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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What is the goal of your writing instruction? • Is your instruction geared to helping your students become the next great American novelist? • Is your primary goal to make sure that your students never leave a dangling participle or split an infinitive? • Do you hope to develop a passion for writing? • Is your goal to help [...]
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 [...]
In the inner-city of Los Angeles there are many “year round schools.” On quite a few of my vacations I have taken over classrooms that were “without a teacher.” These are classrooms where others “did not” or “would not” stay. They are challenging. They contain many, many reluctant and remedial writers. I have experienced these [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]