Weaving Writing into Morning Meeting Morning Meeting isn’t just a joyful way to start the day…it’s a perfect time for building both social and academic skills. Learn how small shifts, like intentional Morning Messages and shares, can give students meaningful opportunities to practice and…

It’s Slice of Life Tuesday! Join fellow Slicers at NCTE by filling out the form for a meetup in Denver. Even if you're not attending, share your slice of life story link by leaving a comment.

Morphology in Minutes: Ready-to-Go Tip Morphology doesn’t require lengthy lessons. A few intentional minutes can transform how students see and use words. These easy, ready-to-use ideas and linked activites will help you bring morphology to life in any classroom K-8.

You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers Lighten your mental load by placing more agency in your writers’ hands. Here are simple ways to empower your writers and make your life easier.

Making the Case for Paper Charts (Plus Some Tips) Charts have become less common in the classroom as slides become more prevalent. But paper charts serve specific purposes that slides can't serve. Here’s why we all should be making more charts.

It’s time for Slice of Life Tuesday! Please join our writing community and share your slice of life story today!

Working in a Reggio-Emilia-inspired school has allowed me to see writing workshop practices through new lenses, bringing greater depth to the art of teaching writing, to how students and teachers collaborate, and to the power of documenting student learning.

What Should Live on Your Classroom Walls? Discover how purposeful, student-centered signage transforms learning environments and get practical tips for making every sign count.

Join Us for Slice of Life Tuesday Please join us today in sharing a slice of life story!

A Call to Collaborate The co-authors have been brainstorming ways to strengthen the collaboration and connections between each other and also between readers. Our ultimate goal is to re-kindle and energize the writing lives of teachers and students.

“Mat Man”: Reflective Practice What is the value in "teaching" children how to draw a person, even before they may start to draw figures on their own?

Looking for ways to maximize your writing minutes? Tight transitions, built on a foundation of smooth routines, help pave the way to more productive writing time.

Today's Slice of Life Tuesday will push you to think about beginnings and endings, inspired by an October quote from Jacqueline Woodson.

A Trajectory to Duplicate: These Poems Were VERY Good Things As part of their writing unit launch and identity unit. I worked on poems with fourth-grade students that were inspired by Derrick Barnes’ I’m Every Good Thing. How much fun did I have!

Taking conferring notes shouldn't feel harder than the conference itself, but for me, it often does. Finding a system that lets you focus more on students and less on note-taking makes all the difference.

It’s Tuesday: Time for Slice of Life! Please join us today in capturing a slice of life! Write. Share. Give.

Finding Wider Audiences for Student Work Children pursue their passions in many ways, like music or art lessons, clubs, and sports. It's natural for kids to want that for their writing. Here's a resource for students who want their voices heard by a wider audience.

Reimagining Immersion Give students a voice from day one. Starting a unit with shared writing helps students see the process, practice the craft, and approach their own writing with clarity and confidence.

It's Tuesday! Time to write, share, give!

The last five minutes of writing workshop can feel easy to skip. But when the teaching share is structured through self-assessment, communication, and reflection, it can change everything. Students become more fluent in speaking about their process. How do you usually end your writing sessions?

Hands in the Air: How Gestures Support Writing Instruction Gesturing serves as a powerful tool connecting brain and body, while reducing the cognitive load during the writing process.

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One Topic Writers: The Importance of Interest in the Writing Workshop What do we do when a student wants to write about the same topic every day? Let them be! Keep reading to explore why interest is so important for our student authors.

Turn It Up: Using Rap in the Classroom The co-authors of Rap It Up! Discuss how rap can span the curricula to support standard skills in English/language arts, social studies, music, and SEL (social-emotional learning). Rap’s rhythm, rhyme, and wordplay develop literacy, expand vocabulary,…

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One of the things I value most about being a writing teacher is knowing my writers and providing opportunities to help them know themselves. A strategy that recently helped me do this is a “Writing This or That.”

Not Your Granny’s Grammar: Book Review As a grammar nerd, I’ve been looking forward to reading Not Your Granny’s Grammar by Patty McGee and Tim Donohue ever since I heard about it when it was barely in draft form. And yes, the final product is worth the wait. Don’t forget to leave a comment about…

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A short belief statement inspired by Daniel Pennac.

Start, Stop, Continue, Remember: A New-Year Exercise At the start of the school year, I often get overwhelmed with ideas to implement in my teaching. This year, I’ve decided to apply a thinking exercise to my own goal-setting. I’m sharing my ideas here, and I’d love for you to consider doing the…

It's Tuesday! Time to write, share, give!

Wally’s Words of Wisdom: Reflective Practice The beginning of a new school year is a great time to reflect on Vivian Gussin Paley's "Wally's Stories."

New Season, New Timeline: An Update on Our Podcast Return Season Four of the Two Writing Teachers Podcast will be delayed. Read the full update to find out when new episodes will return and how to stay connected in the meantime.

Flipping through her daughters’ schoolwork, Jessica Carey mourned the loss of the full, messy writing notebooks she used to treasure. In this post, she shares why writing still matters and how we can each play a role in keeping it alive for kids.

It's Tuesday! Time to write, share, give with the #twtblog

From Memory to Mastery Writing is a brain-based process that relies on practice, rest, and retrieval to move skills from effortful to automatic. When teachers use simple, consistent strategies, they help students free up brainpower for creativity and deeper expression.

Community-Building Books for the New School Year During the first six weeks of school, the foundation you lay for your writers can transform their entire journey. When every writer feels seen and valued, they gain confidence and joy. Explore three new picture books that inspire connection and…

It's Tuesday! Time to write, share, give on the #twtblog!

Year-Long Planning: Keep the Big Picture in Mind from the Beginning Don’t lose sight of the big picture with all the things to do at the beginning of the year! Read on for reasons why making a year-long pacing plan for yourself is so important, and use the included calendar templates to get…

In Cathy’s Class: Reflective Practice What are some possibilities for writing in pre-k? Read to find out what it looks like in the classroom of early childhood educator Cathy Grupper.

It's Tuesday! Write. Share. Give.

Routines are just as important for teachers as they are for kids. Three easy routines will help start your year off strong!

Writing Community: Unboxing Fresh Routines Blog Series When it comes to building a writing community, students need to see themselves as writers—peers among peers. Classroom routines are one way to cultivate that environment.

Identity influences whether we engage with writing or not. Spending time on routines early in the year to help students develop a unique writing process and build a writerly identity pays off! Learn actionable steps to try this year, no matter your curricular resource.

Unboxing Fresh Routines for Immersion Days Experience the impact of immersion days on student writing. By letting students deeply explore rich mentor texts before they write, teachers build confidence and help learners grasp the unique conventions of each genre. This approach not only prepares…

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Building Agency Through a Unit: Unboxing Fresh Routines Blog Series Regardless of the units, scripts, or minutes you have, the more you can weave evidence-based practices into the writing lives of students, the more they are likely to grow their abilities to communicate.

Getting to Know Writers: Unboxing Fresh Routines Blog Series Strong relationships are the foundation of effective writing instruction. This post shares concrete routines and research-based strategies to help teachers get to know their students as people and writers from day one.

Routines Build Capacity: Unboxing Fresh Routines Blog Series Intentional routines do more than organize a classroom. They strengthen executive function and empower students as writers. Take a look at what to expect from our August blog series and check out the giveaway information.

It’s Tuesday: Join Us for a Slice of Life! How is it already the last Tuesday in July?