Instructional+Resources

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= = =Writing Tools for Teachers =

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[|NCTE Beliefs About Writing] For those who will settle for nothing less than being excellent writing teachers, The National Council of Teachers of English provides some invaluable principles for effective teaching practice. The evolving nature of expectations for literacy is also addressed. How people learn to write and what it means for teaching excellence is clear and specific. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2, T5, T6)

[|You Can Teach Writing!] This site has many resources and tips for teaching expository writing. While the site is primarily geared toward middle school students, useful information here stresses what is most important to keep in mind for teaching writing to students of any age. Best practice strategies can be found here. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12)

[|Student Writing Samples from The Reading and Writing Project] Student writing samples can be a powerful tool for teaching and student learning. The Reading and Writing Project has student writing samples from Kindergarten to Middle School. They can be downloaded for writing lessons and used as mentor texts. Writing samples include personal narratives, realistic fiction, expert projects, informational books and personal essays. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12)

[|Writing Fix] Writing Fix is a huge collection of writing resources and lessons designed to help teachers enjoy writing instruction. Click on Writing Genres to find many ideas for teaching Narrative, Persuasive and Expository writing. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2, T5, T6)

[|Teaching That Makes Sense] Check out this pdf file written by Steven Peha: The Writing Teacher's Strategy Guide. This handy booklet has easy-to-teach strategies teachers can used to help students become better writers. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12)

[|Four Square Writing] Edmonds School gives detailed information about how to organize information logically into to paragraphs using a tool called Four Square. This method helps students elaborate using the five senses and include strong details. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12)

Writer's Workshop
[|StartingWritersWorkshop] Second grade teacher Mandy Gregory takes you through the beginning steps of starting a writer's workshop. Specific suggestions for mini-lessons and books used as mentor texts are included. Site includes a Heart Map lesson that provides students with a valuable resource for topics throughout the year. (B1, B2, B4, N4-N6, N11, N12)

[|Writing Workshop Mini-Lessons] David Stoner has created a goldmine of mini-lessons for wriitng workshop. Visual format allows you to choose a topic quickly, and this site provide photographs of charts created during lessons. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2, T5, T6)

[|30 Writing Tips from NWP] The National Writing Project offers 30 right-to-the-point ideas to teach writing well. These resources were gathered from educators who participated in the National Writing Project. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2)

[|Beth Newingham's Writing Workshop] Third grade teacher Beth Newingham shares ideas about how to implement a successful writing workshop. Mini-lesson ideas, writer's notebook information, writer's clubs and publication ideas are included. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12)

Writer's Notebooks
Writing teacher Ruth Ayres shares how to collect bits of your life in a writer's notebook. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZE3_j6a59w (B1, B2, B3, N3, N12) media type="youtube" key="AZE3_j6a59w?fs=1" height="348" width="432"

[|Lessons for the Writer's Notebook from Writing Fix] Here are rich lessons from many educators on how to use writer's notebooks as a way to gather ideas in the first step of the writing process. Lots of references to mentor texts and suggestions for using literature are here. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12)

[|GreatSource Writing] This is the perfect site to help teachers introduce a variety of writing genres to elementary students. Narrative, expository, persuasive, and research forms of writing are defined clearly and mini-lessons and graphic organizers are included for each genre. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2)

Writing Genres
[|Two Writing Teachers] Two teachers, Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz, have worked collaboratively to a website and companion blog devoted to the teaching of writing. Click on your choice of write genre or unit of study to find rubrics, assessment tools, checklists, advice, mentor texts and blogs from teachers who have tried it in their classroom. (B1-B5, N4-N6, N11, N12, T2)

[|Persuasive Unit] Scholastic provides an online journey into persuasive writing for students in grades 3-5. The objective is to use the writing process to create a persuasive essay. Mini-lessons, as well as student directions, tips, checklists, and publishing ideas are included in this 4-week unit. Student projects can even be posted on the Scholastic website for others to view. (B1, B4, N4-N6, T6)

[|Writing a Letter or Persuasive Piece] The Oswego City School district has an engaging set of tools for helping students understand the key components to effective persuasive writing. (B1, B4, N4-N6, T6)