writing
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Hope everyone reading this and your families are doing ok. Teaching and learning look very different right now. Although I am personally hoping that the only literacy work that students are doing is reading and keeping a journal, I think we can support that work by doing book talks and offering writing ideas and reminders,…
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Writing Clinic #5 – Demo Pieces has been planned for a while, but the quarantine demanded a different format. Since I always use a workshop structure (book talk, minilesson, tinker time, and share), I knew that part would be the same. I just needed to find the right delivery platform. SO MANY new (to me!)…
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Hey, Potterheads! At our very last Harry Potter Club session, everyone created a zine page. The only guidelines were: use 8.5×11 printer paper in portrait layout, include a border of some kind, and share what Harry Potter means to you. The materials were inspiring: colored origami paper, washi tape, stamps, stickers, Harry Potter wrapping paper,…
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One of my favorite lessons during the Harry Potter Club was writing a Harry Potter-themed version of The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. This book’s structure is PERFECT for having students write about the main idea of a topic. I love introducing this structure at the beginning of the year, and then returning to…
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Google Hangout, or G-Hang as I’m calling it, with the Center School Grade 5 rockstars! What a year the past week has been! At this time last week, I was prepping for a full day of PD that I was slated to co-lead with the other literacy coaches. By the end of the day though,…
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On Monday, I hosted my fourth Writing Clinic. This one focused on revision, and while the attendance was the lowest yet, I still enjoyed the opportunity to present, discuss, and support. Plus, teachers got a chance to make a revision microprogression for each of the big three genres (narrative, information, and opinion) and start a…
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If I could find a way to make the Harry Potter Club my full-time job, Center would need a new literacy coach. We’ve met three times so far, and this year, I’ve structured it like a workshop. We have a soft start in which wizards have options for activities while everyone arrives and gets settled:…
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Each time the Reading Ambassadors enter the Reading Lounge for our meetings, they will answer the question of the week displayed on a table and then stick their responses on the window outside the room. I have loved reading their responses, but seeing other students stop and chat about the responses has been even better.…
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Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite authors. He’s even more special because he’s also the illustrator of his and others’ books. He does an illustration every New Year’s Eve, and I love 2020‘s! Here’s to the journey! Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment: Brightly’s “Favorite…
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This month’s Writing Clinic focused on exemplars. Exemplars are models of student work that guide students’ performance. Providing an exemplar of the final product benefits students *and* teachers because it eliminates any doubt about what the work of the unit should look like. During the workshop, I ran through WHY we should use exemplars, WHAT…
A SEA OF TALK 