How to use this Page

“Mrs. Sokolowski, I’m done!” It’s a refrain I’ve heard often from students, who tell me they are completely finished with a piece of writing. More times than not, as I read the student’s… Continue reading →

Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space is a "MUST READ" for writing teachers. It is a quick read (less than 100 pages), inspiring, practical, and very current, as "maker spaces" are a hot topic in education today. These strategies can be used with all age levels, bring fresh energy to writing workshop, and allow for more students to find their voices as writers.

Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space is a "MUST READ" for writing teachers. It is a quick read (less than 100 pages), inspiring, practical, and very current, as "maker spaces" are a hot topic in education today. These strategies can be used with all age levels, bring fresh energy to writing workshop, and allow for more students to find their voices as writers.

Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space is a "MUST READ" for writing teachers. It is a quick read (less than 100 pages), inspiring, practical, and very current, as "maker spaces" are a hot topic in education today. These strategies can be used with all age levels, bring fresh energy to writing workshop, and allow for more students to find their voices as writers.

Are you always telling your students to add detail? This book is for you. Enter to win a copy!

These four titles are inspirational and useful resources for teachers. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of them.

Using students’ writing as mentor texts builds kids’ self-esteem and lifts the level of writing of every other student in the room.

Have plans mid-June? Cancel them and prepare to run to your nearest bookstore. The Reading Strategies Book by Jen Serravallo is a must and is intended for grades K-8!

Revision needs to have a sense that a window of possibility is still open to allow another draft in (17). –Jeff Anderson and Deborah Dean Last month, I conferred with a fifth grade… Continue reading →

Want to obtain some high quality professional development at no cost to you? Need some books to sink your teeth into this summer? Feel like kicking back and just enjoying some time off? If you answered "yes," to one of these questions, then read on!

I'm proud to announce my second professional book with Stenhouse Publishers will be coming to you in the winter of 2016.

With so many fantastic books about the teaching of writing out there, how do teachers who are new to writing workshop know what to read first? Here are 12 books I think all teachers of writing should read.

Today I read a few pages from Peter Johnston’s book, Choice Words. You know this book, right? If not, it is a small, powerful read that can change your teaching life forever. (If… Read More →

Many of us are digging into Common Core Standards. We are spending time reading the standards, figuring out what they mean, and noticing how they grow from grade to grade. Indiana (my state)… Read More →

The second portion of the Choice Literacy workshop, Coaching the Common Core was led by Heather Rader. Heather is the author of Side By Side: Short Takes on Best Practice for Teachers and… Read More →

When I was a classroom teacher I had my fair share of challenging students.  Through the years I taught had quite a few students with social-emotional issues, learning disabilities, and discipline problems.  I’ve had students hide underneath desks, crawl on the floor of the classroom, and who’ve screamed at classmates when things haven’t gone their [...]

I have admired Katherine Bomer’s work for a long time. Her books are exquisite.  Her love of children shines through when she speaks in front of a small group or delivers a keynote address to a huge audience.  Her warmth is genuine from the moment you meet her. Hidden Gems: Naming and Teaching from the [...]

A few people have left us comments asking about the writing process for our forthcoming book since we announced that we were writing one last summer.  These folks have queried us about everything from how we went about writing the proposal for our book to what the writing process was like.  I e-mailed people back [...]

May 1st, 2010 has come and gone, which means Ruth and I submitted our manuscript to our editor at Stenhouse!  The book now has an official title.  It’s going to be called Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice.  It will be available this October. The weeks leading up to [...]

I’m not recommending a children’s book you can use in your classroom today.  Instead, I have something better.  It’s a professional book about children’s books that every writing teacher needs to have improve their use of teaching with mentor texts needs to have. Earlier this year Susan Ehmann and Kellyann Gayer published I can write like [...]

Ruth and I have completed about 25% our manuscript.  We’re in the midst of working on the section of Writing 180 that deals with conferring.  Even though we’re in the thick of writing, we’re both constantly trying to make our writing better by reading books about writing.  I’m unsure of which professional book Ruth’s reading [...]

Greater Expectations by Robin Turner is an excellent resource for secondary Writing Workshop teachers.  As a high school teacher, he shares real life experiences, authentic teaching points, superb advice, and high quality rubrics and units.  The subtitle of the book is Teaching Academic Literacy to Underrepresented Students.  He offers practical, wise advice for preparing this [...]

Here are my recommendations for those new to Writing Workshop and wanting to jump in with both feet.  Each of the books are recommended due to their easy organization and the impact they had on me as I guided teachers in Writing Workshop. A curriculum set (choose the ONE which meets your needs).  This is especially [...]

I was perusing the Heinemann and Stenhouse Websites today looking for new books about the teaching of writing. I came across a [...]

My Summer (Professional) Reading Originally uploaded by teachergal These four books have been sitting in my bookshelf for the past year begging to be read. I’ve thumbed through Using Literature to Enhance Writing Instruction and Reading Aloud Across the Curriculum, but haven’t read them with the careful, close reading they deserve. All four books are [...]