I’m going to give a rundown of pros and cons as well as a list of ideas of how to get the most out of your Daily Oral Language. (It’s also referred to as DOL, D.O.L., Daily Language Review, DLR, and D.L.R.) Daily Oral Language was so hot for so long… but it has fallen [...]
The State of Affairs for “Beginning, Middle, and Endings” in Student Writing The sad truth is students aren’t interested in beginning, middle, and ending. No. I’m not sure that they ever were… but in this modern age… it’s passé. It’s boring. It doesn’t pique their interest… and they don’t see what it is so important [...]
Two Kinds of Writing Assignments for Student Essays and Reports 1. The topic has not been assigned. Students choose the topic. 2. The topic has been assigned. Students must follow the directions and stay on topic. Teachers must find the right balance between these two methods when giving assignments. These ideas will help when you do [...]
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for student writing. There is a very high level of student motivation! Student interest and motivation stays high when they write about Christmas coming from different angles and with different purposes. Here is a great list of Christmas essay and story writing ideas! Teaching your students to write [...]
Diamante Poems | Rhyme Schemes | Rhymes | Acrostic Poems | Quatrains | Haiku | Limericks | Clerihew | Tanka | Free Verse | Simile | Metaphor | Alliteration Combine teaching these pattern based poems with the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program and your students will be both highly effective and [...]
Why Teach Children Poetry? Are you a true lover of poetry? Are you an avid and exceptional teacher of poetry in the classroom? If so… then this article is not for you. This article is for the rest of us teachers who know that poetry has value… but with limited time and so much to [...]
Students need to be taught how to use formal language in report writing. You can add a little bit of variety and a little bit of fun to report writing if you treat it more like “formal voice.” After all, there are degrees of formality… The term “voice” is used in the “Six Traits of [...]
Be sure to go homepage (or click over on the right) and get your FREE Guide to Writing EBook! Ten Top Reading Comprehension Strategies for Elementary and Middle School Students: 1. Main Idea – Can you figure out what is most important about this paragraph, chapter, or story? Can you see the big picture of what [...]
Six Reasons You May Want to Use a Writing Prompt When Teaching Children Writing 1. Challenge students’ thinking and writing skills 2. Create interest in writing and inspire creativity 3. Get reluctant writers writing 4. Help students develop the habit of writing every day 5. Practice for writing assessments 6. You are giving a classroom assignment that involves writing Kinds of [...]