Writing – Page 13 – ELA Brave and True by Marilyn Yung

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”

Reading about how to teach writing

It has its ups and downs I love reading books about the teaching of writing. It’s always so valuable to me to find ways to help kids love writing! Right now, I’m re-reading Real Revision by Kate Messner, a text chock-full of innovative strategies that real-life published authors use when they revise their own writing.Continue reading “Reading about how to teach writing”

Get Your Students Published ASAP

Three days in and students are revising submissions for a publisher. I decided not to discuss class rules on Wednesday, the first day of school, because who wants to hear class rules for eight different classes in one day? Instead, we jumped right into a writing contest hosted by Creative Communication (CC). The contest (read aboutContinue reading “Get Your Students Published ASAP”

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”

I’m Imagining the Possibilities of Project-Based Learning

Yesterday I met for about an hour with Leslie Wyman, the managing director of the White River Valley Historical Society based in Forsyth, Missouri. I had contacted her last week by email to inquire whether there were any projects for which my students could provide basic research and/or writing. I really didn’t knowContinue reading “I’m Imagining the Possibilities of Project-Based Learning”

Heads up! Student poetry contest deadline August 18

If you’re planning to incorporate contests into your ELA classes and/or writers workshops, you can get started as early as Friday, August 18! That’s the deadline for the summer poetry hardcover anthology to be printed and published by Creative Communication. The books will ship in December. Teachers who have five or more students acceptedContinue reading “Heads up! Student poetry contest deadline August 18”

Dear English teachers who have stumbled upon Medium during your summer break,

Originally published here July 19, 2017 on Medium.com in From a Teacher. Congratulations! You found Medium. You should stick around and see what this site offers English Language Arts teachers. Wander aimlessly throughout this platform and its writers and publications. It won’t take long before you’ll unearth some very cool stories (btw, everything is called aContinue reading “Dear English teachers who have stumbled upon Medium during your summer break,”

Because bored students care about commas… and little else

Here’s what I do to spark passion in my students for writing part 1 of 4 And let’s get this straight right from the start: I am no expert. I repeat, I am no expert. I have a meager six years of teaching under my belt. However, I am more excited than everContinue reading “Because bored students care about commas… and little else”