Leah Thomas, a co-author of the Two Writing Teachers Blog, chats with Melanie to reflect on her recent experiences with parent-teacher conferences, discussing the challenges and rewards of connecting with families. She shares effective note-taking strategies, what assessments to present, and the impact of showcasing student writing samples. Leah also explains her writing workshop philosophy and offers guidance for teachers who are apprehensive about these meetings. By addressing common parental ...
Oct 27, 2024•36 min
In this podcast episode, Melanie will share creative strategies to make the editing process engaging for students. Discover how to infuse fun into editing by using gamification techniques and various tools. You will also learn how to integrate editing into the drafting process and support students with scaffolds, checklists, and reminders to strengthen their editing skills. ***** Thanks to our sponsor, Speakable ! TWTPod listeners can go to speakable.io/twt to sign up for a free account or check...
Oct 20, 2024•7 min
Discover the art of building meaningful writer-to-writer relationships and managing time effectively in brief, impactful sessions. The discussion delves into the importance of individualized focus, highlighting how concentrating on a single aspect of writing per conference can lead to more manageable and absorbing lessons for students. Additionally, the episode explores the critical skills of deep listening and intentional questioning, offering insights into how these practices can transform wri...
Oct 13, 2024•36 min
In our 100th episode, Stacey explores the power of tangible artifacts in writing conferences. She discusses five essential tools to enhance the writer-to-writer relationship: mentor texts, demonstration texts, mini-charts, personalized word walls, and individualized checklists. Learn how to introduce and utilize these artifacts to support student writing effectively. Stacey also shares strategies for helping students leverage these tools independently. This episode will help you discover practic...
Oct 06, 2024•8 min
Melanie shares four ways to reenergize student writers whose enthusiasm and stamina dwindle during more extended writing units. Her ideas are sure to reinvigorate students in engaging and meaningful ways. Go Deeper: Keeping the Energy In a Unit of Study Writing as a Gift Thanks to our sponsors! Book Creator : Listeners can get 3 months free premium using the code TWTPOD at the checkout when upgrading their Book Creator account. Follow this link: bookcreator.com/TWTpod Speakable : Listeners can g...
Sep 29, 2024•10 min
This episode features Betsy Hubbard, an experienced educator and co-author at Two Writing Teachers. The discussion explores the critical role of executive functioning skills in writing and how deficits in these areas can impact students' performance. Betsy shares practical strategies for teachers to support executive functioning in writing workshops, including techniques for breaking tasks into manageable chunks and providing organizational templates. The episode also covers the importance of in...
Sep 22, 2024•38 min
In this week's episode, Melanie shares six innovative strategies for using verbal rehearsal to empower young writers. She discusses techniques such as purposeful storytelling, visual cue cards, and fostering student collaborative partnerships. Enhancing oral language skills aims to strengthen writing abilities, demonstrating the powerful connection between speaking and writing. Discover how these approaches can help students recognize and harness their writing potential. Thanks to our sponsor! S...
Sep 15, 2024•9 min
In this episode, Stacey explores the "Ready, Do, Done" model by Sarah Ward and Kristen Jacobsen to help students with executive functioning challenges become confident writers. She discusses the importance of setting clear intentions and gathering necessary materials ("Ready"), breaking down tasks and using visual aids ("Do"), and celebrating accomplishments to boost confidence ("Done"). Practical tips for teachers are provided to support students in the writing workshop. The model's flexibility...
Sep 08, 2024•8 min
This episode delves into the importance of understanding students as writers and its benefits to educators and learners. We explore how this knowledge fosters a stronger classroom community and informs more tailored instruction. Tried-and-true methods such as kid-watching, utilizing writer's notebooks, and conducting effective one-on-one conferences during the initial weeks of school are discussed. We also highlight the value of listening to students, reviewing previous portfolios, and using dig...
Sep 01, 2024•44 min
It's the final episode of season two, so we're discussing some of the best practices for writing instruction. We cover the importance of a thriving writing community and the writing process, and we explore the role of oral language in boosting writing stamina. We also discuss the importance of dedicated and intentional writing time, the reciprocity between reading and writing, and the thrill of writing for an authentic audience. This episode will tee you up for the next school year! *** Many tha...
Jun 02, 2024•39 min
Melanie explores critical strategies to help you plan for your summer learning. Discover practical tips for organizing your classroom, finding or forming a study group, curating mentor texts, and engaging in personal writing. You'll leave this episode invigorated to try one or more ways to enhance your teaching skills for the upcoming academic year. Go Deeper: Join a hybrid book study and writing group led by #TWTBlog co-author Lainie Levin this summer. Learn more at this Summer Writing Refresh:...
May 26, 2024•8 min
Stacey explores the importance of co-creating goals with students to help them grow as writers. She discusses how collaboration during goal-setting enhances students' ownership, motivation, and personalized learning. It also allows for individualized growth and fosters collaboration and communication with the teacher. If you haven't tried co-creating goals with your students before, this Tip for Tomorrow will inspire you to do so with future groups of students. Go Deeper with These #TWTBlog Post...
May 19, 2024•6 min
In this episode, Melanie guides you through the art of crafting concise and well-structured paragraphs that are easy to follow and understand. With her expert tips on oral rehearsal and the use of sentence frames, she empowers young writers to hone their writing skills and develop a unique voice. Tune in to learn how to help students move from writing formulaic paragraphs to composing authentic pieces that truly showcase their writing talents. Thanks to our affiliate! Libro.fm : Use the TWTPod C...
May 12, 2024•9 min
Task initiation is one key to student success, particularly in the context of writing instruction. The episode highlights some students' challenges with executive functioning skills and how they struggle to begin tasks efficiently. The host provides nine effective strategies to help students overcome task initiation challenges, such as normalizing task-avoidant behavior, emphasizing work quality, preparing materials, using visual aids and organizers, breaking tasks into smaller steps, employing ...
May 05, 2024•13 min
In today’s Conversation with a Colleague, Stacey chats with Lainie Levin, a gifted interventionist and coach, about helping learners conquer perfectionism. Lainie unveils the manifestations of perfectionism in students, particularly during writing instruction, highlighting key signs to watch for. She shares an innovative work quality continuum she co-created with her students, as a powerful tool to address perfectionist tendencies. Practical strategies are discussed for reframing perfectionist b...
Apr 28, 2024•44 min
Make sentence structure more straightforward for students with Melanie's intentional activities in this episode. Melanie shares ways she helps students understand the definition of sentences, create sentences with phrases and pictures, and combine sentences. You'll help students recognize and create simple and increasingly complex sentences with Melanie's playful and purposeful ideas. Go Deeper: Sentence Patterning Charts Bring on the Fun in Sentence Construction Word, Sentence, Paragraph Thanks...
Apr 21, 2024•7 min
Explore the origin and significance of end-of-year reflection letters in this week’s episode. Stacey highlights the unique nature of these letters, which go beyond self-evaluations of academics and instead focus on students reflecting on their growth as learners and individuals. Practical guidelines for structuring the letters are shared, emphasizing flexibility in paragraph structure to suit individual needs. The episode also features touching excerpts from actual student letters, showcasing th...
Apr 14, 2024•10 min
We explore the vast potential of student-facing AI tools. Join us as we delve into the benefits of tools like Co:Writer Universal, EverWrite, Grammarly, Read&Write, and Speechify. Discover how these cutting-edge tools revolutionize students' learning, writing, and communication and empower students to reach new heights of academic excellence. Check out the Los Angeles Unified School District’s AI policies. Listen to our previous episode: Boost Writing Instruction with AI . Related TWTBlog Po...
Apr 07, 2024•41 min
It is helpful to create checklists that are accessible to students so they are manageable, digestible, and possible for students to utilize. In this tip, Melanie shares ways to help students chunk checklists, think with intention, and digitize checklists. In addition, she plants the seeds to help you think about ways to help students self-create checklists that will allow them to grow as writers. ***** Thanks to our affiliate! Zencastr : Use our special link ( https://zen.ai/mqsr2kHXSP2YaA1nAh2E...
Mar 31, 2024•8 min
In this episode, we talk about content creation, personalized learning, accessibility, efficiency & productivity with artificial intelligence. We share various teacher-facing AI tools and discuss how you can incorporate them into your writing instruction. Go Deeper: Leveraging AI for Writing Miniseries on Two Writing Teachers Los Angeles Unified School District's AI Page Previous TWTPod Episodes: Navigate a Digital World by Seeing, Hearing, and Reading: A Tip for Tomorrow Three Possibilities...
Mar 24, 2024•39 min
Learn about two engaging ideas for National Poetry Month, which begins on April 1. Stacey shares a bit about creating a collaborative "Living Poetry Anthology" where students curate poems to display throughout the school. Next, she discusses developing personal poetry collections featuring their work, inspirational poems, and reflections on poems they admired. Make poetry come alive for your students – listen now! TWTBlog Posts A Breakthrough In Poetry: How To Bring Playfulness to Every Genre Bu...
Mar 17, 2024•8 min
There's a lot of brain work involved in written expression. This week, Melanie shares a tip to help students reduce their cognitive load, which will help them express their ideas more easily. In this tip, Melanie shares how providing students with sentence frames and a bank of vocabulary words can aid students with difficulty with word retrieval. Plus, she shares ways to shift the agency to students so they are not dependent on their teacher to do this work. ***** Thanks to our affiliate! Marley...
Mar 10, 2024•6 min
In this episode, we explore accommodations for student writers. The episode has five categories: organization, materials/tools, time, response, and seating. This episode will equip you with ways to create an inclusive, accessible learning environment. PAST TWT BLOG POSTS Exploring Voice Typing Finding Accessible Fonts for Classroom Use Flexible Seating Options It’s Time for a Chart Check-in Paper Choices Pens vs. Pencils PODCASTS MENTIONED: Embrace an Asset-Based Approach Mentor Text Charts Navi...
Mar 03, 2024•54 min
Stacey explores the power of pairing written explanations with oral directions to enhance understanding in the context of writing workshop. She provides an overview of Driveway , a Chrome Extension that allows educators to create step-by-step process guides with written descriptions, highlighted screenshots, and optional voiceovers. Learn how to create interactive walkthroughs to help students become more independent with the technology they use in writing workshop. Here are some videos of Stace...
Feb 25, 2024•6 min
In this Tip for Tomorrow, Melanie provides three ways to use digital mentor texts. She provides insight on using videos as part of your whole-class instruction, inquiry lessons, and as a goal-setting tool. Take advantage of this episode if you need more ways to integrate digital mentor texts into your writing instruction. Read Leah Koch's Two Writing Teachers post, Energize Opinion Writing with Surprising Mentor Texts: Ready-to-Go Tip , which inspired this episode. ***** Thanks to our affiliate!...
Feb 18, 2024•7 min
Discover the untapped potential of oral language in the writing process and gain valuable insights from Lainie Levin, one of our TWTBlog co-authors. Lainie and Stacey discuss the importance of oral language beyond the primary years of elementary school and how storytelling and oral language support kids in developing a sense of story and composing writing in a low-risk way. Lainie shares strategies for making oral rehearsal engaging for children. ABOUT LAINIE LEVIN: Lainie is a dedicated educato...
Feb 11, 2024•40 min
Research can be instrumental in supporting instructional decision-making for teachers. In this Tip for Tomorrow, Melanie gives an overview of some of the most critical research surrounding writing instruction. She will cover what the research says about: Teaching kids about different aspects of the writing process. Studying strong examples of writing to lift the level of student writing. Teaching students to become fluent with handwriting, spelling, and typing so the cognitive focus is on conten...
Feb 04, 2024•8 min
Join Stacey as she delves into the power of reflection shares to promote growth and development in student writing. She discusses how whole-group reflection allows students to share insights, experiences, and strategies, and fosters a sense of community and accountability. She emphasizes the importance of students feeling valued and included in the larger writing community, which increases confidence and engagement in the writing process. Near the end of the episode, Stacey shares a few prompts ...
Jan 28, 2024•5 min
We explore the profound benefits of participating in the month-long writing challenge. Listeners will discover the power of making connections and gaining a true understanding of being a writer while cultivating a writing practice. The episode briefly overviews the Slice of Life Story Challenge's origins and purpose, pointing listeners to last year's Digging Deeper Dialogue for a more in-depth understanding . Whether new or returning, challenge participants will find a supportive global writing ...
Jan 21, 2024•33 min
Bring the power of play into your writing instruction. Melanie explains how to teach kids to play PROVE IT in an effort for them to show evidence of the skills you're teaching in their writing. Check out these posts on TWTBlog for more ideas: Ways to Teach Conventions: Our Favorite Things When Conventions Aren't Sticking–Some Tips and Tricks ***** Thanks to our affiliate! Marley Spoon : $235 off through 5 boxes -- Makes the first box portion price start at $4.99. Click here or copy and paste thi...
Jan 14, 2024•7 min
