Do your students get excited about writing? I’m thinking that, generally, the answer is not a resounding YES! And who would blame them, with all the emphasis on that scripted writing for state tests. While teaching the formulaic essay is unavoidable, hopefully, we are allowing our kids practice with many types of writing. Journal entries, scripts/written conversations, business, friendly, and thank-you letters, and all types of poems are great options…
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mentor texts
Using Mentor Sentences to Improve Student Writing
We all want to find ways to improve our students’ writing, but sometimes it’s hard to know just where to begin. When we get our eyes on that first batch of assignments, we see weaknesses everywhere! Fortunately, we don’t have to go back to square one and re-teach all the basics in order to see writing growth. Have you tried using mentor sentences in your instruction? These models, excerpted…
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10 Ways to Make Essay Writing Less Stressful (and more successful)
There’s something about the word “essay” that instantly turns the smiles of middle school students into expressions of dread. Of course, we can’t avoid it when the time comes for teaching the essay. But there are some strategies we can use to show our students it’s not as difficult or taxing as they might think. Struggling writers can gain confidence and produce successful writing in a supportive environment with lots…
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