Topic: Writing

The craft decisions involved in creating an actual graphic novel are numerous, varied, and complex—but they can be explicitly taught and learned, practiced and perfected.

What can we learn from the texts that we admire the most? How can they inform our own writing?

An easy and practical tool that will help teachers prioritize student’s work time. Download a free copy of the planning wheel from The Literacy Studio by Ellin Oliver Keene.

Mentor texts provide concrete examples of craft techniques and conventions to refer to during mini-lessons, small group lessons and writing conferences.

After living and teaching through a pandemic for over two years, we all need time to process and release in a collective manner. Where do we start?

Today on the podcast, author Ralph Fletcher on the effectiveness of a good writing mini lesson in particular the value of having a visual in your mini lesson.

The myth of the master writer has long plagued students and teachers alike, limiting our sense of self-confidence and writerly ability. Is it possible to dispel these notions?

The reflective practice of teaching can bring both joy and frustration. We feel joy in the moment a writing conference propels a student to a new place in their notebook, or when we witness the impact of a mini-lesson or mentor text...

In this audiobook preview, Tom describes the vast opportunity found in fiction writing, and what we lose when we don’t embrace that opportunity in our classrooms.

The words we use to talk about writing and revision matter. Some things to consider from Heinemann Authors, Chris Hall and Mike Anderson.

What if revision is something that happens in the mindset of the writer during the writing process? This is the question that Chris Hall answer in The Writer’s Mindset.

When’s the last time your students got to write creatively? Or craft a piece of fiction that was entirely their own?

There are also a few things we can do as teachers of writing to reignite our own energy and joy. So here are a few tips to keep in mind as you journey on your way.

How do you approach essay, poetry, book clubs, and digital composition? If we reimagine our approach we can open the door to more engaged and challenging learning.

Dedicating a section of the classroom library to mentor texts gives students the opportunity to access and choose the mentor texts that work best for them.

Mentor texts from a variety of high-interest sources along with diverse authors can be a real game changer in secondary writing classrooms.

Today on the podcast we are chatting with Stephanie Affinito about her new book Leading Literate Lives.

We can prepare our students for academic writing tasks when we invite them to make the kind of writing real writers make.