Writing & Grammar

It has been a while since I have shared a writing idea, so I thought I would write about one of my favorite ways to get some super authentic writing topics for your students. This post is all about generating writing topics using lists in a writer's notebook. To read about generating writing topics using heart maps, click here. To read another method for generating ... Read More

I have a love/hate relationship with field trips. Some years they are great, and some I just want to sleep for twelve hours after the field trip and never speak of it again (surely I am not the only one, right?). Field trips can fun and super educational, though. It is nice to take the students out into the "real world," to expose them to new experiences, and teach them ... Read More

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about how I used a variation of Daily Three in my reading classroom. Since writing that post, I have gotten several questions about a word study activity I mentioned in the post. As an upper grades teacher, I have always struggled with finding word study activities that are appropriate for my students. To be honest, I still struggle ... Read More

Language instruction can sometimes get monotonous. However, there are ways to gamify your language instruction to make it more engaging. I want to share some practical and super simple tips to make your language instruction more engaging and "gamify it" for your students. I also have a planning present freebie that will help you try out a few of these ... Read More

My students absolutely love choice boards. They love choosing their own tasks and having that sense of ownership. So, I created a set of Writing Choice boards that aligned to Common Core requirements and coordinate perfectly with my Reading and Math CCSS choice boards. This resource contains 7 different choice boards with 15 prompts on each choice board, for a total of ... Read More

I use a Writing Workshop model in my classroom that involves a lot of sharing, talking, and writing! Since my writing block is at the very end of the day, I often have to use some strategic writing ideas that get the kids up and moving, and excited about their writing. I wanted to share with you two of those strategies that are a favorite of mine- and so ridiculously ... Read More

Last week, I did a quick mini lesson on using transition words in writing. We talked about how transition words make stories sound better and help the reader move through the story. We discussed how clear organization is key to a successful story and how transition words are key to having clear organization. We made this anchor chart as a class of some common transition ... Read More

I absolutely love teaching persuasive writing, and I love using mentor texts even more. This year, I used the picture book, I Wanna New Room. This read aloud follows the same format of I Wanna Iguana with letters back and forth from the child to the parents. My main focus for this lesson was on choosing a main point and providing valid resources to support that ... Read More