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

3 Writing Activities to use with Any Novel

Engage your students with these meaningful writing activities that can be used with any novel or picture book read aloud.

Reading & Writingjeanine schneiderJanuary 31, 2022reading and writing, Reading Strategies, readingComment

Argument Games for Secondary ELA

Check out these games to get your students arguing as a means of targeting persuasive skills such as rhetorical analysis and persuasive writing/ speaking. — by Bespoke ELA

4 Lessons to Elevate Students' Argumentative Writing Skills

Here are our key skills and strategies we can teach students to help elevate the level of their argumentative writing skills!

Who Would You Award "Person of the Year"?

Need a new idea for an argument essay? Ask your students to argue for their most influential person of the year!

Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Editing & RevisionAmanda CardenasDecember 14, 2021High School ELA, AP, ap languageComment

4 Ways to Help Students Write Routinely

When we provide students with opportunities to write routinely, we help them develop their stamina as young authors. In turn, this helps them develop a more positive outlook on writing.

Melissa KruseOctober 21, 2021Comment

Getting Started with Synthesis Writing

Help students hone the skills of pulling together multiple sources of information and creating the kind of writing that combines rather than isolates.

Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Editing & RevisionAmanda CardenasOctober 21, 2021High School ELA, AP, ap languageComment

3 Reasons to Use Seasonal Writing Activities

Bring the seasons into your writing classroom to engage, motivate, and grow your writers with these tips!

Writing Assignments, Creative Writingjeanine schneiderOctober 8, 2021Comment

Gothic-Inspired Creative Writing Assignments

October is one of my favorite times of year because it’s a perfect time to get into one of my favorite genres of all time— the Gothic genre.

Creative Writing, HolidayMeredith DobbsOctober 4, 2021Halloween, October, creative writing, creativeComment

How to Teach Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing does not come naturally to most of us. This is because when we tell stories orally, we often leave out the details (because we’ve forgotten them in most cases). It takes effort, bravery and a lot practice to master the art of descriptive writing. In this blog post you’ll learn three simple things you can do to get your students on the path to writing more descriptively! And no, none of these strategies involve saying to your students, “show, don’t tell”. That strategy hasn’t really worked for me and I’m assuming it hasn’t for you either...

Creative Writing, PoetryAmanda WernerSeptember 25, 2021descriptive writingComment

Setting Writing Goals with Students

Set writing goals with your students to kick off the year and help your students grow as writers all year long!

Best Practicesjeanine schneiderSeptember 12, 2021writing process, Back to School Writing, writing conferencesComment

Writing a Manifesto: A Guide for Students

Help students express their beliefs using creative writing and mentor texts.

Creative Writing, Mentor TextsAmanda CardenasSeptember 5, 2021brainstorming, mentor text, Middle School English, High School ELAComment

Three Strategies for Providing Feedback on Student Writing

Grading essays, or any written work for that matter, can be time consuming. So, as writing teachers, it’s important that we find efficient strategies for being able to provide constructive feedback but in a timely manner.

Here are three strategies for providing high-quality feedback on student writing.

Assessing Writing, Best PracticesMeredith DobbsAugust 29, 2021grading writing, essay grading, peer revision, feedback, essay feedbackComment

Three Rhetorical Analysis Activities for Back to School

3 Ways to start rhetorical analysis practice during the first weeks of school

Best PracticesAmanda CardenasAugust 8, 2021back to school, rhetorical analysis, Rhetoric SkillsComment

4 Must-Have Picture Books to Teach Personal Narrative Writing

Mentor Texts, Writing Mini-lessons, Best Practicesjeanine schneiderJuly 30, 2021mentor texts, personal narratives, models of writingComment

FIVE Fun Writing Activities for Back to School

The beginning of the school year is such a crucial time to hook students into writing. It is also a crucial time to get them “warmed up” after the summer break. Writing not only facilitates the process of establishing effective writing habits in the classroom, but it also begins the process of developing a writing community that will become a valuable tool during writing workshop throughout the school year.

Important Takeaways from 3 Books About Incorporating Social Justice Practices into Teaching Writing

Social JusticeAmanda WernerJuly 17, 2021social justice, teaching writing, equityComment

7 Easy and Effective Bell Ringers to Start Your ELA Class

7 high-interest, practical bell ringers for the secondary ELA classroom

Best PracticesMelissa KruseJune 28, 2021back to school, bell ringers, organizationComment

3 Meaningful Ways to Get Students to Write about Nonfiction Reading

Engage your students in meaningful writing about nonfiction reading tasks to help them grow as readers and writers!

jeanine schneiderApril 12, 2021Comment

You are NOT an editor! How to Get Students to Edit & Revise Their Own Work

The curse of the red ink pen is real. If you’re like me as a teacher, I know that when I am grading my students’ essays— online or on paper— I feel the pull to edit every single mistake that I see on the page. I feel the need to edit every single comma error or sentence error as well as provide comments about the content of the writing.

Best Practices, Editing & RevisionMeredith DobbsMarch 29, 2021edit, editing, revise, revisingComment

5 Poetry Activities to Heal Trauma

The entire world has been traumatized. Amidst a pandemic, many other tumultuous events have occurred. Most teachers I know are wondering how to make room for all this in their classrooms. Some may be wondering, should I just plow forward with content? Absolutely not. In this blog post you’ll find five creative poetry activities that will allow you to make space for teachers and students to write about the hardships they’ve faced during these tough times.

Creative Writing, PoetryAmanda WernerMarch 21, 2021Poetry writing, Poetry LessonsComment