Twenty ways to develop an idea

At this point in the year it's time to hone in on students' development of their writing topics. And with state standardized tests approaching in late February and early March, we need to fine-tune students' strategies for elaborating in their writing.    read more...

Go ahead, laugh out loud

The goal of revision is to make the piece sound better, more clear, more thorough. Revision shouldn't be about rewriting or recopying.    read more...

Spice up subject area writing with “point of view”

To add a little life into your content-area writings, students may appreciate playing with voice. Beyond just writing explanatory pieces to the teacher, develop a writing task that allows students to use their content knowledge by writing as if they were a particular object.    read more...

Life Maps produce writing topics and aid in reading comprehension

At the beginning of the year, look to provide students with ways to brainstorm potential writing topics based on personal life experiences. Have students draw a life map plotting places, people, holidays, vacations, events, and milestones in their lives for as far back as they remember.    read more...

Writing endings that don’t merely summarize

The sign of a strong ending or conclusion is not necessarily one that fits a 3-5 sentence recipe. We've all read great endings that were one sentence long and great endings that were five sentences long. We've all read wretched endings that were one sentence long and wretched endings that were five sentences long. A great ending has nothing to do with how long the ending is, but rather how satisfied it leaves the reader.    read more...

Moving from personal narratives to memoir writing

At the secondary level, consider moving beyond traditional narrative writing and try memoir writing. This genre doesn't cover an entire life, like writing an autobiography. And unlike a personal narrative, it goes beyond just retelling a single event or moment. A memoir is more insightful.    read more...

Zoo Pals paper plates target detailed writing

First grade teacher Donna Marlatt (Perry Elementary in Selma, IN) developed a fun idea for encouraging students to utilize stronger word choice and more specific details in their writing. Using the popular Zoo Pals paper plates (found at most grocery stores), Donna let each child choose one of the seven animal faces.    read more...

Stronger literature responses with the 6 Traits

Writing about your reading is a typical expectation in middle school writing. But beyond a summary of the reading, Language Arts teachers often work to develop students’ ability to respond to the literature. This might include drawing connections among texts, analyzing the text for figurative language, critiquing the text for a particular characteristic, using the text to support a specific opinion, etc. But what do you do when students repeatedly write weak literature responses? How do you elicit stronger ones?    read more...

Fall walk sentences

Every word counts… That's what fifth grade teacher John Stoffel pushes his writers to understand. He sets this tone early in the school year with his annual "Fall-Walk Single Sentence" contest.    read more...

A recipe for action verbs

While reading How to Eat Fried Worms, Sweetser Elementary teacher David Henry had his fourth graders make up recipes for their favorite dishes. In the first draft, they had to approximate the ingredient amounts and the cooking procedures.    read more...