Category Archives: Tips/Blog

Guess what?  With Common Core Standards rolling out, all teachers  are going to be held accountable for implementing writing-across-the-curriculum. Whew! That is really something to think about.  We have talked about it all these years and many systems have begun, … Continue reading →

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has powerpoints about formulaic writing for 5, 8, and high school.  I am including here the link to the fifth grade one. http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/WA-Grade-5-Resources.aspx

         C onventions occur within context.        O rganization is paramount.        N ever give up on success for all.        T each the writing process.       E xpand ideas and vocabulary and engage the audience.     e  X amine own writing … Continue reading →

We can no longer rely on a quick fix to teach student writing any more than we can use the excuse that we are poorly trained to keep us from teaching it.  Students must be taught how to write and … Continue reading →

How many of you have ever taught persuasive and expository writing just to have students confuse the two? Join the crowd.   I hope to clear up any confusion by sharing the definitions of both modes that are provided by the GaDoe … Continue reading →

Periodically, I will be sharing books that I have read that might be of encouragement to you. Some of these will deal with writing instruction and others may be about best practices for all teachers.  It is very rewarding to … Continue reading →

Publishing student work does not have to be a complicated matter and does not have to happen after all writing.  It actually doesn’t have to come at the end of the process but can occur throughout it.  Probably most of … Continue reading →

The final copy is a copy of the writing once all the changes have been made through revision and proofreading. Please remember that not all writing has to be taken to the final copy .  Sometimes students just need the … Continue reading →

It is impossible to write about all the wonderful strategies for revision, but I do have some more that I wanted to add. We have discussed revising for organization, word choice, and for a different audience (voice), but I haven’t … Continue reading →

Ok, we’ve worked to make our papers clear, concise, and complete during revision.  Now let’s proofread to work on the way the writing looks: punctuation, capitalization, spelling, formatting/indenting, homophones, contractions, margins. You know: all that grammar and mechanics stuff.  We … Continue reading →