We Need to ‘Slow Down’ When Teaching Writing is the headline of one of my Education Week Teacher columns. It finishes up a four-part series on teaching writing.
Eight Ways To Help English Language Learners Feel Motivated To Read & Write is the headline of one of my posts for The British Council.
I’ve published a number of posts on writing instruction, and thought I’d bring them all together into one “The Best” list.
I’ve previously posted tons of lists sharing sites that are useful in writing instruction, but none collecting posts I’ve written about what to actually do in the classroom.
The Best Resources For Writing In Social Studies Classes
The Best Resources For Writing In Science Class
The Best Resources For Writing In Math Class
The Best Websites For K-12 Writing Instruction/Reinforcement
The Best Scaffolded Writing Frames For Students
The Best Places Where Students Can Write Online
The Best Sites For Grammar Practice
Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Mindmapping, Flow Chart Tools, & Graphic Organizers
The Best Resources For Researching & Writing Biographies
The Best Resources For Learning How To Write Response To Literature Essays
The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience”
The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”
The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
The Best Sites To Learn About Advertising
The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary
The Best Online Interactive Exercises For Writing That Are Not Related To Literary Analysis
The Best Online Resources To Teach About Plagiarism
The Best Resources For Learning Research & Citation Skills
The Best Sites For Students To Create & Participate In Online Debates
The Best Online Resources For Helping Students Learn To Write Persuasive Essays
The Best Spelling Sites
The Best Sites For Gaining A Basic Understanding Of Adjectives
The “Best” Sites For Helping Students Write Autobiographical Incident Essays
The Best Sites To Learn “Feelings” Words
The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About Punctuation
The Best Resources To Help Students Write Research Essays
The Best Sites For Learning To Write A Story
The Best Writing Advice From Famous Authors
The Best Resources On Punctuation
The Best Resources On Getting Student Writers To “Buy-Into” Revision – Help Me Find More
The Best Sites For Collaborative Storytelling
The Best Online Tools That Can Help Students Write An Essay
The Best Videos & Articles Where Athletes Explain How Reading & Writing Well Has Helped Their Career – Help Me Find More
The Best Funny Videos To Help Teach Grammar – Help Me Find More
The Best Ways To Use Mistakes When Teaching Writing
The Best Funny Videos To Help Teach Grammar – Help Me Find More
The Best Video Clips On The Benefits Of Writing Well — Help Me Find More
The Best Resources For Teaching/Learning About How To Write Compare/Contrast Essays
The Best Links For Helping Students Learn How To Write “Leads” or “Ledes”
The Best Professional Development Resources On Writing Instruction
THE BEST REVIEWS OF WHAT RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT EFFECTIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION
And, now, here are my writing instruction posts:
I published a four-part series on teaching writing over at my Education Week blog. Here’s a link to the final post in that series — it contains links to the previous three, too.
My Revised Final Exams (And An Important Lesson)
Five ways to get kids to want to read and write
“Instead of seeing students as Far Below Basic or Advanced, we see them as learners” is a guest post written by my colleague Lara Hoekstra.
More Mount Everest Resources, Including Prompt We’re Using As Part Of Our “Final”
Writing Prompts — Feel Free To Contribute Your Own!
Rwanda Lesson & Writing Prompt
Here’s The “Growth Mindset” Article & Prompt We’re Using As Part Of Our Semester Final
Student Writing & Metacognition
My Student Handout For Simple Journal-Writing
I’ve posted a collection of all my Education Week Teacher posts on teaching reading and writing. It includes contributions from lots of great educators.
Student-Created Prompts As A Differentiation Strategy
Here’s What I’m Having My ELL Geography Students Do As Their Semester “Final”
Here’s What I’m Having My ELL U.S. History Students Do As Their Semester “Final”
Here’s What My IB Theory Of Knowledge Students Are Doing For Their Semester “Final”
Writing Prompt For “The Long March”
Quote Of The Day: “We Must Always Take Sides”
Helping Students Respond To Writing Prompts
Video (& Writing Prompt): “A failure isn’t a failure if it prepares you for success tomorrow”
Excellent (& I Mean EXCELLENT!) Post On Asking Questions
This Is Exactly What I Mean By Connecting Social Emotional Learning & Literacy Instruction….
Another Good Writing Prompt: Reconciliation
Here’s The Writing Prompt I’m Using For My Geography Class
New Writing Prompt For My U.S. History Class
Here’s The Writing Prompt I’m Using As Part Of My Final For Ninth-Grade English
John Lewis: “You Must Find A Way To Get In Trouble”
Two Good Videos On How We Learn & How I Plan To Use Them In Class
Our School’s Writing Assessment For Some Students With Special Needs
Julie Goldman, the Coordinator of the great WRITE Institute that creates curriculum for English Language Learners, has written an excellent article on “Research-Based Writing Practices For English Language Learners,” which you can download for free here.
Quote Of The Day: “Traditional grammar instruction isn’t effective. Period.”
Quote Of The Day: “When Will I Ever Use This?” (& How I’ll Use It In Class)
500 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing is from The New York Times Learning Network.
Two New Good Writing Prompts For My Students
How to celebrate students’ writing is from Ray Salazar.
Simple Writing Prompt On California Gold Rush
With The Appropriate Background Knowledge, This Could Be A Good MLK Writing Prompt
Micro Writing: Writing to learn in ESL is from ELT Connect.
Here’s The Writing Prompt I’m Using With “Smartphones Don’t Make Us Dumb”
The Teacher Tip: Don’t Fix the Story. Just Listen. is by Barry Lane.
Rachael Roberts – Motivating students to write is from The British Council.
Learning to Write Like a Reader: Teaching Students How to Edit and Do Peer-Review is from Teaching Learning/Learning Teacher.
301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing is from The New York Times Learning Network.
Great Article On “Being The Best At Anything” & How I’m Using It In Class
Excellent Review Of Writing Instruction Research
Constructive Peer Editing: Free Handout Included! is by Emily Guthrie. She shares such an obvious and easy improvement on typical peer-editing, you might feel as dumb as I did for not thinking about it before (that is, if you haven’t).
Supporting Good Writing Instruction is from The National Writing Project.
Is “Draftback” A Cool Toy You’ll Use Once Or Potentially An Effective Tool For Teaching Writing?
“Writing Challenge For Kids” Could Be A Nice Change-Of-Pace For Students
Quote Of The Day: “Teaching Doubt” (& How I’m Going To Use It In Class)
Mindshift, the popular KQED blog, has published an excerpt from one of my books they’ve titled What Motivates A Student’s Interest in Reading and Writing.
Simple ELL Writing Assignment On Imperialism
Two Good Pieces Of Simple Writing Advice For Students – Share Your Own
Here Are Some Examples Of Using “Concept Attainment” In Writing Instruction
Concise and Precise Micro-writing is from Alex Quigley, and offers some very good suggestions.
This Is The Geography “Final” For My ELL Students
Adventures with gallery critique is by Andy Tharby.
Modelling Writing and Rich Tea or Hob Nob? from Class Teaching both make great points and offer suggestions about the role of teacher modeling in writing instruction.
183 Questions for Writing or Discussion http://t.co/cheL9hglz7 #engchat #sschat pic.twitter.com/AUr0gqO1u1
— NYT Learning Network (@NYTimesLearning) June 11, 2015
How to write ‘body language’ – great for description pic.twitter.com/ScUCSwe4wy #edchat #edtech #engchat #satchat #sunchat
— Teacher (@Primary_Ed) May 27, 2015
Brilliant guide to “writing good”! https://t.co/Ep1hsUF0sr
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 12, 2015
Quote Of The Day: Junot Díaz Explains What Often Happens When We Confront Our Fears
Getting Student Writers To “Buy-Into” Revision
Nine Ways to Help Students Embrace the Revision Process is by John Spencer.
“They Say, I Say” Is A Great Writing Resource (links to many useful sentence-starters and templates)
68 writing prompts for students crowdsourced by our #NWP network. Feel free to reuse and remix! http://t.co/UMWDc25stm
— Writing Project (@writingproject) July 25, 2015
Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools is a very useful report suggested to me by reader Marie.
Yup, @raisealithuman! Also photos of heroes writing… We can’t become what we can’t see. #tcrwp pic.twitter.com/j4yLzFgdu3
— Cornelius Minor (@MisterMinor) August 6, 2015
Dylan Wiliam advises: Forget the Rubric; Use Work Samples Instead is a pretty important post by Doug Lemov. Be sure to also check out Dylan William’s comment on it.
School Writing Vs. Authentic Writing is by Ken Lindblom.
A Great Piece On Student Boredom & The Writing Prompt I’m Using With It
At First Glance: A Sentence Starter Adds Unexpected Rigor to Writing and The Art of the Sentence are both by Doug Lemov.
Two Good Articles – & A Student Writing Prompt – On The Importance Of Reading
Here’s A Writing Prompt I’m Using With My TOK Students On The First Day Of Class
A Nice Video On The Importance Of Asking Questions – & An Accompanying Writing Prompt
Excellent Article On Listening AND Writing Prompt I’ll Be Having Students Use With It
How I Teach My English-Language Learners to Love Writing is by Mary Ann Zehr and appeared in Ed Week.
The writing process is not linear… Nor is it strictly analog. #tcrwp pic.twitter.com/d7cPbogAEs
— Cornelius Minor (@MisterMinor) October 17, 2015
This Is A Great Article On The Benefits Of Reading Books & Here Is How I’m Going To Use It
An Anchor Chart Mashup is from Two Writing Teachers.
Infusing Information Writing Throughout the Day: Diving Into Information Writing is from Two Writing Teachers.
Hochman’s ‘But, Because, So’ Sentence Expansion Activity is from Doug Lemov.
Reading & Writing About El Salvador With Salvadoran Refugees
Good Quote From Ta-Nehisi Coates On Writing & How I’m Using It In Class
Syrian and Iraqi refugees seek freedoms cherished by all Americans is from The Washington Post.
Here is an excerpt:
I plan on have students read this piece and respond to this writing prompt:
How does Khalil Tawil suggest the United States should respond to refugees? To what extent do you agree or disagree with what he believes? To support your position, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observations of others, or any of your readings.
5 Non-Negotiables When Designing Writing Instruction is from Three Teachers Talk.
The Writing Recipe: Essay Structure For English Language Learners is from The Teaching Channel:
Useful Writing Scaffold For A Classroom Wall
Video & Quote Of The Day: Booker Prize Winner On Writing With Five Senses In Mind
10 Surefire Ideas to Remove Writing Roadblocks is by Regie Routman at Middleweb.
A Simple Writing Prompt To Accompany Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Essay, “The Purpose Of Education”
Here’s The Writing Prompt I Used With My Intermediate ELLs Today
Three Good Speaking/Writing Prompts – Along With Video Models
Teachers Might Find My “Concept Attainment – Plus” Instructional Strategy Useful
On the Impossibility of Teaching Creative Writing is from The Huffington Post.
Here’s An Example Of How I Scaffold A Short Writing Prompt
A Useful Lesson When Teaching Problem/Solution Essays – & Other Topics
Our 100 Most Popular Student Questions for Debate and Persuasive Writing is from The New York Times Learning Network.
Students often get muddled when writing a narrative because they concentrate too much on the plot of the story. As a…
Posted by TeachingEnglish – British Council on Sunday, February 28, 2016
Thank you @MisterMinor 4 changing how Ss learn abt theme!#saturdayreunionmarch2015 #Forgot5thOne pic.twitter.com/pZJtv1hPRM
— Sukhi V (@SukhiVG) February 24, 2016
Do Your Students Slouch Back In Their Chairs? Here’s A Writing Prompt On It I’m Using In Class
Video On Apartheid & Forgiveness – Plus An Accompanying Writing Prompt
Short & Simple Writing Prompt On Effort & Perseverance
Another Good Idea via Adam Grant: Seniors Writing Letters To Freshmen
Adam Grant On Failure & How I’m Using What He Says In Class
The University of New Hampshire has a lot of good Writing Hand-outs, particularly around grammar issues and writing particular types of essays.
“RACE” Looks Like A Useful Writing Strategy
Mentor Text Dropbox is a site where you can find and contribute…mentor texts.
Tools to Help Writers Explain Good Evidence is from Middleweb. I’m adding it to the same list.
Kevin Durant On “Hard Work” & How I’m Using It In Class
Teach Students to Write Strong Paragraphs is by Sarah Tantillo at Middleweb.
What Does The Trump Campaign Teach Us About The Limitations Of The Common Core Standards?
A4: Also, a micro-progression can help students see clearly a next step is, and a model to reach for. #G2Great pic.twitter.com/Q2lOPFdlOn
— Kate Roberts (@teachkate) May 20, 2016
Using computers widens the achievement gap in writing, a federal study finds is from The Hechinger Report. After reading it, you might want to explore what I consider to be the three best tools for teaching keyboarding:
My students like Dance Mat Typing because it teaching typing with text and audio support.
Typing Web is a great site for learners. You have to register for the site and it tracks your progress.
AlfaTyping looks like a nice tool for students to develop typing skills, and you can read all about it at Richard Byrne’s post.
UMaine Professor: Writing Boosts Performance of Maine’s Student-Athletes comes by way of the National Writing Project. In addition to the way I now work with our coaches, this idea might be worth pursuing.
Education Week has published one of their typically excellent special reports, and the title of this one is Next Draft: Changing Practices In Writing Instruction. It’s composed of eight separate articles, including “As Teachers Tackle New Student-Writing Expectations, Support Is Lacking,” “Remodeling the Workshop: Lucy Calkins on Writing Instruction Today,” and “Students in My Math Classes Next Year Will Do a Lot of Writing. Here’s Why.”
This crowdsourced collection of Doug Lemov-inspired “Confident Letters of Intent” (basically, academic sentence frames and starters) is fantastic. It comes to me via James Theobald on Twitter.
A5: Create progressions to give kids a model of what writing about reading could look like across the levels #tcrwp pic.twitter.com/VSwC2dZLnN
— Katie Clements (@clemenkat) June 30, 2016
Here’s an excellent post from the National Writing Project filled with resources for teaching a Writing Workshop model in class.
Low-Stakes Writing: Writing to Learn, Not Learning to Write is from Edutopia.
Getting Strategic About Teaching Revision in Writing is from Ed Week.
The Psychological Benefits of Writing Regularly is from LifeHacker.
Students in My Math Classes Next Year Will Do a Lot of Writing. Here’s Why is from Ed Week.
Video & Transcript: Michelle Obama’s Speech To The Democratic Convention (Plus Writing Prompt!)
Video & Transcript Of President Obama’s Speech – Plus Writing Prompt on “Making Mistakes”
NEW BLOG SERIES: STARTING WITH WHAT MATTERS MOST IN WRITING WORKSHOP is from Two Writing Teachers.
From @KellyGToGo ‘s keynote at #CATeachersSummit pic.twitter.com/CxRwv2Fte8
— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) July 29, 2016
Recommendations on Teaching Writing📝🏆 (by @smokeylit @StevenZemelman & Arthur Hyde https://t.co/a9thWKoLtr) #edchat pic.twitter.com/KrvWETwn9k
— Alex Corbitt (@Alex_Corbitt) July 26, 2016
This writing advice is beautiful and true. [via @FilmsForAction] pic.twitter.com/VbVbW2KqHU
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) August 2, 2016
Important NY Times Column On Separating “Art & Artist” – Here’s The Writing Prompt I’m Using With It
Good use for Trump quotes: Teaching kids how not citing sources makes it sound like you’re just making stuff up. pic.twitter.com/HR3Tog0wrf
— Gregory Michie (@GregoryMichie) August 16, 2016
Video: “10 Strategies to Help Students Develop Intrinsic Motivation to Write”
Created 1st microprog. today with Ss! Will print mini pics for journals @aswerdreader @MaggieBRoberts @teachkate pic.twitter.com/lkZhSo3fFV
— Jamie Silverboard (@Ms_Silverboard) August 26, 2016
Examples of Narrative Endings 📚 (by #youngteacherlove) #edchat #education #elearning #edtech #engchat #satchat #pblchat pic.twitter.com/2m9bIfFCkM
— Alex Corbitt (@Alex_Corbitt) October 2, 2016
Video & Transcript Of President Obama’s 9/11 Memorial Speech & How I Will Use It In Class
3 Strategies to Fire Up Hesitant Writers is from Edutopia.
Generally true, but tchrs can be more authentic audiences than we have by responding as readers, not just graders.#WhyIWrite #NCTEchat https://t.co/tEA7xVaInj
— Renee Moore (@TeachMoore) October 17, 2016
Two New Useful Resources On Teaching Writing – And An Old One
Using “My Shot” From Hamilton With ELLs & Others (Including Writing Prompt)
Try This Teaching is a new website by Amjad Ali that contains useful teaching resources, like this On One Hand graphic organizer.
Kernel essay structure. #NCTE16 pic.twitter.com/UWvPBxspO5
— Fran McVeigh (@franmcveigh) November 20, 2016
“The mindset of a writer is to always ask questions” –@tanehisicoates #NCTE16 #engchat #education @ncte pic.twitter.com/JQOxNcT2Xw
— Alex Corbitt (@Alex_Corbitt) November 20, 2016
Guest Post: “Inquiry” vs. “Diagnostic” Frameworks For Writing Assessments
10 Examples of Narrative Endings by Kristine Nannini #edchat #litchat #engchat pic.twitter.com/OqnGlmRzgs
— Marzano Research (@MarzanoResearch) December 20, 2016
How to give writing feedback to students efficiently is by Ray Salazar.
The Writing Journey by Kelly Gallagher.
20 Things for Students to Do with Informational Text is from Julie Conlon. It includes a very nice infographic.
Learning To Learn is an excellent new article at the Harvard Business Review. It highlights four key qualities of an effective learner – aspiration, self-awareness, curiosity, and vulnerability. I’m thinking of dividing the article into four very short sections on each of those qualities and then have students respond to this same prompt for each:
What quality does the writer say is important in order to be an effective learner, and what is her justification? To what extent do you agree or disagree with what she believes? Write an essay responding to these questions; to develop your essay, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observation of others, or any of your reading — including “Learning To Learn” itself.
Teaching writing = making a fire. You add firewood, but unless you leave space for air (choice, voice, play, pleasure) the fire won’t burn.
— Ralph Fletcher (@FletcherRalph) May 11, 2017
Here’s What I’m Doing As A Final With Beginning ELLs
14 Questions for Examining Mentor Texts (Of Any Kind) is from Gil Teach.
A Year of Picture Prompts: Over 160 Images to Inspire Writing is from The New York Times Learning Network.
New TED Talk From Anne Lamott With Great Excerpt On Writing – Here’s How I’m Using It In Class
Check out Ten-Minute Paragraphs: Making Writing Accessible (great for #ELL Ss) via @Scholastic #ELLchat #ELs_CAN https://t.co/61wrcGvRae
— Emily Francis (@emilyfranESL) June 28, 2017
Using “Wrote My Way Out” From Hamilton With Students (Including Writing Prompt)
GETTING STARTED WITH MENTOR SENTENCES is from Ideas By Jivey and looks interesting.
MENTOR TEXTS: WRITING WORKSHOP FUNDAMENTALS is by Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski.
Writing Workshop Checklist is from Edutopia.
Tips for Aspiring Op-Ed Writers appeared in The NY Times.
A FRONT THE WRITING DISCUSSION TEMPLATE (AND THE FEEDBACK WE GOT ON IT) is by Doug Lemov.
Video: “I’m Always Early” (& How I’m Using It In Class)
The Highs and Lows of Highlighting: How Google Docs Supports Writing Instruction is by Tan Huynh.
Teaching Close Reading and Compelling Writing With the ‘New Sentences’ Column is from The New York Times Learning Network.
DEVELOPMENTAL WRITING: ESPECIALLY USEFUL W SHORT ASSIGNMENTS & FAST REVISION is by Doug Lemov.
3 Techniques for Students Who Know What They Want to Say But Not How to Say it is from Moving Writers.
I really like this writing assignment:
This episode of @EdsNotDeadPC https://t.co/EVAOQeusOf with @Ready4rigor really inspired me to take more risks with my sheltered ESOL US History class. Tomorrow, I’m having them write their own personal version of Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” poem. Thanks for the inspiration!!! pic.twitter.com/b4thbZ1HiU
— Andrew Kozlowsky (@MrKoz31) December 8, 2017
Had my #ESOL #ELL #ESL students write their own I,Too poems, a la Langston Hughes. Having high expectations for students is the most powerful classroom practice. Just because they are learning English doesn’t mean they don’t have a story to tell!! Blessed to be able to teach them pic.twitter.com/Qnrah8oy5B
— Andrew Kozlowsky (@MrKoz31) December 10, 2017
A (Writing) Library of Possibility: Structure and Freedom is by Tricia Ebarvia.
This, from Tom Newkirk’s Embarrassment: “…the most instructive form of assessment we can make is liking…” @Tom_Newkirk pic.twitter.com/d4XlU7yJw1
— Kelly Gallagher (@KellyGToGo) December 28, 2017
PBS NewsHour Segment On Generosity & Belonging – Here’s How I’m Using It In Class
I love that @TheWritingRevol is showing off strategies that work across the curriculum. Writing is everywhere. #NewselaChat pic.twitter.com/18bnkSUCTV
— Ted Palenski (@tedpalenski) January 23, 2018
One Sentence at a Time: The Need for Explicit Instruction in Teaching Students to Write Well is by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler.
3 Tips for AP Lang Test Prep is by Tricia Ebarvia.
Strategies to help students engage in daily writing practice is from Achieve The Core.
Choose a main character and 9 other ideas for starting a story is from the journalism site Poynter. It’s one of several useful posts in their Help Writers series.
Here’s another piece from Doug Lemov, this time on “formative writing.” He points out how a teacher used this prompt:
“How might Alice Walker’s experiences sharecropping have influenced her writing?”
The use of the word “might” helped students feel more comfortable about writing and less worried about being wrong.
Is It Time To Go Back To Basics With Writing Instruction? is from MindShift.
AT FIRST GLANCE: A SENTENCE STARTER ADDS UNEXPECTED RIGOR TO WRITING is by Doug Lemov.
Micro-Writing for English Learners is the title of my latest article in ASCD’s magazine, Educational Leadership.
Over 1,000 Writing Prompts for Students is from The New York Times Learning Network.
The Action Behind Writing is from The Daily Write.
5-Minute Writing Conferences is from Edutopia.
Fluency in writing comes from self-prompting. We write a sentence and it prompts another–and another. Soon we have a perpetual motion machine. Here are a baker’s dozen of prompts that swirl in my head as I write: pic.twitter.com/pnuBEOOWLY
— Tom Newkirk (@Tom_Newkirk) April 15, 2018
Nine Teaching Ideas for Using Music to Inspire Student Writing is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Winners From Our Fifth Annual Student Editorial Contest is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Why Teaching English Through Content Is Critical for ELL Students is from MindShift.
The Warriors usually play very well in the 3rd quarter. Why? Halftime adjustments. https://t.co/jotjR9EXu1. This is a metaphor for young writers. They need mid-process coaching way more than they need comments on “final” drafts.
— Kelly Gallagher (@KellyGToGo) June 3, 2018
Also, you might want to read Why Do the Warriors Dominate the 3rd Quarter? Consider Their Halftime Drill.
FORMATIVE VERSUS SUMMATIVE WRITING PROMPTS-SOME EXAMPLES is from Doug Lemov.
A simple tool that supports elaboration and writing volume. #tcrwp pic.twitter.com/e05Qx95wog
— Kisha (@Kishahowell3) June 18, 2018
Great Article On The Benefits Of Reading – With An Accompanying Writing Prompt!
Stop Boring Nonfiction Writing. Save the World. is from Angie Miller at Middleweb.
What Students Gain by Writing Together is by Jeremy Hyler, and appears in Middleweb.
Fostering the Writing Identities of Teens in ELA Classrooms is from The National Writing Project.
Welcome to the NWP Knowledge Base is also from The National Writing Project.
What The Research Says: The 13 Most Effective Ways To Improve Children’s Writing. is from Literacy For Pleasure.
Feedback That Saves Time, Improves Writing is by Sarah Tantillo at Middleweb.
Paragraphs: Give Us a Break! is from Teach Write.
‘Not All Feedback Is Created Equal’ is a four-part series in my Education Week Teacher column.
Strategies for Teaching Argument Writing appears in Edutopia.
Writing is one of the most challenging skills to master. @michelleshory and I created this resource for all educators of ELLs.
Thank you @Larryferlazzo @MsSalvac @RWTnow @cultofpedagogy @NewYorkTimesGHS @regieroutman @ReadingRockets
for your expertise!https://t.co/pz83Kvm7cX pic.twitter.com/rIE5wgpS3t— Irina McGrath (@irina_mcgrath) January 15, 2019
“BECAUSE, BUT, SO” GOES 2.0 WITH DIRECT QUOTATIONS is from Doug Lemov.
Teaching Great Writing One Sentence at a Time is from The NY Times Learning Network.
HERE’S MY SHORT UNIT ON FOLKTALES – INCLUDING STUDENT HANDOUTS
Feel free to offer links to your best posts (or pieces that others have written) on teaching writing….
Debra Hanson has given me permission to share this excellent Anchor Chart/Infographic on “Expanding Sentences.” She explains how she uses it in class here:
Over 140 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Teaching the Research Process Through Podcasting is from Edutopia.
NY TIMES LEARNING NETWORK UNVEILS “A FREE SCHOOL-YEAR CURRICULUM IN 7 UNITS”
How Not to Go Crazy Reading Rough Drafts is by Sarah Cooper at Middleweb.
NY TIMES LEARNING NETWORK UNVEILS YET ANOTHER GREAT FEATURE: “MENTOR TEXTS”
The Power of Short Writing Assignments comes via Edutopia.
Quick activity that will have students seeing immediate improvement in their writing: They choose a paragraph from an essay they previously wrote and have them rewrite it leaving out all “to be” verbs.
— Matthew Ryan (@MatRyanELATeach) October 7, 2019
People may remember the great This I Believe broadcasts on NPR a few years ago (that are still available on their site). Many of us have used them in class. Lots of educators probably know this already, but it was new to me – there is a huge separate This I Believe website with zillions of essays and related curriculum for all age groups! And if you can’t get enough teaching ideas from there, check out the You’ll Love the “This I Believe” Writing Project from Spark Creativity.
What I learned about writing from reading Greta Thunberg’s speech to the U.N. is from Poynter.
The Whistle-Blower Knows How to Write. is from The NY Times.
A while back, a teacher pal told me one of her students said, “Real authors don’t plan.”
So I sent her pics of my outlines & story maps.
Because authors DO plan – in so many ways & at all different stages of the writing process.
More on that: https://t.co/utopTi4ROx pic.twitter.com/9b2dk6SULE
— Kate Messner (@KateMessner) December 21, 2019
Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively offers good advice and student hand-outs.
This is a useful analogy for thinking about “analysis” when writing about history. I’m trying to think of a non-sports analogy that would hold – maybe an Instagram pic and the captain? But I don’t think that holds. https://t.co/Re21rroy9W
— Jennifer Binis (@JennBinis) January 10, 2020
NY TIMES LEARNING NETWORK SERIES SHOWS ARTICLES WITH ANNOTATIONS ON WRITING PRACTICE FROM AUTHORS
The NY Times Learning Network has unveiled an argumentative writing unit.
I noticed the frustration some teachers were having when it came to #writing and #ELLs 📒Using “#GrowingLanguageandLiteracy” by @AndreaHonigsfel , I created a checklist that can help T identify goals by proficiency level. https://t.co/mBxg0fpnLL
— Claribel (@claribel716) February 22, 2020
WE DID A SHORT & USEFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE TODAY TO EXAMINE HOW WE TEACH WRITING
3 Ways to Make Your Writing Clearer is from The Harvard Business Review.
Our 2020-21 Writing Curriculum for Middle and High School is from The NY Times Learning Network.
This New Article Is The Most Interesting Piece On Writing Instruction That I’ve Read In A Long Time
Sentences That Matter, Mentor and Motivate is from The NY Times Learning Network.
This Obama Quote Is Gold: On The Role Of Reading In Developing Writing Skills
The Anatomy of an Effective and Efficient Piece of Feedback is from Matthew M. Johnson.
HOW TO TEACH WRITING TO ANYONE is from The Learning Agency, and shares summaries of several useful studies.
HERE’S HOW I ADAPTED MY ELL BEGINNER’S STORY-WRITING UNIT FOR CONCURRENT TEACHING
On Positive and Negative Feedback to Student Writing is by P.L. Thomas.
I like this from the Quote Investigator: It Isn’t Enough To Write So You Will Be Understood. You Have To Write So You Can’t Be Misunderstood.
How to Teach Writing Fluency is by Timothy Shanahan.
How I Turned A Lesson On Writing Good Summaries Into A Game – It Worked!
Putting Personality on Paper: Our New Profile Contest is from The NY Times Learning Network, and has a lot of supporting resources.
Feedback on writing is such an important part of effective teaching and mentoring
Here’s my approach:
1. Identify a problem
(eg, this isn’t clear)
2. Explain why it’s a problem
(eg, the reader might think you mean…)
3. Offer possible solutions
(eg, instead you might say…) 1/ https://t.co/vHpO1LQYda— Jess Calarco (@JessicaCalarco) May 21, 2022
Here’s a useful tip to help students improve their writing: Ask them to read their work aloud. While it may not feel as natural—or as modest—as reading silently, it can help them catch often-overlooked errors, new research shows. 🧵 1/4 pic.twitter.com/SjxPETODcv
— edutopia (@edutopia) March 13, 2023
THIS IS THE “GUIDE” I GAVE MY THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE STUDENTS TO HELP THEM WRITE THEIR ESSAYS
Crafting Great Sentences is from The Confident Teacher.
Explicit Vocabulary Teaching 3: Because, But, So is by Tom Needham.
Here’s a useful tip to help students improve their writing. ✍️ 🤩
Ask them to read their work aloud. While it may not feel as natural—or modest—as reading silently, it can help them catch often-overlooked errors, a 2022 study found. pic.twitter.com/yPTNrOZeEP
— edutopia (@edutopia) July 5, 2023
This is a VERY interesting angle on a writing lesson. I don’t have it in me, but I would love it if someone else did something like this using a more recent sports figure our students would relate to – Messi, Curry, James, Ohtani, etc. https://t.co/dJ30nDp3tx
— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) July 16, 2023
Teach Writing With The New York Times: Our 2023-24 Curriculum is from The NY Times Learning Network.
Eight Videos With Writing Advice for Teens, From Teens is from The NY Times Learning Network.
NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT SPONSORS IMPORTANT 9/11 – RELATED WRITING ACTIVITY
100 Word Personal Narrative from The NY Times Learning Network.
ARE YOU AN “ILLUMINATOR” OR A “DIMINISHER”?
The NY Times Learning Network has a contest for students to basically write short tutorials, and provides many supporting resources even if students are not entering the contest.
Teen Tiny Memoirs: The Winners of Our 2nd Annual 100-Word Narrative Contest is from The NY Times Learning Network.
I’m actually shocked that it’s *only* 12% more errors.
I say during the “read aloud” stage, “Don’t worry, it’s not just you. Raise your hand if you’ve caught 3+ errors.” (Nearly everyone.)
“5+” (A third of the class.)
“7+” (Still a lot.)
“10+!!!” (More than you might think.) https://t.co/ZJgJRmG7qk
— Matthew R. Kay (@MattRKay) June 5, 2024
Writing Prompt(s) Based On Last Night’s Speech By Former President Obama
Two Writing Prompts Based On Kamala Harris’ Speech Tonight
826 Digital seems like a good resource for teaching students writing.
NY Times Learning Network Launches Why I Think Is Their Best Contest – Writing Tiny Memoirs
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