Posts tagged Writing Instruction
5 Must-Read Professional Development Books for Writing Teachers
5 Must-Read Professional Development Books for Writing Teachers

Summer is such an amazing time to sit back, relax, and… catch up some great PD books! We, at Teach Writing, definitely recommend that you take some time this summer to relax and enjoy your well deserved break. But, we also know that teachers are never just on break. We are always thinking about that next school year. Even pool-side, we are gathering ideas, planning, and creating for our students. So, we wanted to work together to share a list of our favorite PD books for Writing teachers!

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Best PracticesGuest UserWriting PD, PD books for writing instruction, Professional Development Books for Writing Instruction, Writing Instruction Comment
TEN Writing Assignments to Build a Writing Community in the Classroom
TEN Writing Assignments to Build a Writing Community in the Classroom

Creative writing is the art of constructing original ideas by synthesizing literary elements and techniques to communicate an overarching theme about life.  Oftentimes in our English classes, we spend more time on the deconstruction process, analyzing works of art by taking them apart.

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Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith Dobbswriting lessons, writer's notebook, writing process, writing culture, writing assignments, writing assessment, writing topic, writing projects, Writing Instruction, writer's workshop, writing workshop, Writing lessons, Writing instruction, writing philosophy, writing partners, writing prompts for middle school, writing project, writing topics, prompts, creative writingComment
Three High-Interest Writing Assignments to Motivate Struggling Writers
Three High-Interest Writing Assignments to Motivate Struggling Writers

Motivating struggling writers can be quite a challenge.  With struggling writers, it is important to create high-interest assignments that students will want to work on, assignments that they will want to put forth the effort on in order to succeed.  If struggling students are bored with a writing topic, they won’t be as invested in it and won’t want to put the time and effort in to make it the best it can be.

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Writing Assignments, Best PracticesMeredith Dobbsstruggling writers, struggling students, differentiation, high-interest, writing, writing assignments, writing inspiration, writer's notebook, writing poems, writing process, writer's workshop, Writing Instruction, writing workshop, writing assessment, fun writing, writing topics, motivating students, motivation, English, english, engaging writers, Middle School English, High School English, high school, middle school, language arts, Language Arts, language and composition, Middle School Language Arts, summer school, struggle, screenplay, screenplay writing, project, writing projects, writing project, movie, film, film writing, tone, bias, media, writing topic, topic, list, topic listComment
The Most Important Essay for High School Seniors: The Personal Philosophy Statement
The Most Important Essay for High School Seniors: The Personal Philosophy Statement

Teaching high school seniors makes for an interesting group of students because they've mostly already passed their standardized tests and know their next steps in life-- college, work, military, etc.  Because of this, teaching seniors can also make for a difficult second semester in trying to keep students motivated. 

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Best Practices, Writing AssignmentsMeredith Dobbsessay, essay writing, the writing process, assessing writing, writing assessment, writing process, personal philosophy, personal philosophy statement, reflection, reflective writing, metacognition, meta, common core, secondary, seniors, high school seniors, end of year writing assignments, writing assignments, Writing Instruction, writer's workshop, writing workshop, writing philosophy, writing, writer's notebook, writing inspiration, teaching writing, end of year, reflective, high school Comments
Poetry for Writing Workshop in Grades 6-12:  10+ Devices & Poems to Model Them all!
Poetry for Writing Workshop in Grades 6-12:  10+ Devices & Poems to Model Them all!

"To be a poet is a condition, not a profession." -- Robert Frost

You may find yourself in agreement with Frost's famous quote when it comes to teaching poetry in the secondary classroom.  However, love it or hate it, poetry can play a helpful role in teaching students how to write!  Famous poems can serve as mentor texts for students and showcase key literary and rhetorical devices in action.  

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Best Practices, Mentor Texts, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith Dobbspoetry, national poetry month, poem, explication, literary devices, poetic devices, stylistic devices, rhetorical devices, simile, metaphor, personification, anaphora, parallel structure, parallelism, rhetorical question, antithesis, alliteration, consonance, assonance, epistrophe, literary analysis, mentor text, mentor poem, mentor sentence, mentor, writing workshop, writing process, secondary, English, Language Arts, language and composition, language arts, middle school, high school, teachers pay teachers, teacher, teaching writing, Writing Instruction, writer's notebook, writer's workshop, writing, the writing process, essay writing, essay, best practices, best practice, writing assessment, assessing writing Comment