Posts in The Writing Process
Five Ways to Target Commentary for Essay Writing
Five Ways to Target Commentary for Essay Writing

This is a topic that I have spent quite a bit of time on simply because it is the one skill that my students struggle with the most.  You can find more posts from me on this topic here and here. Here are FIVE ways to target commentary in essay writing: 

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Editing & Revision, The Writing Process, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith Dobbsessay writing, commentary, analysis, literary analysis, revision, elaboration, explanationComment
2 Fun Acronyms to Teach Writing
2 Fun Acronyms to Teach Writing

I am always looking for ways to make writing instruction more engaging for my students. I love using fun and interesting acronyms to help students as they draft their work. I want these acronyms to be memorable so that students can use these to draft their writing long after my graphic organizers are there to support them.

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Best Practices, Modes of Writing, The Writing Process, Writing AssignmentsElizabeth TaylorAcronyms to Teach Writing, Writing lessons, Teaching writing, argumentative essay, argumentative paragraph, Literary analysis paragraph, Literary analysisComment
Starting the School Year with Literary Analysis Writing- Why I Do It, and Why You Should Too!
Starting the School Year with Literary Analysis Writing- Why I Do It, and Why You Should Too!

Within a literary analysis, students are required to think deeply about a given text, then make inferences and provide evidence to support that inference. Not only does the skill of drafting a quality literary analysis response support students in high school English classes, but will essentially define much of their English coursework in college.

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Best Practices, Differentiating Writing, Modes of Writing, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Assessing WritingElizabeth Taylorliterary analysis, literary analysis writing, literary analysis lessons, teaching literary analysis, english lessons, ELA lessons, #iteachenglish, #iteachhighschool, Literary writingComment
Collaborative and Interactive Games to Practice Argument Writing!
Collaborative and Interactive Games to Practice Argument Writing!

I yearned for a way to practice skills such as evaluating the sufficiency of evidence and seeing multiple perspectives on a topic. I wished to help them in creating rich and effective arguments with elements of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Finally, I needed to find a way to help students in creating effective counter-arguments that actually refute the argument as opposed to simply changing the subject.  

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Best Practices, Differentiating Writing, Modes of Writing, Writing Assignments, The Writing Process, Writing Mini-lessonsElizabeth TaylorArgument Writing, The Argument Essay, Argument Activities, Practicing Argument Writing Skills, Preparing for Debate, Debate Lessons, Writing Arguments, Drafting Arguments, Rhetoric Skills, Debate Unit, Teaching DebateComment
10 Unique and Creative Reflection Techniques & Lessons for the Secondary Student
10 Unique and Creative Reflection Techniques & Lessons for the Secondary Student

As educators, we know how critical reflection is to the learning process. Getting students to reflect- deeply and meaningfully- is often one of the most challenging lessons we teach. I have found that both my middle school and high school students will often scoff at these reflection activities, providing the least amount of effort possible to complete the task they see as meaningless. I have been searching for and creating lessons and activities that will bring interest and engagement to this task. The following

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Assessing Writing, Editing & Revision, FREEBIES, Philosophies on Writing, The Writing Process, Writing AssignmentsElizabeth TaylorSemester Reflection, reflection activities for the secondary student, reflection activities for high school students, reflection activities for middle school students, reflection lessons, reflecting lessons, #relfectionlessons, #reflectingonlearning, #edchat, #iteachtoo, #iteachenglish, #englishteachers Comment
The First Step in the Writing Process is READING! Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing
The First Step in the Writing Process is READING! Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing

Understanding the many nuances of great writing can seem like a daunting challenge for teachers and students alike. As educators, we are aware of the strong correlation between good reading skills and good writing skills. This is because students are absorbing the author’s craft as they explore amazing works of literature. This knowledge has given rise to the popularity of mentor texts within the ELA classroom.

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Best Practices, Editing & Revision, FREEBIES, Mentor Texts, Modes of Writing, Philosophies on Writing, The Writing ProcessElizabeth TaylorMentor Texts, mentor sentences, Teaching writing through mentor texts, Using Mentor Texts, The writing process, Teaching the writing proces, Teaching the writing process, #mentortexts, #teachingmentortexts, #mentortextsinwriting, #ela, #edchat, #iteachenglish, #englishteachersComment
Writing is Recursive, Not Linear: Free Task Cards to Reflect Writing as a Process
Writing is Recursive, Not Linear: Free Task Cards to Reflect Writing as a Process

Writing goes all ways: forwards, backwards, sideways, over there, and over here.  In fact, the only piece of the writing process that occurs at a set point in time is publishing.

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Best Practices, Editing & Revision, FREEBIES, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith Dobbswriting workshop, writing skills, writer's notebook, writing process, revising and editing, revision, editing, edit, revise, targeted writing skills, writing lesson, commentary, textual evidence, evidence, organization, transitions, transitional devices, grammar, grammar and writing, task cards, taskComment
A Memorable Kinesthetic Writing Lesson for Older Students
A Memorable Kinesthetic Writing Lesson for Older Students

Teaching the writing process? Try involving students kinesthetically. Play Doh can work for big kids, too! My high school students absolutely love this writing analogy that walks them through each stage of the writing process as if they were sculptors crafting a masterpiece. Differentiate your instruction with this best-practice, active learning lesson.

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Best Practices, Differentiating Writing, Editing & Revision, FREEBIES, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Writing Mini-lessonsMelissa Krusewriting process, kinesthetic learning, differentiation, manipulative, writing lesson, engagingComment
8 Meaningful Ways to Differentiate Prewriting
8 Meaningful Ways to Differentiate Prewriting

Teaching writing? Sometimes students shut down before they write a single word. Teachers can address this dilemma by making the brainstorming process meaningful and engaging through differentiation and scaffolding. When students are provided with choices, they feel less helpless, become more confident, and produce better compositions. 

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Differentiating Writing, FREEBIES, The Writing ProcessMelissa KruseWriting, Prewriting Strategies, prewri, pre-writing, brainstorming, conferences, graphic organizers, discussions, differentiation, scaffolding writing, writing topicsComment
Daily Writing Prompts to Inspire New Ideas
Daily Writing Prompts to Inspire New Ideas

TeachWriting.org has announced a new writing workshop endeavor for the 2017-2018 school year. This year, the collaborators at TeachWriting are creating DAILY WRITING PROMPTS via their Facebook Page for English teachers in grades 6-12. 

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Best Practices, Mentor Texts, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Writing Workshop, Writing Mini-lessonsMeredith Dobbsdaily writing prompts, writing prompt, writing prompts, bell ringers, bell-ringers, bell ringer, bell-ringer, quick write, free write, essay, essay writing, the writing process, writing topic, writing assignments, writer's workshop, Writing lessons, writing skills, writing workshop, descriptive writing, description, figurative language, argumentative writing, persuasive essay, persuasion, persuasive, creative writing, mentor text, mentor, mentor sentence, vocabulary, grammar, grammar and writingComment
Generating Writing Ideas with Lists and Conversations
Generating Writing Ideas with Lists and Conversations

Every writer begins a new writing piece differently. Some dive in and just start writing, others need to talk with someone first, others start with an enticing title and still others need to do some pre-writing.

No matter which method students preferred, they benefit from experiencing a variety of strategies for generating ideas. There are more ways to generate ideas for writing than bubbles and graphic organizers. This article discusses two methods for idea generation that often get overlooked: listing and conversations.

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Best Practices, The Writing Process, Writing WorkshopAmanda Wernerbrainstorming, writing ideas, getting ideasComment
2 PreWriting Activities Your Students MUST DO Before Writing the Argument Essay
2 PreWriting Activities Your Students MUST DO Before Writing the Argument Essay

I love allowing students to choose their own issue for this argument essay, but that can be difficult for students who do not immediately know their topic or issue. I have found two techniques that really get students thinking about the issues that may resonate with them prior to their research and drafting stages of writing.

1. The Chart Paper Brainstorm and Gallery Walk

2. The Cube of Perspective

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The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Writing Workshop, Modes of Writing, Best PracticesElizabeth TaylorPrewriting, Argument Writing, The Argument Essay, Prewriting Strategies Comment
Foster a Writing Community in your Classroom by Creating a Class Blog
Foster a Writing Community in your Classroom by Creating a Class Blog

I have decided to build my own community of collaborative authors within my classroom; I will be establishing a class blog for my students, allowing them to grow together as authors, building a unique platform to showcase/display their works to the world!

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Differentiating Writing, Technology & Writing, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Philosophies on WritingElizabeth TaylorCreating a class blog, student blogging, Blogging in an ELA classroom, writing skills, Writing lessons, Middle school writing lessons, Middle School English, Middle School Language Arts, High school writing, #iteachhighschool, High School English, Creating a student blog Comment
The Worst Essay of Your LIFE: A Unique Approach to Assessing Writing at the Beginning of the School Year
The Worst Essay of Your LIFE: A Unique Approach to Assessing Writing at the Beginning of the School Year

The beginning of the school year is an important time to assess the writing skill levels of new students in our English classes.  One way to do this is to assign a diagnostic essay in order to "diagnose" each student's writing level... 

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Assessing Writing, Best Practices, FREEBIES, The Writing Process, Writing Assignments, Writing WorkshopMeredith Dobbswriting topic, writing projects, writing workshop, writing, writer's workshop, writing process, writing assignments, writing topics, writer's notebook, writing assessment, essay writing, essay, diagnostic, diagnostic essay, English, english, Middle School English, High School English, high school, high-interest, targeted writing skills, common core, middle school, Middle School Language Arts, language and composition, language arts, Language Arts, engaging writers, writing skills, assessing writing, assessment Comments