Getting Students to Write- Helping Elementary and Middle School teachers improve student writing.

In this episode, I invite you to consider how you are setting the stage for writing in your elementary or middle school classroom in the first few days of school. Do you want your writers to be excited, confident and ready to engage in writing? How you begin writing time-the words you say and the activities you ask your students to do-needs to support those goals. This means your "go-to" writing p...

You will enjoy this episode with my guest, Ms. Hannah Roudebush! Hannah was a teacher who truly cared for her students and did everything she could to make learning "relevant, engaging, and perhaps the most important aspect of that, enjoyable." Hannah is passionate about getting learners participating in the learning process and in this episode, she shares ideas for doing just that! Listen in to h...

Sometimes using a mentor text to teach writing seems scary, but I promise you, it is not! In this episode, Melissa covers: ~The what and Why of Mentor texts for writing ~How to choose a mentor text for writing ~Using your own library or Read Alouds as mentor texts ~Ideas for strategies to teach using a mentor text Your young writers need to see writing strategies in action in order to grow as writ...

Shared Writing is a highly-effective writing instructional practice for elementary and even middle school students in which the teacher holds the pen while collaboratively composing a piece of text with their students. Students are involved in all stages of the writing process with support from the teacher. Students need a high number of opportunities to see and practice many types of writing. Sha...

Do you give enough time to new practices in writing instruction? Or perhaps you throw in the towel as soon as things don't go as planned? I have definitely been guilty of "poo pooing" a new strategy or technique when it doesn't magically fix everything right away. But the truth is, everything takes time! Plus, sometimes a small adjustment is all it needs to work smoothly. Oftentimes we feel like s...

You won't want to miss the second part of my interview with these two fabulous educators! We continue our discussion on the topics of: Handling the "expectations" of teaching writing: -considering each writer's "default" -letting go in order to prevent holding writers back -creating school-based progressions -focusing on growth Editing in a new light -editor vs writer -risk vs perfection -non-nego...

In this episode, you will hear from two literacy experts who have worked with a number of districts to support them in best practices in reading and writing. Coley Conter and Katy Wischow are a pleasure to speak with and I you will gain so much from hearing what they share with us! Our discussion begins with Katy and Coley's favorite part about teaching writing and moves on to discuss: -tapping in...

What does writing time FEEL like in your elementary or middle school classroom? Is that feeling something your students need in order to enjoy and engage in writing? Writing instruction needs to be explicit and effective, but in order for our students to WANT to write, writing time needs to be enjoyable, collaborative and engaging! If you want to see a classroom full of students excited to write,...

In a previous episode (#57) I spoke about the "composing" aspect of writing instruction. It is vital to understand that our young writers need to learn how to compose! Oftentimes, because the conventions are what stands out to us when we read a student's writing piece, they become our focus, and lessons and discussion on the composition portion of writing fall to the wayside. Fear not, because thi...

This episode was inspired by a recent keynote speech given by Mr. Eduardo Briceno. His speech resonated with me and the work I do with writing teachers and writing instruction in elementary and middle school classrooms! We all want to do our best, but do we really know how to make change in our work? Teachers are always performing, trying to give their best to their students. However Mr. Briceno t...

My dear teacher, You are working so hard and are just so worried about that one student. They don't seem to be catching up or getting closer to "grade-level expectations" as writers. This episode is for you, because I don't want you to stress anymore ! You will hear about how to look for growth and see your part in your writers' journey! Listen in and feel better about all that you are doing for y...

In this episode you will hear all about Share Time in Writer's Workshop and why you should be sure to implement it in your classroom! We will discuss how Share Time can help with: generating ideas for writing reinforcing writing skills building community of writers building writer's confidence and more! If you would like to receive more support from Melissa and receive new resources first, sign up...

Ok- Hear me out! I am going to share 5 convincing reasons why taking time to write for yourself will truly benefit you as a teacher of writing as well as your students as writers. I know you are so very busy, and I promise that even a little bit of your own writing will go a LONG way! If your students aren't enjoying writing or are stuck in one spot, this strategy will help! Listen in to this epis...

This episode holds the key to transforming your writing instruction from WRITING -focused to WRITER - focused! This is how we truly grow our elementary and middle school writers! What we say shows so much to ourselves and our writers about what we value. We want our writers to know that we value them and what they do as writers! What we say also forms what we think. Focusing our language on the wr...

School leaders, teachers and students are frustrated with writing, and I know why! I find that getting teachers to see writing instruction in a new way to be extremely helpful. One way I have accomplished this is in my comparison to teaching math, as well as the goal of using math in our lives vs using writing. This episode lays out this view point as well as explores the reasons for the "traditio...

Are you feeling like you don't know where to go next with writing? Do you notice your elementary or middle school writers lacking progress? This episode is for you! Whether or not you are utilizing a writing "program" with lessons already provided, you may find yourself feeling lost or unsure of how to proceed during each writing block. A program also will not ensure you are meeting each writers'...

I just love the Question-and-Answer portion of workshops! This is when I truly know what the teachers need! Today's episode will cover these two questions: How can I support emergent writers? After finding out students' writing level - do I split them into groups and focus on their level or do the teaching as a whole class? Happy Listening! About Melissa: Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and co...

This episode shares questions from teachers' exit tickets after attending my workshop "Unveiling the Artistry of Teaching Writing". Today's questions are: How can I instill motivation in writers? How will I be sure my lessons are diverse to meet all writers' needs, challenging students who need it without overwhelming others? I hope the ideas and suggestions shared will not only help the teachers...

I know you will gain so much from this conversation from Mrs. Risa Woods, educator and ELL expert! Risa provides high-impact teaching strategies and mindsets that are geared toward supporting multi-lingual learners but will benefit all students in your classroom. The information Risa shares is of great help to teachers who are limited in support when teaching English Language Learners. In this epi...

I know you will gain so much from this conversation from Mrs. Risa Woods, educator and ELL expert! Risa provides high-impact teaching strategies and mindsets that are geared toward supporting multi-lingual learners but will benefit all students in your classroom. The information Risa shares is of great help to teachers who are limited in support when teaching English Language Learners. In this epi...

It is impossible to ignore the connection between reading and writing. This episode delves into the ways that understanding that connection help to inform and enhance writing instruction. Melissa shares what research says about how reading and writing work together, ways to begin to make this connection known to students and the 'behind the scene' ways that reading strengthens writing. Website and...

Hey There Writing Teacher! Have you asked these questions before? 'How much should my students be writing?' 'What should their writing look like?' 'What should I focus on?' How should I instruct this writer?' Well-today we turn stop saying 'should' and start using 'can'! This episode will share Melissa's take on how teachers can approach their own learning of student-centered writing instruction b...

'Publish means public, not Perfect' and 'Value the Process, not the Product!' These are the mantras I'd like you to take on when thinking about the editing and publish portion of the writing process for your students. When we keep the writer in mind (teach the writer, not the writing!) we will not have them edit to "perfection". We will have them edit to their level of skill with editing. When we...

Why are we having our students revise? Sure, we want them to make their piece the best it can be! But, are we revising with a focus on the writer, or on the writing? This episode will discuss two thoughts on the revision portion of the writing process: 1-Why do we revise and how can we make it effective for our writers? 2-When do writers revise Melissa will share how the idea of "teaching the writ...

Drafting is so much more than we realize! In this episode, Melissa shares the details of drafting by exploring all the purposes of this part of the writing process for our student writers as well as for ourselves as teachers, and how important it is for us to understand this aspect of writing for our writing instruction. Discussion points include: How planning is also "drafting" Drafting is a vuln...