Often student writing is not held to the same high standards that student work is in many of the other subjects. Here are a few reasons why: 1. Writing is an art. There is not an easy answer key for the writing teacher. 2. The way writing is taught can often seem esoteric to children. [...]
Writing Prompts and Story Ideas – Summer Be sure to learn more about how to use writing prompts with students here: 1. Using Writing Prompts with Kids: Tips, Tricks, Pros and Cons of Writing Prompts 2. How to Use Writing Prompts in Teaching Writing Wishing you and your students total essay writing success! Have a great summer! Summertime [...]
Should you teach thesis statements? If so, in what grade should you teach thesis statements? Hey, are thesis statements even important? Most people don’t really understand what a thesis statement is, and even the people who do know what a thesis statement is don’t really understand why it is important. Until a few years ago, [...]
Explorations: The Ultimate Journal for Elementary and Middle School Students Early in my teaching career I read a book that said to call an activity, “Our Time.” Since the name “Our Time” had nothing to do with the activity, I thought it was a pretty ridiculous (and manipulative) idea. What I came to see was [...]
Transform your child into a truly confident author using “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay! Should you help your child with writing? YES. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) suggests that you help your child with writing. OERI believes you, a parent, can make a big difference. You can use helping strategies [...]
Grade by grade elementary mathematics expectations are clear cut. Grade by grade writing expectations are more subjective. Looking at the “English–Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools” one can see why it can be a challenge to figure out exactly what you want your students to accomplish this year. Notice the writing content standard [...]
What is a paragraph and how do you teach children to write a paragraph? “A paragraph is a group of sentences about one main idea or topic. A paragraph usually contains between 5-8 sentences about that one main idea or topic. All of your sentences in the paragraph must be about that one main idea [...]
Gifted and Talented (G.A.T.E.) Students Do the MATH before they do the WRITING I once taught a 5th grade G.A.T.E. class at a very affluent school for the final two months of the school year. It was my off-track vacation time and their teacher could not finish the year. I had never seen students like [...]
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 [...]
Very few endeavors in the history of human kind have been started and abandoned with such persistency and consistency, as the journal. Elementary and middles school classrooms is where this habit begins, and with each new year, with each new journal, a commitment is made that this time will be different. “Okay kids, the word [...]