Category: Resource
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Informative/Explanatory Mentor Text
An exemplar essay for the middle grades aligned to TCAP As I’ve been working with school districts to close the gaps between their HQIM and the expectations of the TCAP writing task, I’ve noticed a need for strong mentor text. Students have to read a high-level example of whatever it…
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Poetry Imitation Lesson Plan
Poets are among the most intelligent people on the planet. They can say so much with just a few words. Poetry imitation is a wonderful entry into writing. Writing lessons should follow this sequence: Let me show you how with a fun poem titled “Words” by Matt Eicheldinger in his…
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Prompt Analysis
Use this free resource to prepare for the TCAP Writing Task. When students sit down to tackle the TCAP writing task, their success hinges on one critical skill: prompt analysis. Before they can craft a well-organized and thoughtful response, they must first understand exactly what the prompt is asking. Misinterpreting…
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Peer Editing
Students need so much practice with writing that they should write far more than you could ever possibly read. Targeted teacher feedback during (not after!) the writing process is essential for growing writers, but when you don’t have time to get around to it all yourself, peer feedback is the…
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Thanksgiving Review of RL 1-7
Use this short story and slide deck next week to review standards! Recommended for grades 5-9. As Thanksgiving approaches, there’s no better time to weave a little humor and warmth into your classroom while reviewing key standards. “The Great Thanksgiving Mix-Up” by Evelyn Thornewood is a delightful short story that…
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Teaching with Novels
+ Bridge to Terabithia freebies We know students need to be reading real books, but with time constraints and the urgency to cover everything, sometimes novels get pushed to the back burner. I’ve worked with schools who have taken novels away because it seemed like a waste of time for…
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Writing Conclusions
Moves Authors Make in Informative/Explanatory and Opinion/Argument Writing with Mentor Text For me conclusions are the most annoying part of the paper to write. I feel good about the lessons I have on introductions and body paragraphs, but by the time we got to conclusions in my classroom our steam…
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Revising
Use these sample essays to help students revise their opinion/argument and informative/explanatory writing. Revising may be the most important part of the writing process for real authors. Revising makes changes to the ideas and structure of the writing: adding, changing, deleting, clarifying, reordering. Editing ensures the capitalization, spelling, and punctuation…
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Which reading strategies are most effective?
There are links on this post but I am not affiliated with them. All views are my own. Is it just me or is there lot of confusion out there about reading instruction? Balanced literacy? Science of reading? Structured literacy? Who’s on each side and what do they have to…
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Writing Body Paragraphs
For opinion/argument and informative/explanatory essays Body paragraphs are the meat of the paper, where students answer the prompt and support their ideas with evidence and commentary. There are a lot of acronyms to help students remember what to do in body paragraphs (MEAT, OREO, T-BEAR, etc.) and I think whatever…