who were nervously trying to open their locker and… Continue reading Love, Mrs. G
On Teaching Writing
Teaching writing is my passion. Like anything else, as time passes I continue to learn more effective methods for nurturing the young voices in my classroom. There are instructional best practices to put in place, research-based strategies to employ, writing powerhouses to learn from, and structural elements conducive to stronger learning and development. Experience in… Continue reading On Teaching Writing
An Ode to Poetry
Oh, poetry. You beautiful, expressionist, challenging, frustrating beast. Many struggle to find your deeper meaning, your hidden messages. Children sit in schools, turned off and annoyed by your very existence, writing the same poems (ahem, haikus) year after year. This year I took a new approach to teaching poetry, and it’s one that I wish… Continue reading An Ode to Poetry
The Missing Half of RTI/MTSS
Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) are two acronyms (of many) that are well known and widely accepted in education circles. The pyramidal structure of these models is one that most practicing educators are familiar with, and have used in their careers and classrooms. MTSS is the newer, updated version of… Continue reading The Missing Half of RTI/MTSS
The Passion Project
This school year, much of my focus has been on student empowerment. My district has undergone some massive shifts, all centralized around the concept of personalized learning. It has been a powerful overhaul, and one that has involved a lot of time and effort from devoted teachers. A majority of us have taken huge steps… Continue reading The Passion Project
