Writing workshop is one of the things I miss most about teaching third grade, and April’s National Poetry month was always one of my favorite writing units. As a class we learned about 17 different poetry styles, one each day. Then at the end of the unit each student published an individual poetry anthology, as…
I’ve teamed up with some of my friends from The Teaching Tribune to play a little game of Hide and Seek. Along the way, you’ll find lots of freebies. If you make it all the way through, you’ll have the chance to win one of two $50 TPT gift certificates as well as a custom…
Hey, y’all! I just got back from a two-day reading/writing conference with Smekens in Indianapolis. Even though it’s difficult to be away from school for two days in a row, I enjoy going to these conferences from time to time. There’s just a certain *buzz* in the air with a room full of teachers. I…
It’s no secret that I love writing workshop. It’s always been my favorite subject to teach (although I adore reading workshop too). There’s just something about watching my students turn into published authors that gives me goosebumps. I love to see where their imaginations take them as their stories unfold. I start each year with…
You know that ugly word I was avoiding earlier this month? You know, those things that take over our curriculum each spring? The very big state t-e-s-t-s. Yuck! Well, we‘re less than a month out from the applied skills section which means writing, writing, writing is on our minds. I really don’t like to “teach…
As many of you know from Facebook, we were at the beach last week celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I think I’m just now getting back into the swing of things at home again, but I had to take a little trip down memory lane and look at a few of our wedding pictures. Aww……
Today is the fifth and final day of my five-day series on using innovations in your classroom during writing workshop. For today’s post, I’m highlighting My Teacher’s Secret Life by Stephen Krensky. I always save this innovation for the end of our series because it provides the least scaffolding. Like many of our kiddos, the…
Today is the fourth day of my five-day series on using innovations in your classroom during writing workshop. For today’s post, I’m highlighting The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups by David Wisniewski. In case you aren’t familiar with this book, it’s written from a kid’s point of view and has interesting graphics that make the book…
Today is the third day of my five-day series on using innovations in your classroom during writing workshop. For today’s post, I’m highlighting Never Take a Shark to the Dentist: (and Other Things Not to Do) by Judi Barrett, The Book of Bad Ideas by Laura Huliska Beith, and Greatest Homework Excuse Book Ever written…