6-12th- ADD ARTICLES HERE — TeachWriting.org

10 Unique and Creative Reflection Techniques & Lessons for the Secondary Student

As educators, we know how critical reflection is to the learning process. Getting students to reflect- deeply and meaningfully- is often one of the most challenging lessons we teach. I have found that both my middle school and high school students will often scoff at these reflection activities, providing the least amount of effort possible to complete the task they see as meaningless. I have been searching for and creating lessons and activities that will bring interest and engagement to this task. The following

Empower Student Writers with a 20% Time Choice Blogging Project

If you'd like to give your students some serious choice, and empower them to write about the topics that truly interest them, blogging just might be the thing for your classroom. Set aside one day a week for your 20% time project, and introduce students to the simple free blogging platform, Blogger.

Best Practices, Creative Writing, Distance LearningGuest UserDecember 16, 2017choice, blog, blogging, creative writingComment

Narrative, Information & Argumentative Holiday Writing Ideas

Before your pants are covered in green glitter and your classroom floor is littered with candy cane wrappers, make sure those writing skills you taught during that one unit in that one month are not forgotten! I’ve thought up some fun writing activities for the week before the holidays, plus key terms you can bring up during the super fun activities as well!

Holiday, Writing AssignmentsAmanda WernerDecember 7, 2017holiday writing assignments, holidayComment

Three Famous Christmas Speeches to Inspire Writing

It's the "most wonderful time of the year" once again! Every year, the holiday season inspires new movie ideas, and some of these movies go on to become some of the most beloved films of all time with some of the most well-known movie speeches in film history.

Engaging Holiday Writing Activities for Middle and High School

Read about three meaningful ways to keep students engaged in your secondary ELA classroom this holiday season. These writing activities will add value to your classroom culture while engaging students and keeping them focused. They're perfect for fast finishers and station activities.

Writer's Workshop in the Secondary Classroom: An Exclusive Interview with Secondary Sara

Not only is Secondary Sara an experienced middle school ELA teacher at a private school in Ohio, she is also a high school tutor (she started her own successful tutoring business), a coach of a creative writing team, and a teacher author and blogger. Here, she shares her top tips for motivating middle school writers.

Writing Workshop, The Writing Process, Best PracticesGuest UserNovember 30, 2017writer's workshop, workshop, writing workshopComment

Choice Reading (and Writing), An Interview with The Literary Maven

We all want our writers to be readers. Reading and writing go hand in hand. But how to hook our students on books? For some, reading is a chore, or something they manage to avoid with a little help from their friends.

Enter, Brynn Allison.

Thanksgiving Writing Activities for the Whole Family

Thanksgiving writing assignments to share with the family. Make memories that will last a lifetime while reinforcing important literacy skills at home.

Teaching and Assessing Creative Writing in High School

Teaching creative writing isn't always easy, especially in high school. In this interview with Language Arts Classroom, get inspiration about how to build rapport with students and how to make grading manageable and equitable. Plus, read about Lauralee's favorite creative writing assignment, and try it with your students. #teachingwriting #creativewriting

Melissa KruseNovember 2, 2017Comment

The Writers' Advice Wall

English teachers, want a fun activity to help student writers learn process from each other? Let them share their best advice for improved writing as part of a colorful display on your wall. Every writer is different, but every writer can gain insight from other writers. Grab the downloadable display freebie in this post.

Guest UserOctober 31, 2017Comment

Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing!

Understanding the many nuances of great writing can seem like a daunting challenge for teachers and students alike. As educators, we are aware of the strong correlation between good reading skills and good writing skills. This is because students are absorbing the author’s craft as they explore amazing works of literature. This knowledge has given rise to the popularity of mentor texts within the ELA classroom.

How to Use Revisions Stations in the Writer's Workshop

Stations are often thought of as an elementary activity. However, using stations in the secondary classroom is becoming more common than ever. Stations get kids moving and engaged in meaningful learning, and the possibilities for using stations, especially in the workshop setting, are endless.

Guest UserOctober 19, 2017Comment

Writing is Recursive, Not Linear: Free Task Cards to Reflect Writing as a Process

Writing goes all ways: forwards, backwards, sideways, over there, and over here. In fact, the only piece of the writing process that occurs at a set point in time is publishing.

A Memorable Kinesthetic Writing Lesson for Older Students

Teaching the writing process? Try involving students kinesthetically. Play Doh can work for big kids, too! My high school students absolutely love this writing analogy that walks them through each stage of the writing process as if they were sculptors crafting a masterpiece. Differentiate your instruction with this best-practice, active learning lesson.

Sketchnotes: Paper Prep that's FUN

Need a fresh idea for getting through to disengaged writers? Reach them with a new kind of prewriting activity, sketchnotes. Check out this post for tips and inspiration for getting started with sketchnotes, plus a fun freebie to guide them through their first sketchnotes paper brainstorm.

The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, FREEBIESGuest UserSeptember 28, 2017Comment

8 Meaningful Ways to Differentiate Prewriting

Teaching writing? Sometimes students shut down before they write a single word. Teachers can address this dilemma by making the brainstorming process meaningful and engaging through differentiation and scaffolding. When students are provided with choices, they feel less helpless, become more confident, and produce better compositions.

Brainstorming a Powerful Lead

Sometimes, the hardest part of writing for anyone, especially for our students, is just getting started. The lead of a story can be challenging to write, but with mentor texts and a little brainstorming, students can learn to start their writing in a way that hooks their reader and leaves them wanting more.

Guest UserSeptember 20, 2017Comment

Daily Writing Prompts to Inspire New Ideas

TeachWriting.org has announced a new writing workshop endeavor for the 2017-2018 school year. This year, the collaborators at TeachWriting are creating DAILY WRITING PROMPTS via their Facebook Page for English teachers in grades 6-12.

Generating Writing Ideas with Lists and Conversations

Every writer begins a new writing piece differently. Some dive in and just start writing, others need to talk with someone first, others start with an enticing title and still others need to do some pre-writing.

No matter which method students preferred, they benefit from experiencing a variety of strategies for generating ideas. There are more ways to generate ideas for writing than bubbles and graphic organizers. This article discusses two methods for idea generation that often get overlooked: listing and conversations.

Best Practices, The Writing Process, Writing WorkshopAmanda WernerSeptember 19, 2017brainstorming, writing ideas, getting ideasComment

2 PreWriting Activities Your Students MUST DO Before Writing the Argument Essay

I love allowing students to choose their own issue for this argument essay, but that can be difficult for students who do not immediately know their topic or issue. I have found two techniques that really get students thinking about the issues that may resonate with them prior to their research and drafting stages of writing.

1. The Chart Paper Brainstorm and Gallery Walk

2. The Cube of Perspective