Happy New Year (and one month)! I haven't written much in quite some time, mostly due to being super busy. But I'm still here, and I'm going to get back on track! You read that right. I plan to get back to my writing so much so that you will be able to read my [...]
Welcome to my first post in the "Red Pen Tidbits" series where we will make mistakes and break the rules! Sort of. What are you talking about? I have taught English for several years from 6th grade up to 12th grade, and I love it. One of the moments I enjoy the most are when [...]
Earlier this week I was asked what it takes to set up writer's notebooks in the classroom: cost, time, content, etc. I shared why I use them in my post last year (The Wonderful World of Writer’s Notebooks), but this post is dedicated to the logistics. (You're welcome, Jeffery Frieden!) To start, let me say that [...]
Back in August, I posted about the changes I'd made to Writing Goals for the Classroom. I also mentioned that they'd probably change again (and hopefully improve) based on student feedback and personal growth. Well... It's time! We've adjusted the format from the first six weeks quite a few times, so I'll walk you through each [...]
When I was a student in middle school and high school, life was simple: go to class, write down the assignment, complete the warm up, listen to the teacher, take notes, read the assigned passages, answer the questions, turn in your work, and repeat tomorrow. Was every class like this? Didn't any class use other [...]
I don't know about you, but one problem for writers is a blank page. What do I write about? This question pops up all too often, and it can keep students from achieving their personal writing goals. Students have loved writing bingo in the past, so I created a Google Form for them to submit [...]
Why are we teaching? What keeps us teaching? What makes us come back after the break (especially after Christmas break)?
We all know that goals are important in our lives; they give us a purpose. Students need that, too. They need a purpose in the classroom, one they choose. I've been incorporating writing goals in our class for the last couple years. They have changed significantly from when I started due to student feedback and [...]
Teaching writing to middle school students has taught me many things, but one lesson screams the loudest: writer's need to write. I already knew this, right? I'm also a writer, so I had to already have known this. Of course I did, but it was never more true for me as a writer as it [...]
The Writing Process. We've all heard of it. We know what it is. We know why it's used. We know that it's often the bane of our existence. Why does the combination of those three words fill us with dread? Shouldn't they excite us and fill us with wonder? They are here for us, the [...]
