Writing as a process refers to revisiting your writing in order to revise and edit the work in terms of content, purpose, style, tone, and mechanics. Traditionally, in most classrooms, this can be a cumbersome process in which the teacher must schedule individual conferences with each student. This is extremely time-consuming an...

The traditional writer’s workshop involves a sequence of brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Publishing student work can be extremely gratifying for you and your students. It can also be frustrating when the expectation is always a complete, fully elaborated story, especially when students have not ...

When teachers undertake a new initiative such as the implementation of a school-wide writing plan it can be challenging. The best way to move into a new paradigm is to work as a team. Team-teach a lesson with a grade level colleague or sit in on each other’s lessons, debriefing afterwards. Form a grade-level team with the ...

by Barbara Mariconda We’ve all heard teachers talk about “voice” – how a piece of writing somehow has it – or doesn’t. Often referred to as “author’s voice, it is a frequently misunderstood concept, an illusive quality that often seems difficult, if not impossible to tea...

By Cheryl Welton. Imagine your writers’ workshop, students sitting at their desks, pencils in hand, ready to write. Some begin immediately. Others can’t seem to get off the mark and spend a lot of time thinking… Some are done in five minutes, but resist revision. Many are off task and need redirect...

When working on expository writing, teachers and students alike often struggle with the “Compare/Contrast” piece. Organization can be a challenge, but it shouldn’t be. The organizational strategy of grouping details according to a collection of broad yet distinct main ideas is the same in the compare/contrast p...

Looking for a way to maximize your conferencing time and have everyone benefit from the discussion of one author’s piece? Try the Author's Group Model in your classroom. This is analogous to the way authors in the “real world” work together in authors’ groups, learning from their peers, sharpening their &...

by Barbara Mariconda We all can see the appeal of the traditional writer’s workshop – the creative flow of students sharing their stories with their teachers, engaged in helpful peer conferences with others in the classroom. Inspiring mini-lessons addressing the needs of a variety of students and students ...

How can you improve a piece of narrative writing? Here are some great ideas! Find a story critical CHARACTER, SETTING, and/or OBJECT and add a 4-5 sentence description. Find a BROKEN RECORD and fix it! Use sentence starters or flip the subject. Find the SINGLE MAIN EVENT and stretch it out with action, exclamation, thoughts and...