Are you looking to provide specific feedback to your students in order to improve their writing? These samples are annotated for the specific skills students applied effectively in their writing …
Explore MoreAre you looking to provide specific feedback to your students in order to improve their writing? These samples are annotated for the specific skills students applied effectively in their writing …
Explore MoreAre you looking to provide specific feedback to your students in order to improve their writing? These samples are annotated for the specific skills students applied effectively in their writing …
Explore MoreThese released item samples from the https://www.doe.mass.edu/ are analyzed for specific skills taught using the Empowering Writers approach. Each sample features the skills that the students successfully applied and suggestions …
Explore MoreGiven the demands of 21st century standards, teachers of writing will need to be much more skills-centered in their instruction. However, the word “skills”, when used in relation to writing, sometimes …
Explore More“Why do we have to learn this?” What teacher hasn’t heard that dreaded question wailed at top volume by a bored student? While you have to admire their effort to find …
Explore MoreWhat is your favorite season and why? Write a piece describing and explaining your favorite season. This was a prompt that until recently I would have used for my students …
Explore MorePROMPT: If you got to pick any pet in the pet store what would you pick and why. Explain your reasons. Use this student sample to discover how the lack …
Explore MoreNarrative: The Giant Reading the book, The BFG by Roald Dahl, is one of my all – time favorite read alouds in class. The engaging story and sense of anticipation …
Explore MoreOne Day at the Beach The prompt: “The waves crashed against the sand. I plopped my pack down and spread out my towel. It was going to be a wonderful …
Explore MoreWe’ve all had them. You know, the student that comes to you will a lot of writing talent? The author below is a prime example. But there is a misconception …
Explore MoreHalting the action is a great strategy to get kids to add elaborative detail to their writing. This activity highlights how to do so. Notice how this student answered the …
Explore MoreWhat’s the best way to get students to not only identify parts of speech, but to have them recognize why it’s important? How vivid verbs can create action and a …
Explore MorePunctuation is a lot more than rules for writing. Punctuation and capitalization help the reader understand what the writer intended. Read the following unpunctuated sentence: katherine went to the beach …
Explore MoreOne lament we hear from teachers is this: how in the world do we teach sentence structure? Kids learn through modeling, of course, but often that’s not enough. They need …
Explore MoreYou’ve spent weeks and months teaching expository writing – so many key skills to remember and apply! And sometimes after just a long weekend students come back and seem to …
Explore MoreMy second grade class became obsessed with similes after reading Roald Dahl’s “The BFG”. He described one terrifying giant as having a nose “as sharp as a knife.” When my …
Explore MoreAsk a group of fourth graders to “take notes” and you’re likely to get one of two responses – blank looks or anxious glances from kids trying to copy down …
Explore MoreIn this age of texts, tweets, and email, it might seem like letter writing is a dying art! However, there are times when Grandma deserves a thank you note, a …
Explore MoreHave you ever had a student begin a story in third person point of view (about a character they name, let’s say Jenny) and several sentences in revert to first …
Explore MoreIt would be great if there was a sexier name for annotation and analysis. The term conjures up images of students slumped at their desks, the teacher pressing them to …
Explore MoreQuick. What’s wrong with the paragraph below: It was nearly midnight. He was lying on his stomach in bed. The blankets were drawn right over his head like a tent. He …
Explore More(Click image to download sample and feedback) 7-Day Process Piece Student Sample Grade 4 One way that I found to ease the tremendous stress of a research project was to …
Explore MoreThe Value of Teaching the Organization of each Genre of Writing Whenever I’m presenting an EW workshop, I always sense that during the first hour participants are getting just a …
Explore MoreWe’ve all heard teachers talk about “voice” – how a piece of writing somehow has it or doesn’t. It is a frequently misunderstood concept, an illusive quality that often seems …
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