Never ever ever. So many times I have kids in my classroom who will delete sentences, whole paragraphs, or even more of their writing as they struggle through a first draft. When I find out they’ve deleted something, I turn on the drama. I gasp, cover my face with my hands, and plead with themContinue reading “Don’t ever delete anything again”
Tag Archives: English
Dear DailyMail.com: Tom Cruise has never won an Academy Award.
Your fact-checkers and my students should take note; teachers like me over 50 should take heart. This post is based on a story I recently wrote and posted on Medium.com. When I read something that I know is false, I take notice of it. This DailyMail.com article shows kids that not everything they read is trueContinue reading “Dear DailyMail.com: Tom Cruise has never won an Academy Award.”
Memoir Mentor Text: Something I Wrote that I Now Use as a Mentor Text
It’s hard to find mentor texts sometimes, and occasionally I just write one myself when the need arises, or I scroll through my sister blog to find stories I’ve already written. For my students, I define “memoir” as a personal narrative that contains a beginning, middle, and end, plus a lesson learned from the situation. ThatContinue reading “Memoir Mentor Text: Something I Wrote that I Now Use as a Mentor Text”
Here’s what happened when I submitted a student’s writing to a hunting magazine
Last fall, one of my seventh-grade students wrote an “Expert Advice” article, one of ten assignments in our Writer’s Workshop project list. My students seemed to like this particular assignment. They chose a topic they were familiar with and then wrote a how-to article. “Jared” wrote an article called “Four Ways Novice HuntersContinue reading “Here’s what happened when I submitted a student’s writing to a hunting magazine”
Six Things I’ve Learned So Far from Using Instagram in My ELA Classes
#workinprogress #experiment #askmeagaininMay I attended an ed-tech conference over the summer. One of the sessions, Social Media in the Classroom, was taught by a middle school teacher from another district in my area who admins a private Instagram account for her ELA classes. The idea intrigued me. I already knew Instagram was fun, based onContinue reading “Six Things I’ve Learned So Far from Using Instagram in My ELA Classes”
Worth the wait… fifteen students are now published writers!
Last spring, many of my students entered their “Where I’m From” poems in Creative Communication‘s Spring 2017 Poetry Contest. Fifteen are now published writers with the printing of the anthology shown in the photo. I am so proud of them! I’ve also shared these photos and posted them on my class Instagram page… IContinue reading “Worth the wait… fifteen students are now published writers!”
It’s hard to teach middle schoolers this: grammar rules exist to bring readers on your journey
Part 4 of 4 In my classroom, I stress that writing is so much more than just knowing a bunch of grammar and punctuation rules. Writing is really about expressing oneself, your dreams, your beliefs, your hopes, your imagination. Writers don’t write to show off to readers that they know how to avoid vagueContinue reading “It’s hard to teach middle schoolers this: grammar rules exist to bring readers on your journey”
Contest #5: Outdoor Writers Association’s Norm Strung Writing Awards
Here’s another writing contest for you to try with your students. The Outdoor Writers Association, based in Missoula, Montana, is an organization of writers, editors, broadcasters, photographers, film makers, and other communicators who are, according to OWAA’s website, “dedicated to sharing the outdoor experience.” The organization is involved in many outreach activities, including the NormContinue reading “Contest #5: Outdoor Writers Association’s Norm Strung Writing Awards”
We have a winner!
Student’s essay places second in national contest Congratulations to Elijah D., whose essay placed second in the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards. Eli’s essay entitled “Natural Nostalgia” placed second in the nation in the junior prose category. He also received a check for $100. Eli graduated from Kirbyville Middle SchoolContinue reading “We have a winner!”
Let Students Talk, Think, and Think Some More
Here’s what else I do to help students find writing topics they care about and then start writing part 2 of 4 I know from teaching middle school (6-8) ELA for a few years that, in order for students to be passionate about their writing, they must first have a topic that they care about. WhenContinue reading “Let Students Talk, Think, and Think Some More”