What's so great about writing by hand when we live on our screens? I hear it more than you'd think. Honestly, teaching students to write, especially in cursive, is a touchy topic. It seems so benign…it’s just writing. What’s to get all hopped up about?! But we do.

While printing seems to be pretty firmly established still as a norm in kindergarten and first grades, penmanship and certainly cursive are not. And why not? That answer is simple...time and keyboards.

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I'll be honest with you, there was a time when I thought cursive was not that important until I started reading the research.

Handwriting is not a waste of time! It's a slow down so your students can speed up later on strategy. Let me explain a bit. Writing by hand, both printing and cursive, activates parts of the brain that control learning and memory. This in turn opens the brain to new learning. Pretty cool, right?!...

Do you have a children’s book idea rolling in your head? Have you ever considered acting on publishing it?

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As teachers, I’m sure we all have books in each of us, but when we try and take that first step, we’re faced with the reality that we really aren’t sure where to start, or how that process works.

That’s why for this episode, I’ve invited Lauren Ranalli to come back and share with us the nitty-gritty details and realities of becoming a successful, self-published author. She dives right into the challenges she faced when she first started, and even shares details we never would have been able to prepare for without experience.

Lauren believes that no one should ever have to experience a difficult time trying to get their work out there, so she has graciously shared a few freebies to help kickstart your book-publishing journey!

If you’ve been feeling a book...

When teaching writing, it's easy to get caught up in the details...

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Writing is one of the areas that I find teachers struggle with teaching the most. It's such a personal and tricky thing to teach. And quite honestly, it's one area we can sometimes feel unqualified or less confident in because we doubt our own ability to write well. It's kind of the nature of being a writer. We're our own worst critics, aren't we?!

While we do all the right "things" when teaching writing like giving directed feedback, assessing, using rubrics, providing lots of practice, etc., it's easy to forget a few of the basics in all the moving parts.

In case you haven't guessed...today's episode is all about teaching writing. It doesn't matter what grade you're teaching, from primary to upper elementary, writing is an important skill for all students. It can be easier to teach than you think.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find...

Teaching "How To" Writing seems so simple, doesn't it?! Guess what...It's not as easy for our students as we think!

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Procedural writing seems like just writing down a bunch of steps, but there's so much more to it! 

Today's episode is all about …how to teach your students to write a "How To" text. *giggle*  Yes, I really said that! I couldn't resist. Anyway...this type of writing first requires students to understand the procedure for what they are going to write about [a recipe, an experiment, directions...]. then they have to put that procedure into specific, ordered steps. This can be really hard for many students. By giving them the input they need to understand how to break it down, we can make the process so much easier.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• How to get started teaching procedural writing to any grade K-5.
• Why a picture book can help your students...

Writing every day is one of my non-negotiable items for students no matter their grade level. I know when teachers hear me say that, one of the things they [guiltily] imagine is MORE grading and planning in an already busy life.  Adding more writing can certainly turn into that if we let it, but it doesn't have to be that way.

My purpose for more writing isn't to have more grades in a grade book. I rarely grade this extra practice...

...and I don't think you should either.

Writing more frequently is an opportunity for students to practice, and I don't grade practice work. Why? It stifles creativity and student's willingness to take risks in their writing and thinking. In short, my purpose is to give students a chance to play with writing, thinking in new ways, get more comfortable with writing and challenge themselves.

It's much EASIER than it sounds.

The answer is Quick Writes - short, fast moments to try something new, think deeply or offer their thoughts and opinions on all...