Topic: Writing

A Video Tour of Interactive Writing

Interactive writing is a time for writing to come alive as children share their thinking. Watch Matt Halpern talk about the key concepts and skills of interactive writing in a fun and informative video.

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What is a myth you have encountered about project-based learning and what would you like to replace it with? The biggest myths about project-based learning center around issues of time...

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Interactive writing is a powerful tool to scaffold children’s literacy skills toward independence. Learn more in this new blog from new Heienmann author, Matt Halpern.

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In what ways can an understanding of the relationship between reading and writing make planning more efficient?

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Highly effective writing teachers teach with mentor texts. In direct instruction lessons, teachers explain the techniques to students.

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State standards are a guide to all that we ask kids to do as writers and readers. They are not meant to be out of context as a stand-alone lesson.

Top 3 DON Ts Teaching Kids to Write Graphic Novels

A list of the top three things to avoid when teaching kids how to write graphic novels from Eric Hand, coauthor of the new Writing Unit of Study.

The Literacy Studio Workshop Reimagined Bright

Enter the Literacy Studio, a new approach to the workshop model that allows for integrated reading and writing instruction without demanding more time or extra planning.

Why teach kids to WRITE Graphic Novels 1

The craft decisions involved in creating an actual graphic novel are numerous, varied, and complex—but they can be explicitly taught and learned, practiced and perfected.

Improve Student Wrting with Mentor Texts 1

What can we learn from the texts that we admire the most? How can they inform our own writing?

The Planning Wheel A Tool to Integrate Reading and Writing

An easy and practical tool that will help teachers prioritize student’s work time. Download a free copy of the planning wheel from The Literacy Studio by Ellin Oliver Keene.

Four Steps to using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing by Carl Anderson

Mentor texts provide concrete examples of craft techniques and conventions to refer to during mini-lessons, small group lessons and writing conferences.

Exploring Textured Teaching

After living and teaching through a pandemic for over two years, we all need time to process and release in a collective manner. Where do we start?

Get Focused Podcast2

Today on the podcast, author Ralph Fletcher on the effectiveness of a good writing mini lesson in particular the value of having a visual in your mini lesson.

Confidence to Write Podcast

The myth of the master writer has long plagued students and teachers alike, limiting our sense of self-confidence and writerly ability. Is it possible to dispel these notions?

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The reflective practice of teaching can bring both joy and frustration. We feel joy in the moment a writing conference propels a student to a new place in their notebook, or when we witness the impact of a mini-lesson or mentor text...

Language that Fosters Flexible Thinking by Chris Hall 2

The words we use to talk about writing and revision matter. Some things to consider from Heinemann Authors, Chris Hall and Mike Anderson.

Developing a Mindset for Revision Podcast

What if revision is something that happens in the mindset of the writer during the writing process? This is the question that Chris Hall answer in The Writer’s Mindset.