Writing Workshop: Poetry
Hooray, it's poetry time again! And thank goodness. At this time in the school year we all need a good pick-me-up, and with National Poetry Month approaching, nothing does the trick like a good poetry genre study. Poetry is a great way to energize your writing workshop and lift the spirits and confidence of your student writers. When can you fit poetry into your day? The best way to begin is to read poetry every chance you get. Read a couple of poems before morning meeting, while you are lining up, during transition times, or right before dismissal. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Touchstone Texts
As writing teachers, many of us have a short list of advice that we dole out to our students again and again about ways they can improve the quality of their writing. How many conferences have you had this week about adding details or descriptions? If you are like most teachers the answer is "a lot." Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Units of Study
January is the month of new beginnings. Reinvigorate your writing workshop this month by beginning a unit of study. Units of study create opportunities to reenergize and bring rigor and focus to the writing workshop. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Functional Writing/ Essay
One of the most important things we can teach young writers is how to use their writing. Young writers often don't see a place for their writing outside the classroom. One of the great lessons we can teach during functional writing and essay units of study is that writers write for a variety of audiences and publish for a variety of purposes and intentions. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Memoir Personal Narrative
Both memoir and personal narrative are genres that require students to tell stories. Fall is a great time to engage in either of these studies because it provides the opportunity to talk, exchange stories, and refine essential writing/storytelling skills. Before launching your memoir or personal narrative study, spend time reading lots of great literature to provide examples of the genre. Use the literature as a springboard for conversations and storytelling sessions with your students. Check out these book lists and the kinds of stories they will inspire your students to tell. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Expository Text
Expository text makes up the majority of writing students will be asked to do throughout their school career and beyond. Considering this, it is imperative that we give students the tools they need to develop, organize, and craft expository writing. Feature article, narrative procedure, literary nonfiction, essay, memoir, and biography are all genres that include expository writing, and each creates distinct opportunities to teach essential writing skills. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Poetry Genre Study
There is no writing study in which students can achieve more success and gain more confidence than with a poetry genre study. Students are natural poets because they look at the world with interest, wonder, and excitement! In order to support them in becoming successful writers of poetry, we need to encourage this natural inclination and provide them with examples of poems that are accessible and can serve as models for their own writing. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: Student Assessment
Ongoing assessment is a key component of successful writing workshop classrooms. Assessing students? needs across various stages of the writing process is crucial to helping them become proficient writers. Read entire newsletter

Writing Workshop: The Fundamentals of Success
Students in successful writing workshop classrooms are invested in their literacy learning so that they may become effective writers. They enthusiastically write for a variety of purposes and envision an audience for their writing. They see themselves as members of a community that uses and values writing! Read entire newsletter