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Artifacts with Descriptions

Standards, Curriculum, and a Writing Philosophy: What Can You Do Without Me?

What is the difference between standards and curriculum? Standards are one part of my curriculum. I’ve written about standards-based learning. This year in my 7th grade composition class, the writing standards –features of a narrative, argument, and informational essay — guided my instruction for the first …

Assessment in the No-Grades Writing Workshop: What did you write? What did you learn?

Write about what we’ve done in writing class since midterm and what you learned. This is the first sentence of the “final exam” in our seventh grade writing workshop this quarter. This school year, as I discussed in last week’s post about assessment in the reading …

love language

“English not only helps us understand the world, but ourselves.”

by Fidan Malikova As a 15 year-old freshmen in high school, I have had quite an experience with writing. I write for the newspapers at my school,which is called Cutlass. It is an amazing experience in which I get to work with such wonderful people, and …

Write into Your Life’s Arguments (a Personal Argument Essay)

Narrative, argument, informational. We may teach these genres as though writing can be contained in just one of these forms in part because that is how the Common Core State Standards segregate writing. I can’t imagine writing an informational piece without someone’s story to add …

Reading Art to Access Hope, Wonder, and Significance in Writing (NCTE)

Please join my round table discussion at NCTE this weekend: Reading Art to Access Hope, Wonder, and Significance in Writing Friday, 11/20, 2:30-3:45pm, Minneapolis Convention Center, 208CD Here is an overview, a sample lesson, and a few writing samples: Art can offer a grand and …

first steps

Sunday Stanzas & Stories. 10/18. Firsts

Inspiration: Write a list of firsts and how you felt about what happened (e.g., the first time you ate vegetables, your first job, your first overnight, your first house).  Or, write about witnessing someone else’s first (e.g., your child’s first step). Of course, write about …

Writing Midterms
Conversations about Learning

Creating Conversations for Learning in a Grade-Based World

Kelly Mogk talks about the ethics of writing in schools focused on grades and scores. She says, “When students submit a piece of work to me, my first thought is always the same: First, do no harm. I want to develop writers that can express themselves with ease, and more than that—I want them to see themselves as writers and find joy in the learning.”