Time-saving Educational resources for K-2 Teachers
As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to review important skills. During the last month of school, I use these end-of-year writing activities to review the writing genres we covered throughout the year. Now, these have to be fun, because kids’ attention spans and effort are often at an all-time low! So here are my favorite… Read More
Small group reading is such a HUGE part of literacy instruction. I often hear from teachers who are wondering what’s best to do in these small groups after they’ve read the text. My answer… reinforce phonics skills with writing! Reading and writing go hand in hand. Incorporating writing into your reading lessons reinforces these important skills! I talk a lot about… Read More
If you know kids, you also know that kids love to tell stories… like, a lot. If you’ve ever asked a room full of Kindergarteners or 1st graders what they did over the weekend, you know! And, we don’t see all those memes out there about having to sit through your kids’ never-ending stories for nothing! (Hint: there’s something to… Read More
I recently got the chance to sub in a kindergarten classroom. I love getting back in the classroom and spending time with the kids. And, best of all, I got to spend some time doing one of my favorite things… teaching kindergarten writing! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… teaching writing is not easy. And, with anything… Read More
Even if children cannot yet write, they can still learn to tell stories. This is why oral storytelling practice is such a valuable tool for our emergent writers! Learning to tell stories with detail will help your students write with detail later on. Yet, with all the rich benefits, oral storytelling is often a skill that’s skipped or not done… Read More
Teaching writing can be hard, especially in Kindergarten! I often see the initial focus of writing workshops placed on text as opposed to spending the necessary time supporting emergent writers in the drawing stage. I think this can be one of the things that makes teaching writing to these littles so hard. If you’re new to writing workshops, make sure… Read More
If you’ve been here before, you know I LOVE teaching writing. I think there are so many benefits to incorporating a writing workshop into your kindergarten or first-grade classroom! If you are not familiar with the writing workshop model, it is a method of teaching writing that consists of four main components: Mini-Lesson, where you teach and model a strategy Independent… Read More
In terms of both support and resources, writing seems to take a back seat to reading in many districts. Some teachers are given curriculum that’s either overwhelming, not developmentally appropriate or nothing at all. So, today I want to go through each component of the Writing Workshop in detail to help you implement it in your classroom. There are many… Read More
You finished your writing unit and kids worked hard to plan, write, revise, and edit their stories. You worked hard conducting mini-lessons, conferencing, and guiding kids to become better writers. The writing unit is over and you’re about to start a new genre. But, wait! Celebrate all of that hard work with a writing celebration! A writing celebration is not… Read More
Procedural writing or “How-to” is one of my favorite units to teach during Writers’ Workshop! There are so many fun ways to introduce the unit that will engage students. One of the best ways to help students during any writing unit, however, is the use of mentor texts. Mentor texts provide concrete examples of great writing and are motivating! Like… Read More