In my last blog post, I spoke about the first key to grammar success, which says to integrate grammar instruction into both your reading and writing lessons.
Still with me? Cool. Today, we’re going to learn about the second key to successful grammar instruction: Mimic & Manipulation – Don’t Memorize.
If you’re ready to give your classroom grammar activities a glow up, be sure to join my newsletter. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be chatting about best practices in grammar instruction and newsletter subscribers will get to try out a few new resources, entirely free.
Today we’re kicking off this series with Tip #1: Integrate, Don’t Isolate.
If you’re looking for a better, faster, and more engaging way to teach writing, revision, and grammar skills all at once, then you need to pick up the book, Revision Decisions by Jeff Anderson and Deborah Dean.
So What Is a Mentor Text? Mentor texts are an invaluable part of teaching students how to write. Simply put,
As elementary and middle school teachers, we all know kids are totally wound up in the days leading up to (and after) Halloween. All the kids want to talk about is their costume, the candy, and trick-or-treating.
This year, why not lean into it and harness all that energy by hosting a Spooky Halloween Story Glow Party.
Teachers, if you absolutely dread teaching grammar and try to avoid it at all cost, you aren’t alone. In fact, grammar is the most common complaint I hear when I present workshops for schools or at conferences. To learn more about best practices in grammar instruction, keep reading.
Meet Jimmy. Jimmy has joined my class for the rest of the year, and the kids are over the moon
I don’t know about you, but nothing gives me more anxiety as a teacher than a huge pile of papers waiting to be graded. Well, that and field trips, but I digress.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to assign writing pieces to my 5th graders: short poems, long narratives, quick summaries, or detailed research reports. I love them all.
But I absolutely, positively HATE grading papers, so in this post, I’m going to explain how to assess writing through a generous lens and I promise, it will make your life so much easier.
This is my first official week of summer break, and I am beyond excited to finally delete all my alarms and sleep in for a change.
Of course, sleeping in for me means I’m still up between 6 a.m. – 7 a.m., but I’ll take it.
So what have I done so far?
I’ve added 3 new resources to my TpT store, started an Instagram account and this blog, and obsessed over my just-released state test scores.
Oh, and yesterday I met up with a teacher friend of mine at Starbucks to chat about teaching and writing. More specifically rethinking how we teach writing and grammar in our upper elementary classrooms.
