My strategy for meeting the needs of advanced writers: personalization. Strategic, pre-planned opportunities, set like a vision trap to capture the imagination of each writer. Once caught, these write
"But I don't know what to write about?" "But I don't want to write about this." "But writing is ...
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
A few weeks ago, several readers inquired about the color poems I did with my middle school students. The “color poem” strategy/formula is one that I learned in a class on teaching poe…
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
This step by step guide will help you write an awesome short story – fast and easy.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Have you seen this method of teaching paragraph writing before??? I stumbled upon this idea 6 years ago here. Then, I kind of forgot about it until now. Maybe because the next year I moved to 4th for one year, then to 2nd the following year and that's where I've been ever since! I guess all that moving around made me forget a few things! :) We've been studying main idea for the past several weeks and I thought it would be the perfect time to transition to writing paragraphs. I remembered the stoplight method and it worked great with my kiddos this time, too. Now, their topic and closing sentences are not perfect, but its a start...especially for those kiddos who had never even heard the word paragraph before! Since we've also been working on our space unit, I decided we'd write paragraphs about the moon. First, we read several books all about the moon and then made this bubble map together. Next, I had the kids make a bubble map in their journals and they picked 4 or 5 facts from our class map to add to theirs...what they wanted to include in their own paragraph. We went over the rules to writing a paragraph and the stoplight method... Obviously, the green and red lights are switched on a paragraph stoplight {as opposed to a real stoplight!}. It just makes more sense for the topic sentence to be green and for it to be at the top...like, "GO! Start your paragraph!" We wrote a paragraph together first, to practice the rules. I cut 1" strips of green, yellow, and red construction paper, and I just chose a color for the background that I knew the colors would pop against. I handed out only the green strips first and the kids wrote their topic sentences. I demonstrated this first, using the topic sentence from our class paragraph. I pointed out that they needed to start writing at the edge of the sentence strip and one of the kiddos raised their hand and said, "But, don't we need to indent???" It almost brought a tear to my eye, thinking, "Why, yes! Yes we do!!! But not yet!" Some kiddos will need more than one green strip to fit their entire topic sentence on and that is ok. When everyone was ready, I passed out 1 yellow strip and the kids got started on their supporting sentences, one at a time. Finally, we got to the closing sentences and we used the red strips. The next day, I showed them how they were going to take their sentences strips and turn it into a paragraph! First, I had them lay their sentences out on their desk in order like this... {notice some sentences take more than 1 strip} Cut off any excess on ALL of the sentences. I demonstrated how to lay their topic sentence on their paper and indent. BEFORE we glue it down, we have to see if the whole sentence will fit. If not, we cut the strip after the last word that will fit and the rest will go down on the second line. My entire topic sentence did fit, but most will not! {EDIT: A few people have left comments since I published this about how my topic sentence is not really a topic sentence. I realize I could have chosen something a little more simple, like, "There are many interesting facts about the moon." as the first sentence. However, I also feel that mine is a topic sentence, as I use the words, "The moon," at the beginning and state a simple fact to grab the readers attention! Several of our expostitory texts from our reading series included paragraphs where there was NOT a cookie cutter topic sentence, yet my students were still required to identify the main idea of the paragraph. This is just ONE example of a paragraph I used with my kiddos. I also explain to my students that the main idea is not always found in the topic sentence, but also the closing sentence. Just thought I would clarily. :) If you disagree, then that's your own cup of tea!} Here I am positioning the other sentences, and trimming after the last word that will fit on that line... I really like this activity because it's a hands-on approach to writing a paragraph. I think this helps some of the kiddos grasp the concept, "Oh, if there isn't room to write the next word, I go down to the next line and it's no big deal!" This also helps those who want to always start on a new line at the end of each sentence. They can see that they should use the rest of the space available on the line they are currently on to start the next sentence. "Don't waste any room!" I tell them. :) I can literally see that lightbulb turning on over and over again on their faces! The kids worked VERY hard on these so I decided to display it out in the hallway. I split this lesson into two days and I would highly recommend that! Here's a anchor chart displaying the stoplight paragraph if you'd like to use this in your clasroom. Just click the pic to download. I hope this all makes sense...if not feel free to email me if you have any questions!
Via Audra Wolowiec’s beautiful blog Lineforms. bang, bark, beep, bellow, blare, blast, bleat, bong, boom, bray, buzz, cackle, cheep, chime, clack, clank, clap, clatter, clink, cluck, clunk, c…
Find engaging tips for teaching story structure into your ELA routine. See book ideas, read aloud, anchor charts, and more.
It's quite an experience.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Both freelance blogging and copywriting are popular forms of freelance writing. Learn how they're different and which one can earn you the big bucks.
Find engaging tips for teaching story structure into your ELA routine. See book ideas, read aloud, anchor charts, and more.
Sometimes deadlines just don't allow for writer's block to slow you down. These tips will help you work on through. Overcoming Writer's Block
Learn what causes dark circles under the eye and how fix them with skin care. Dermatologist's tips for treating under-eye dark circles.
If you're just beginning your author journey, read more to learn the essential parts of a story, how they all fit together, and why they matter.
How to write, publish and sell your first ebook to make money blogging. Read this post to find out the quickest way to write an ebook and more!
Find engaging tips for teaching story structure into your ELA routine. See book ideas, read aloud, anchor charts, and more.
Are you pulling your hair out because you just don’t get it? You’re a new freelance writer so you know you have to hustle to land that first client. You know you need samples, so you got to it early on. You even know where to find freelance writing jobs and avoided places like Upwork. […]
Why are student writing conferences so important and how do you stay on top of them in an easy and organized way? Read to find out!
Sickness is no fun! All kids can tell you that. And winter is a tough time of year to be sick. It seems like every time I turn around there are more kids at Grayson's school that have the flu or strep. Once our kids reach elementary school age, they start to understand when they
I've been using the Writer's Workshop model of teaching and celebrating writing for the last 8 years, but this is the first year that I feel I've got a good grip on how to help my students organize their Writer's Notebooks (WN). This blog will show you some options for organizing WN's and some sample lessons to help you implement the Writer's Workshop model easily. Please visit my TeachersPayTeachers account to support the work I've done here at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writers-Notebook-Organization-Writers-Workshop-Starter-Kit For everything I sell on the site, I give 10% to DonorsChoose.org and an additional 10% to Food for the Poor. The complete kit is only $5 for all that you see here, plus Writer's Notebook labels and additional information for everything you need to start your Writer's Workshop off on the "write" foot! Here is the cover of my Writer's Notebook. I usually show my students a few of my WN's that I've used over the years (including one from 2nd grade!). This is my newest one and it's still a work in progress. I encourage them to put anything that is school-appropriate on their WN, including photos, magazine & newspaper clippings, stickers, and words that symbolize who they are. The point of decorating it is to have more ownership in their writing/WN and to garner ideas for their writing based off of what they included on the covers of their WN. My first year I had my students decorate them in class, but I find it to be a huge waste of time when I have SO much else to teach them. After explaining it, I make decorating their personal WN homework for over a weekend. It makes for pretty fun homework! I also decorated the back of my WN. Here is the title page, which is the first blank page in the spiral/composition book: Next comes the dedication page. Again, this brings more purpose to students' writing- they are writing for someone or to someone and get to choose who their audience is. This is the first tab in my WN, but I probably won't have my students tab theirs, simply because they won't use this much after they write it. I made up some little tabs that are easy to print and put them on Teachers Pay Teachers so no one has to write all these by hand or deal with the crazy formatting! I used the little Staples sticky notes that I got 100+ of for a quarter, and then put clear tape over it to help it stick better. Most of my students have their tabs last for the entire year, but a few have to retape theirs. The next tab is for the Table of Contents and it's just one page long. This is a section that students will add to throughout the year, so I like to have it tabbed for easy access. It's organized by the title of the work and the page number, just like a real non-fiction book or chapter book, which helps solidify the text features lessons too! Now for the Writing Ideas tab, which is the next five pages. This is another area where students will be flipping to on a regular basis for ideas on what to write, so a tab makes this search much more efficient. The first ideas for writing activity that I do with my students is their Authority List. I do a quick-write where they finish the sentence, "I know a lot about..." and they jot down as many things as they possibly can. I give them different categories, like sports, animals, colors, friends, activities, places they've been, books they've read, favorite authors, things they do at home, things their family does, what they do on the weekends/summer/mornings/etc. The idea is to get as many things down as quickly as possible so they have a lot of options to write about when they come back to this page throughout the school year. For even more ideas on how to get kids excited about writing and give them a plethora of ideas on it, visit my TPT site! There are four additional pages with pictures and descriptions to help your students have a never-ending supply of things to write about! The next tab is My Writing. This is the largest tab because this is where all the student's fabulous writing will go! Brainstorms, graphic organizers, rough drafts, editing, and final copies can all fit in here. Frequently in my classroom, I get out our "Final Copy Paper," which is designer paper. Students can choose from dozens of different designs to find the one that fits their story the best, and then they write their final copy on the fancy paper instead of on regular paper in their WN's. This mostly just serves as extra motivation to write their story out all over again after the long editing process! Notice the date column on the left so you can see what they've produced each day, and so can they. :) Second to last in the WN's is the Writing Notes tab. This is found on the second to last page of the book, and this is the one section that we write "backwards." While the My Writing section slowly progresses towards the back of the Writer's Notebook, the Writing Notes section moves steadily towards the front. This is where any notes from our daily/weekly Writer's Workshop lesson is recorded. You can see the column with the date in the left margin (I love dating things so students have more accountability for what they have achieved each day). Pictured are notes about types of punctuation, tips for narrative writing, and some great ways to start your first sentence of your story. This is the very last page in the book, and it is reserved for Writing Goals. These are the goals that I help each student write based on their particular struggles in writing. Here are some sample goals from my classroom. In the past, after my student and I create and record their new writing goal, they get a colorful sticky note. On the front, they write their name and on the back, they write their goal. Then, they place this sticky beneath the writing trait poster that they're working on (Conventions, Organization, etc). From time to time, I'll have my students write about how they are doing with their writing and/or literacy goal, talk to someone about it, tell their parents about it, etc. Ideally, I meet with each student at least every other month to assess their progress on their old goal and to create a new one if necessary, but this doesn't always happen. I'm sure in your classroom, you will magically find time to meet with every student all the time! :) What do you put in your Writer's Notebook? Which lessons are best for the beginning of the year? I do want to note that some of these WW lesson ideas are not mine, but can be found in Teaching Quality Writing or are from district workshops that I attended regarding Writer's Workshop. This is simply my own take on it, and a nice way to organize everything. What tabs would you add to your WN? Again, all of these fun things, plus easy-to-print labels and additional information can be found on http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writers-Notebook-Organization-Writers-Workshop-Starter-Kit for only $5. Thank you preemptively for supporting my work, and for sharing your love of writing with your students!
Explore nonfiction media sources for remote learners, as well as how to use strategies to analyze the underlying structure of nonfiction to make it real.
