Storytelling Helps Kids in Many Ways and Meets the Standards!

To date, 37 states and the District of Columbia have voluntarily adopted the Common Core State Standards.  Many teachers of writing are nervous about the adoption of the  Standards since there is a fear that students will mostly be writing non-narrative pieces.  While this fear isn’t unfounded,we have to remember the Standards are a guide [...]

Winner of the Stanley Books Giveaway

I’m pleased to announce the recipient of the Stanley Series Giveaway, sponsored by Kids Can Press.  Betsy, who blogs at Learning to Teach Young Writers, is the lucky winner. If you haven’t read through the post about Stanley’s Little Sister, and how you can use it with the young writers in your classroom, then click [...]

1,000,000

Yesterday we hit a new milestone on Two Writing Teachers — over ONE MILLION hits!  Thank you for your support and encouragement. In honor of one million, would you take a minute to leave a comment with your general location, as well as your job title?  I thought it would be neat to see the [...]

A Poetry Book for Boys

Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds‘ new book, Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys, was released earlier this month.  Guyku is a book of seasonal haiku poems written with a young male audience in mind.  The nature-related poems by Raczka are enhanced with classic Reynolds illustrations.  The writing and the illustrations are extremely appealing [...]

Have you celebrated lately?

Celebration is the fuel for writers. Sadly, I used to think celebration meant party and party meant fluff. This was an unfortunate misconception. Celebration is an essential component to a writer’s life. Without it we cease to exist. Writing is difficult and unless we take some time to relish in the little accomplishments, we fizzle [...]

Ruth’s SOLS: Away.

This afternoon Stacey said to me, “You don’t know what to do with yourself, do you?” She was right, I had no clue. Afternoons are the busiest part of my day. When I walk in my door at 4:30 I am completely consumed with family life. The afternoons with Stacey have been quiet and relaxing. [...]

Fall Literacy Conferences

Ruth and I presented twice at the Keystone State Reading Association Conference this past Sunday and Monday.  We met lots of great people at the conference and would like to thank the folks who attended and asked great questions at our sessions. Next month, we’ll be presenting at two conferences: Literacy for All and the [...]

SOLSC

Feeling Stressed?

It’s that time of year for teachers . . . everything is piling-up, we’ve passed the “honeymoon period,” and our lists of things to do could stretch to the moon (and back). Add on top of that the shorter days of the season, as well as the upcoming holidays and it is no surprised many [...]

Finishing Touches

We’re putting the finishing touches on our presentations for the Keystone State Reading Association Conference, which begins today.  We’re looking for the fall literacy conference season to begin!  (We’ll be presenting at Literacy for All in Providence, RI and the NCTE Annual Convention in Orlando, FL next month.) NOTE: Cupcakes are from Sweets in the [...]

Flip Cameras

I always wanted a flip camera when I was in the classroom so I could capture those students engrossed in their writing, thoughtful peer conferences, and incredible share sessions.  However, by the time I wanted one, I knew I’d be exiting the classroom to work as a consultant, so I never saw that desire to [...]

Words that are Speaking to Me

I wanted to write literature that pushed people into their lives rather than helping people escape from them. — Harvey Pekar

Will you be at KSRA?

Ruth and I will be presenting twice at the upcoming Keystone State Reading Association Conference in Hershey, PA this-coming Sunday and Monday.  Our presentations are scheduled for Sunday afternoon, October 24th at 4:00 p.m. and on Monday morning, October 25th at 9:30 a.m.  Both presentations are entitled “Refining Reflective Practice: Pathways to Building a Stronger [...]

Beyond Meow and Woof

Stanley’s Little Sister is the newest book in the Stanley series.  (Check out the giveaway Kids Can Press is doing for readers of this blog post.  Details follow at the bottom of this post.)  It’s written by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slavin for children in pre-school through second grade.  While the characters in [...]

Showing a Story

Recently, I taught a minilesson about showing a story. In typical intermediate grade fashion, students were writing stories filled with struggles, but slim on creating a picture in the reader’s mind. My minilesson went like this (and, yes, it was less than 15 minutes!): Share this chart – all of which we’ve discussed in previous [...]

SOLSC

Conferring.

Tomorrow I get to meet with a book study group. We’re going to read Conferring: The Keystone to Reader’s Workshop by Patrick Allen. Deb Gaby, an incredible reading coach for my district is leading the study and asked us to reflect on a few questions before tomorrow. Write down what you hope to gain from [...]

Giveaway Recipient for The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the free copy of The WORST-CASE SCENARIO Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition.  Karen Dempsey’s name was picked out of my prize bowl this morning.  Karen, once you send me your address please be sure to look for your copy of David Borgenicht, Nathaniel Marunas, and Robin Epstein’s book [...]

Words that are Speaking to Me

You have to be brave to take out that white sheet of paper and put on it words that could be evidence of your stupidity. — Sol Saks

So Excited!

I just noticed our book, Day by Day is online at Stenhouse. Click here to check out the entire text!

Yesterday’s Post

Awww man, this was yesterday’s post and I completely forgot. Yesterday was a day filled with unexpected tasks. Have you ever had one of those days? You just never seem to get the things done you planned to do because other, more pressing things pop up? For me, these “other things” usually involve people. Someone [...]

Thumb Love Blog Tour

Elise Primavera is the author of Thumb Love, a humorous look at Lulu who goes through a 12-step program to quit thumb-sucking.  Elise’s guest blog post deals with writing Thumb Love, which deals with the universal theme of thumb sucking, as well as with getting published as an author.  Click here to view the book [...]

Highlights from the Week

I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I’ve been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or planning meetings. Therefore, I have SO MUCH I want to record. Which leads me to my current dilemma: what do I not [...]

Tuesday means it’s slice of life story time!

A slice of life story is an anecdotal piece of writing.  It’s written in sequential order and is about a piece of your day.  Often, slice of life stories are narratives that frequently include dialogue.  A Slice of Life Story is essentially a look into someone’s life at a given point in time. Our online community, [...]

Columbus Day

Today we remember Columbus’ voyage across the seas. Can you imagine loading up three wooden ships and setting sail into the unknown? Columbus and his crew had no idea what to expect. I think they would have made excellent writing workshop teachers. Part of becoming a proficient teacher is being willing to take a risk into [...]