Don’t forget to investigate any contest opportunities that may be available from a local writers group in your area. My principal received a flyer from a member of the Ozarks Writers League last fall. The flyer gave the basic details for the league’s annual youth writing contest. I’m always up for the extra motivationContinue reading “Contest #7 That Works for My Students: Ozarks Writers League Youth Writing Contest”
Tag Archives: teaching
“Why do we have to write in cursive?”
Pure and simple: to compete. Near the beginning of the school year, I read aloud the comment in the picture below to my middle school Language Arts students. I came upon this comment one day when I was reading this New York Times article about the death of cursive writing. The writer of thisContinue reading ““Why do we have to write in cursive?””
How I Add Cursive Writing to My Class
I don’t really teach it… I just help them practice it. I’ve heard some teachers say that they simply don’t have the time teach cursive in their 53-minute class period. Frankly, neither do I. But I can do this: open class with a five-minute cursive activity. So about three days week, I’ll go to BrainyContinue reading “How I Add Cursive Writing to My Class”
2017-18 VFW Patriot’s Pen Youth Essay Contest Results
Finally… here’s that follow-up post I promised plus the winning essay entry Photo: Pixabay Last winter, I wrote a post about a contest that my seventh-graders enter each fall: the Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. At the conclusion of that post, I wrote that I would update youContinue reading “2017-18 VFW Patriot’s Pen Youth Essay Contest Results”
Words are things that are beautiful to picture, things that glow in the world.
Today’s post: Sixth-graders reflect on their writing Today, I’m posting some responses from a reflection assignment I gave to my sixth-graders the last week of school. I asked them to write a 300-word reflection of the progress they made in my language arts class this year. Read more about the assignment and my seventh-grade reflectionsContinue reading “Words are things that are beautiful to picture, things that glow in the world.”
“I would write like a dog with hooves it was hard.”
When students reflect, three things happen. About a week before school ended in May, I asked my sixth- and seventh-grade students to write a 300-word reflection of the progress they made in my language arts class this past year. I find this assignment very valuable, both for me and my students because it provides threeContinue reading ““I would write like a dog with hooves it was hard.””
Here’s the Poem that Won a National Silver Key Award
I’ve posted the poem below that one of my eighth-grade students wrote, which won Gold and Silver Key Awards, respectively, at the regional and national levels of the 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Read yesterday’s post here to find out more about the contest, such as guidelines, tips, and how to enter. Hint: it’sContinue reading “Here’s the Poem that Won a National Silver Key Award”
Contest #6 That Works for My Students: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
One of my goals during the 2017-18 school year was to finally enter a student’s work in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. And right before Christmas break, two of my students entered poetry. Brooke S. entered four poems, Ally W. entered two. Brooke earned a Gold Key Award at the regional level, sponsored by theContinue reading “Contest #6 That Works for My Students: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards”
Reflecting on My PBL Experiment
Time to reflect on the first year of my 7th-grade PBL project Year one is down! During the 2017-18 academic school year, my seventh-grade language arts classes started a project in partnership with the White River Valley Historical Society, a local organization in Forsyth, Mo., that preserves, promotes, and protects the cultural heritage of southernContinue reading “Reflecting on My PBL Experiment”
Don’t ever delete anything again
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”