In Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, logical and calculating Reacher famously says, “Details matter.” Reacher does not say “supporting details” matter. He doesn’t say that because he means that the details matter—the specifics matter. Calling all details supporting...
Everything in teaching writing comes down to time. The most serious discussions on actually improving students’ writing (not just teaching writing) focus primarily on time. Furthermore, the teaching-writing research and philosophies also address how teachers should...
Would you like to know how to teach writing more effectively? Would you like to be a better writing teacher? If you download and read the free teaching-writing resources found on this page, you will definitely be the best writing teacher at your school! Of course, I’m...
We have many different models that teach us about students’ learning styles. Here is a practical model that may change the way you teach writing. It’s called Kolb’s Four Learning Styles. What’s exciting about this model is that it relates to the questions students ask...
Improving student engagement is critical in today’s classrooms. Do you want any of these? 1. You to enjoy teaching. 2. Your students to enjoy school. 3. Your students’ test scores to improve. 4. Your day to pass smoothly and quickly. 5. The administration to stay off...
Do you struggle with teaching writing? Do your students struggle with writing? Does their writing frustrate you? Does your writing instruction bore them? Do you believe there has to be a more effective way to teach writing? Have you tried different methods? Have you...
Should you help your child with writing? Yes. In fact, The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) believes parents can make a big difference. That's why they put together the following list of tips and tricks for parents. To be clear, everything that...
I created this simple Timed Writing System early in my teaching career when I was completely lost in teaching writing theory. I determined I needed an objective apples-to-apples method for monitoring growth. In short, I wanted to know if the techniques and strategies...
Improve Student Organization and You Will Bring Lasting Results As discussed previously, there seems to be a link between organizational skills and student success. Improving student organizational skills is one of the surest ways of having a lasting effect on a...
The Six Traits of Writing In teaching elementary students how to write well, there is grammar, and there is writing. Many teachers teach a lot of grammar because when it comes to teaching writing, they are at a loss. What does it mean to teach writing? A useful model...
Teaching writing should begin with a vision and a plan for achieving writing success. Teaching writing should begin with the end in mind. This allows the teacher to be clear on writing goals and writing expectation. When writing goals and expectations are clear for...
Before I became a teacher, I was a business major in college, and an actor after college. In short, I’ve always had an interest in both creativity and productivity. Nowhere in the teaching of elementary school students do these two opposing sides create more...
The Research Shows Series: Elementary School Creative Writing What is creative writing? Poetry is a clear example. But when it comes to narrative writing, things get interesting. At its core, a narrative is a true or imagined story. The distinction between the two...
The Research Shows Series: Changes in Teaching Writing How has writing instruction changed over the last few decades? What are the most effective strategies for teaching writing? What is the difference between product and process when teaching writing? Which is more...
The Research Shows Series: Effective Writing Instruction The research is clear: students need to write more! But “fill in the blank” and “short answer” drills don’t improve writing skills. Are your students practicing real, authentic writing? If you wish to teach...
