In my writing classroom, conferences are the way I do most of my teaching. Sometimes they’re “formal” and more scheduled, but most often, they aren’t. Students are asking me questions, running drafts by me, and looking for clarification. These might be quick confirmations, but they can also turn in to full blown conversations or lessons.… Continue reading Skill Specific Writing Conferences
Tag: writing
Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
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
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
On Teacher Culture
Culture is an important component to any well-functioning classroom. Because of this, we’re often discussing methods to create a more supportive, responsive environment for our students to learn. One that respects and values each individual, giving them room to experiment and learn from their mistakes. The time we spend developing this culture for our students… Continue reading On Teacher Culture
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
Becoming a better writing teacher
These past couple years as a language arts teacher have been life changing. I have discovered my passion for teaching this subject area and am so glad I do. I love connecting with students over different books, discussing our reading preferences, and helping students discover the magic within writing. I speak to the beauties of… Continue reading Becoming a better writing teacher
#OneWord2019
The #OneWord2019 hashtag is something I first saw on Twitter right before the holiday. I know, I’m late to the game and living under a rock and all that. When I first saw it, it struck me as something interesting that I should probably do. I took a look at the hashtag, read a few… Continue reading #OneWord2019
They have a story
Empowering student voice Just this week we finished up one of my favorite units of the school year. The Library of Congress sponsors a national letter writing contest where students spend time considering books that have had a major influence on them, and then write to the authors of those very books.Even that stands to… Continue reading They have a story
Who are you as a writer?
I’ve been considering this question for some time, even more after hearing Pernille Ripp’s “Creating Passionate Writers” talk at nErDcampMI. It’s such a complex question with many facets, and one that took a lot of inner reflection and consideration to answer. Mainly because, until I really sat down and started allowing myself to write freely,… Continue reading Who are you as a writer?
Why I Encourage Cell Phones in the Classroom
You’re in your classroom teaching your heart out, really delivering the lesson on intensive vs. reflexive pronouns when all of a sudden, a phone starts going off. You stop talking, every kid is looking around, and you find the one student scrambling around trying to make the noise stop as quickly as possible. Their face… Continue reading Why I Encourage Cell Phones in the Classroom
