There are lots of reasons some kids don’t enjoy creative writing. One of the most common is: I don’t know what to write about. The pressure of trying to come up with something creative and interesting on-the-spot is stressful. While that stress can sometimes lead to a great breakthrough, it just as often (more […]
Writing Prompts that Inspire Read More »
You’ve gotten your students almost to the finish line of a persuasive or argumentative writing essay, when you realize some of them got it and some of them … not so much. Revising — well, that was the trickiest thing for me to figure out when I started teaching writing. (If you’re just getting started
5 Tips for Revising Persuasive Writing Read More »
Free Webinar: Persuasive and Argumentative Writing This webinar was held: January 10, 2019 Watch Replay Links discussed in the webinar: Persuasive Writing Unit Essay Writing Bundle Visual Quick Writes Bundle Audience Lesson Freebie Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Prompts Writing Section of My Shop (All the writing resources) Watch Replay
Persuasive writing, or argumentative writing, can be a bear to teach, but it doesn’t have to be! When students receive explicit instruction with examples and practice in all the steps of the persuasive writing process, their essays turn out ah-mazing! For years, I made the mistake of jumping in too early to assigning writing rather
Persuasive Writing Audience Lesson Read More »
If you’re here, you’re about to teach persuasive writing unit. Or argumentative writing, or whatever the cool kids are calling it these days! Or maybe you’re already in the muck & mire of it wondering why your students aren’t producing organized and compelling essays. Many years ago, I caused myself — and my students
Teaching Persuasive Writing … Painlessly! Read More »
Holy Moly, it’s been a loooong time since I did a post about writing! It’s so difficult to be torn between my two great loves: science (especially STEM challenges) & writing! There’s only so much time in a day! So, without further ado… Martin Luther King, Jr. put together some of the most beautiful, powerful
Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Prompts Read More »
Part 3: Drafting This is the third in a four-part series. Click to see Part 1: Brainstorming. Click to see Part 2: Outlining. I used to assume I didn’t need to model drafting paragraphs from outlines with students in grades 5th and up. They’d been writing paragraphs for 3+ years at that point, so they surely
Is Your Writing a Shack or a Mansion?_part 3 Read More »
Step 2: Outlines This is the second in a four-part series. Click to see Part 1: Brainstorming. Just as you need to create blueprints for a home, one has to plan the framework of an essay. Because I often teach planning and outlining before intro/opening and conclusion/closing paragraphs (OP and CP, respectively), I have students
Is Your Writing a Shack or a Mansion?_part 2 Read More »
How many houses do you suppose you have seen in your lifetime? Would you estimate the time you have spent inside houses to be considerable? If you close your eyes, can you vividly see the details of your dream home? Can’t you almost feel the front door handle in the palm of your hand? Yet, if
Is Your Writing a Shack or a Mansion?_part 1 Read More »
Is less more, or is more more when it comes to teaching writing? When teaching writing, sometimes the most helpful thing is knowing when less is more and when more is more. Writing can be one of the hardest subjects to teach. Often, students don’t want to do it, and teachers don’t want to read
6 Ways to Survive Teaching Writing Read More »
