Maximizing the ABC Chart

The signature of a great teaching strategy is its flexibility. That's why I love the ABC Chart. Here are multiple ways to utilize this same tool to improve writing skills and content comprehension.    read more...

Jumpstarting a nonfiction/research unit

Jumpstarting a nonfiction/research unit is a popular topic with many teachers. Several of you emailed excited to dive into a nonfiction writing unit, so I thought I'd give you a couple additional ideas this fuel the fire.    read more...

Preparing for research papers

For intermediate and secondary teachers, second semester curriculum often includes the "research paper unit." With this comes the usual woes of teaching students how to organize note cards, paraphrase, and draft a strong thesis statement.    read more...

Giving the gift of words

In the final days before the holiday break, fourth grade teacher Claudia Jackson led her class in a dynamic activity that not only motivated students to write, but also helped them recognize the unique qualities of their classmates.    read more...

Super strategies for stretching sentences

First grade teacher Ruth Leman (Hoagland Elementary School) has gotten her students to beef up their writing by challenging them to "super size" their sentences. First she acquired a large and small fry holder from three different fast food restaurants to use as visual aids.    read more...

Writing with more details

When Sherri Hyatt (Upland Elementary) works with her first graders to brainstorm words for the day's writing, she makes a list on chart paper. As the students offer suggestions, Sherri writes each detail word in a different color. Then, when the students work to transfer the words into sentence details, she can refer to a word on the chart by its color.    read more...

Stretching ideas in the primary grades

Are you a primary teacher struggling to stretch the ideas and details provided by your young writers? If so, you are going to love this idea taken from Dana Schaal, a kindergarten teacher at Swayzee Elementary (Swayzee, IN)    read more...

Feeding the Idea Engine

It’s pretty typical that students spend August and September filling up their writer’s notebooks with lists of potential writing topics. However, by about October, students no longer want to write about any of these original topics; those ideas have become stale, and the "idea engine" is out of gas.    read more...

Understanding the difference between revising & editing

There is a clear distinction between revising ideas and editing conventions. Students need to understand the difference so that they know what to do during the two very different stages.    read more...

Introducing a writer’s notebook to 6-year olds

So you want to incorporate a journal or writer's notebook into your primary classroom? Excellent. My guess is, you have the same first two questions every other primary teacher wonders ---- 1) Loose sheets of paper or bound notebook pages? 2) Lined paper or blank?    read more...