Where Do You Find Released Writing Prompts? Are you looking for a fabulous collection of released writing prompts from state writing assessments? Would 114 PAGES of these released writing prompts be enough? If so, you have landed on the right page! Below you will find the finest collection of released writing prompts available. Nearly all [...]
Tips and Tricks for State Testing Writing Prompts Most writing prompts across all of the 50 states look very much alike. They have a similar structure, they use similar language, and they involve similar situations. While it’s true that writing prompts do change across grade levels, it’s also true that fourth grade writing prompts looks [...]
Time for Journal Writing The main issue with journals is “time.” Is it worth the time? There are so few hours for all we need to accomplish, are journals a good use of time? Truth is, teachers need to use precious classroom time wisely. I’m going to give you a lot to think about in [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Do’s and Don’ts of Language in Report Writing: How to Use Formal Language • Do Use Passive Voice – You the author stay hidden. Focus on the facts and issues of the subject you are writing about. What do you think about those facts and issues? Not important. However, the facts and issues are important. The [...]
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 [...]
A Paragraph Beautifully Defined A paragraph is a collection of sentences with unity of purpose. A paragraph handles and exhausts a distinct topic. Alexander Bain – 1871 This description of a paragraph is about as good as it gets! Alexander Bain is also credited as having been the first person to have formally [...]
Teaching Sentences as Grammar VS. Teaching Sentences as Writing Do you teach “grammar” when you teach children about sentences… or do you teach “writing” when you teach children about sentences? Let’s take a quiz. Read this sentence: Do you still eat pizza every day? Which of these four kinds of sentences is this? • Declarative Sentence – [...]
Controversy in the World of Writer’s Workshop Teaching writing… in the world of teaching… is “controversial.” So few teachers really feel they know how to teach “writing” well. Everyone feels they teach “grammar” just fine, but writing… This feeling of uncertainty creates defensiveness and high emotions. But even in the world of teaching writing… just [...]