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

The Ultimate Writing Workshop Routines Guide

Every teacher on the planet knows that the first weeks of school are all about routines, routines, routines and more routines. There are the super obvious routines to discuss like what to do when you have to go to the bathroom or get water, what to do when you want to speak, how to turn work in and the list goes on and on and on. There are so many routines in our classrooms that some very important ones go overlooked.

Best Practices, Writing WorkshopAmanda WernerJuly 4, 2017Comment

Supporting Struggling Writers: 6 Strategies for Turning Struggling Students into Successful & Confident Writers!

6 Strategies for Turning Struggling Students into Successful & Confident Writers!

14 Strategies to Support Struggling Writers: Build Confidence & Increase Success

Teaching and assessing writing can be challenging, and even more so when you're trying to identify effective ways to scaffold writing instruction for struggling students. Set teenagers up for success by incorporating these teacher-tested, student-approved strategies.

Assessing Writing, Philosophies on Writing, Best Practices, Differentiating Writing, Writing Workshop, Writing AssignmentsMelissa KruseJune 10, 2017The Reading & Writing Havenwriting, scaffolding writing, best practices, teaching writing, struggling writers, how to teach writing Comment

Three High-Interest Writing Assignments to Motivate Struggling Writers

Motivating struggling writers can be quite a challenge. With struggling writers, it is important to create high-interest assignments that students will want to work on, assignments that they will want to put forth the effort on in order to succeed. If struggling students are bored with a writing topic, they won’t be as invested in it and won’t want to put the time and effort in to make it the best it can be.

Writing About Theme with an Engaging Musical Twist: An End-of-Course Assignment

Secondary ELA teachers can engage students in meaningful, purposeful writing activities at the end of the school year without burying themselves in grading and their students in hours of work -- it's true. Read on to be inspired.

FREEBIES, Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Writing WorkshopMelissa KruseMay 9, 2017end of year writing assignments, end of year, writing assignments, writing workshop, engaging writers, music-based prompts Comments

The Most Important Essay for High School Seniors: The Personal Philosophy Statement

Teaching high school seniors makes for an interesting group of students because they've mostly already passed their standardized tests and know their next steps in life-- college, work, military, etc. Because of this, teaching seniors can also make for a difficult second semester in trying to keep students motivated.

13 Ways Pictures Can Inspire Students to Write Poetry

Picture-inspired poetry writing ideas for middle and high school ELA

FREEBIES, Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Writing WorkshopMelissa KruseApril 11, 2017national poetry month, poetry, fun writing, writing assignments, writing inspiration, writing poems Comments

Poetry for Writing Workshop in Grades 6-12: 10+ Devices & Poems to Model Them all!

"To be a poet is a condition, not a profession." -- Robert Frost

You may find yourself in agreement with Frost's famous quote when it comes to teaching poetry in the secondary classroom. However, love it or hate it, poetry can play a helpful role in teaching students how to write! Famous poems can serve as mentor texts for students and showcase key literary and rhetorical devices in action.

Best Practices, Mentor Texts, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith DobbsApril 4, 2017poetry, national poetry month, poem, explication, literary devices, poetic devices, stylistic devices, rhetorical devices, simile, metaphor, personification, anaphora, parallel structure, parallelism, rhetorical question, antithesis, alliteration, consonance, assonance, epistrophe, literary analysis, mentor text, mentor poem, mentor sentence, mentor, writing workshop, writing process, secondary, English, Language Arts, language and composition, language arts, middle school, high school, teachers pay teachers, teacher, teaching writing, Writing Instruction, writer's notebook, writer's workshop, writing, the writing process, essay writing, essay, best practices, best practice, writing assessment, assessing writing Comment

How to Teach Writing: 3 Cornerstones for Writing Instruction with Older Students

"3 Cornerstones for Teaching and Assessing Writing" is a part of a writing philosophy series for teachers who are always learning and adapting to their students' needs and educational demands.

Assessing Writing, Philosophies on Writing, FREEBIES, Best Practices, Editing & RevisionMelissa KruseMarch 7, 2017writing, assessing writing, writing assessment, scaffolding writing, teaching writing, writing philosophy Comment

A Philosophy for Assessing Writing: Aim for Improvement, not Perfection

Over the past 10+ years of teaching high school, my philosophy for writing instruction has changed greatly. It has been a decade of experimentation and adaptation; a decade dedicated to finding what works and trying out new methodologies...