Free tools to make your students better writers and readers .

Quill.org, a non-profit, provides free literacy activities that build reading comprehension, writing, and language skills for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Quill's nonprofit mission is to now build both reading and writing skills through free, OER content across the curriculum. Over the coming years, we will be building a library of free ELA, social studies, and science activities that engage students in deeper thinking through writing prompts that provide immediate feedback.

9 million students have written 2 billion sentences on Quill.

Quill Reading for Evidence

Provide your students with nonfiction texts paired with AI-powered writing prompts, instead of multiple-choice questions, to enable deeper thinking.

Students read a nonfiction text and build their comprehension through writing prompts, supporting a series of claims with evidence sourced from the text. Quill challenges students to write responses that are precise, logical, and based on textual evidence, with Quill coaching the student through custom, targeted feedback on each revision so that students strengthen their reading comprehension and hone their writing skills.

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Science Topics

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"How Does Eating Meat Impact Global Warming?"

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Quill Connect

Help your students advance from fragmented and run-on sentences to complex and well structured ones.

Using the evidence-based strategy of sentence combining, students combine multiple ideas into a single sentence. They then receive instant feedback designed to help them improve their clarity and precision.

Quill Lessons

The Quill Lessons tool enables teachers to lead whole-class and small-group writing instruction.

Teachers control interactive slides that contain writing prompts, and the entire class responds to each prompt. Each Quill Lessons activity provides a lesson plan, writing prompts, discussion topics, and a follow up independent practice activity.

Quill Diagnostic

Quickly determine which skills your students need to work on with our diagnostics.

The diagnostics cover vital sentence construction skills and generate personalized learning plans based on the student’s performance.

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Quill Proofreader

Proofreader teaches your students editing skills by having them proofread passages.

Students edit passages and receive personalized exercises based on their results. With over 100 expository passages, Proofreader gives students the practice they need to spot common grammatical errors.

Quill Grammar

Students practice basic grammar skills, from comma placement to parallel structure.

Quill Grammar has over 150 sentence writing activities to help your students. Our activities are designed to be completed in 10 minutes so you have the freedom to use them in the way that works best for your classroom.

How Quill Works

Set up your classroom, without it.

You can quickly and easily set up your classroom in Quill by inputting student names or providing students with a unique code. If you use Google Classroom or Clever, you can automatically set up your classroom with one click.

Choose activities

Decide if you want your students to proofread passages, combine sentences, or complete a diagnostic. Use our ten minute activities as building blocks during your classroom instruction.

Use easy-to-consume reporting

Use our reporting to spot trends and identify growth opportunities. Monitor comprehension on specific writing standards.

Get immediate feedback for your students

Save time grading and watch your students correct their mistakes instantly.

Intervene where students struggle

See exactly where your students need intervention with our comprehensive reports.

Differentiate learning to meet the needs of all students

Assign specific activities for ELLs and students with learning differences.

Engage students with adaptive activities

Challenge students with questions that automatically adapt based on their previous responses.

Align with the Common Core Standards

Easily meet Common Core language standards with our aligned activities.

Easily sign up with Google Classroom

With one click all of your students and classes will be imported.

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Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Writing

Our favorite free and paid writing resources across the web!

Write animated stories, publish storybooks, and where to get 1,000s of writing prompts.

Writing is one of the most important skills students can learn in school. Writing skills are linked to reading skills and to overall academic achievement. Luckily, there are loads of interesting and engaging websites to help make writing instruction fun. To help you get started, here’s a list of the best writing websites for teaching and learning.

Writing websites Storybird

With 9 million members and 800,000 participating K-12 classrooms, Storybird  is the world’s largest language arts program. With Storybird, students can create short, visual stories on their own or with friends. In addition, this writing curriculum is aligned with Common Core standards and offers over 600 lessons, quizzes, and writing prompts created by seasoned educators and authors.

Cost: Free trial, subscription

Writing A-Z

screenshot of writing website Writing A-z

With thousands of downloadable and projectable resources for writing instruction, as well as a collection of interactive online writing tools, Writing A-Z helps teachers meet the needs of every student at every learning level. In addition, teachers can track students’ progress, making individualized instruction a snap.

Story Jumper

screenshot of writing website StoryJumper

StoryJumper is a free storybook creation site for students in grades 1-8. Students create their own original stories, then add their own artwork or access images from StoryJumper’s library. Kids can write alone, collaborate with classmates or even connect with students around the world. In addition, the site includes teacher guides, writing projects, templates, and more.

Cost: Free, Prices vary for printed books

screenshot of writing website Boomwriter

Features an expansive, curated collection of story-starts created by renowned authors such as Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and Jeff Bruel (Bad Kitty). Students read the first chapter of a story, then write, edit and revise the next chapter themselves online. As a class project, teachers can assign all students the same story starter. Once all the stories are written, students can anonymously read other entries and peer assess and vote for the best version of the story.

Cost: $12.99 per book

Write About

screenshot of writing website WriteAbout

An authentic classroom writing community and publishing platform built by teachers for teachers. Access units and lessons, free choice and creative writing tips, journaling lessons, quick writes, and more for students K-12.

Cost: Free, Premium and Premium Plus versions

Storium.edu

screenshot of writing website Storium

This innovative, collaborative writing game revolves around digital story cards that represent different aspects of storytelling and character development. Along with visual cues, the cards serve as writing prompts, helping students figure out what to write next at each step of the game. Students take turns playing story cards and adding to the story. Paragraph by paragraph, they collaboratively write their own original story simply by playing the game.

screenshot of writing website Elementari

Elementari integrates coding into writing as students create and publish simple interactive and animated digital stories. Using the online platform, students write and code, share, and remix interactive stories using professional illustrations and sounds. Teachers can monitor progress and offer personalized feedback to help students grow as writers.

screenshot of writing website Writable

Access 1000+ writing assignments and prompts organized by collection, genre, or grade level with Writable. Scaffold instruction and motivate your students to become purposeful, proficient writers. Also available: Skills activities, graphic organizers, quick writes, response to reading, and much more

Magnetic Poetry

screenshot of writing website Magnetic Poetry

Just like the fridge magnets we all know and love, this tool offers a selection of words and screen space for students to create their own poetry. They can request more words, start over and even share their poetry electronically. Magnetic Poetry is a perfect choice as a writing station or an option during creative play.

Make Beliefs Comix

screenshot of writing website Make Beliefs Comix

Students of all ages love creating their own worlds through comic strips. MakeBeliefs Comix provides story ideas and comic starters as well as a gallery of comics for inspiration. Students choose from a wide cast of characters with different looks and moods and then write the words and thoughts for them. Also featured on this site: videos, writing tools, lesson plans, a special needs section, and an ideas exchange.

Read, Write, Think

screenshot of writing website Read,Write,Think

Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, this site offers high-quality, standards-aligned education materials for students K-12. Featuring hundreds of lesson plans, calendar resources, printouts, and interactive tools such as story maps, plot diagrams, timelines, and more.

screenshot of writing website PicLits

PicLits is an e-learning website that utilizes photography and keywords to improve students’ literacy skills with an emphasis on interactive, visual learning. Inspired by an image, students create a caption, sentence, story, paragraph, poem, or even a quotation to capture the essence, story, and/or meaning of that image.

screenshot of writing website iWrite

iWrite offers free online creative writing and illustration activities for kids in grades 1-8. In addition, they help writers take advantage of innovative online writing clubs, camps, workshops, and publishing opportunities. iWrite TV offers videos on topics like brainstorming, genre and theme, setting and description. and more.

Grammarly for Education

screenshot of writing website Grammarly

Grammarly helps students polish up their communication skills. A great student writing aid, it allows students to check their writing for typos, commonly confusing words, tricky sentence structure, and more. And Grammarly has hundreds of informative blogs such as H ow to Write a Research Paper, How to Write a Poem, and Grammar Tips.

Cost: Free basic plan, Subscription Education options.

StoryboardThat

screenshot of writing website Storyboard That

StoryboardThat is an easy drag-and-drop creation platform with cross-curricular applications for writers K-12. With over 3,000 lesson plans and activities , teachers can create materials and lessons for their classes which will help students can take ownership of their voice and learning.

Grammar Girl

screenshot of writing website Grammar Girl

One of Writer’s Digest’s 101 best websites, Mignon Fogarty offers “Quick and Dirty Tips” with blogs and videos such as Top Ten Grammar Myths and Can You Start a Sentence with And to help students become the best writers possible.

NaNoWritMo Young Writers Program

screenshot of writing website NaNoWritMo Young Writers Program

NaNoWritMo’s Young Writers Program supports young writers and K-12 educators as they participate in National Novel Writing Month each November and offers smaller writing challenges year-round. Kids can track their word-count goal for the month and draft their novel right on the site. Plus, they can get support from published authors and an international community of fellow novelists.

Power Poetry

screenshot of writing website Power Poetry

The largest online poetry community in the world and a safe, creative, free place for teen poets and teachers. Chock full of resources, there are lesson plans, classroom activity guides, and printable worksheets to help you in the classroom.

Poetry Foundation Teen Section

screenshot of writing website Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation offers a variety of articles, videos and podcasts to help teens in all aspects of poetry. You’ll find tips on understanding and writing poems along with featured poems by famous poets. The Poetry Foundation also has a Children Section as well as a Teacher Section.

Time4Writing

screenshot of writing website Time4Writing

Free writing resources for students K-12 in seven main categories. Each category includes a selection of fun writing games, instructional videos, printable writing worksheets, and other writing tools. This site also offers online courses with writing instruction by certified teachers.

Cost: Free resources, Fees for online courses

What are your favorite writing websites for the classroom? Share in the comments below!

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Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Writing

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Brilliant Resources for Teaching Writing: Complete Collection

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Would you like to know how to teach writing more effectively? Would you like to be a better writing teacher? If you download and read the free teaching-writing resources found on this page, you will definitely be the best writing teacher at your school! Of course, I’m assuming that you take action with these materials and teach writing.

Taking Charge of Teaching Writing

Students write every time they pick up their pencils, so teachers need to take charge of teaching writing. The following free teaching-writing resources will help you do that.

Even with Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay , I encourage teachers to take charge and to use the program as a tool to improve their students’ writing FAST. Furthermore, I encourage all Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay users to explore these free teaching-writing resources so that they can build on their students’ amazing new writing success.

The Teaching-Writing Puzzle

Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay is a foundation and framework for teaching writing. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle that makes everything else teachers do work. The resources that follow will help teachers complete the teaching-writing puzzle. To be clear, teaching writing is more than teaching a compendium of rules and skills.

Decades of research make one fact crystal clear: Grammar instruction and isolated skill drills don’t improve the quality of student writing . I mention this because teachers often search for the short-term worksheet curriculum instead of trying to understand how to teach writing. To improve your students’ writing, you can’t just turn pages. Writing is too complex for that. Furthermore, students write every single time they pick up a pencil. That’s the important kind of writing.

The Two Sections of Brilliant Teaching-Writing Resources

» Section 1: My Free Teaching-Writing eBooks

» Section 2: Links to More Teaching-Writing Resources

A Note on Checklists *

Most of these resources focus on helping teachers use systems and routines to teach writing, and these systems and routines require that teachers take action. For this reason, many of my free eBooks contain a checklist. Checklists are short and concrete reminders to take action. Furthermore, if you understand the checklist, you understand the concepts. I’ve marked the eBooks that have a checklist with an asterisk.*

If you need to get results teaching writing, be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage! It’s the fastest, most effective way to teach students organized multi-paragraph essay writing… Guaranteed!

First, Take the Timed Writing System Challenge

How do you know if you are getting results teaching writing? How do your students know if their writing is improving? As you download and spend time with these amazing teaching-writing resources, you are committing to improving your students’ writing. This Timed Writing System is an incredible apples-to-apples comparison and evaluation system for both teachers and students. Whether you are getting results or not getting results, both you and your students need to know the truth. If you are not getting results, be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage!

» » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » »

Section 1: My Free Teaching-Writing eBooks

1. the definitive list of writing and grammar skills.

This eBook is an endless list of writing and grammar skills and concepts. It outlines the entire world of writing and grammar, while also making the point that we don’t teach writing by teaching an endless list of rules and skills. This is basically a huge checklist. *

2. The Ten Stages of Paragraph and Multi-Paragraph Mastery

If you examine how your students create paragraphs, you will find that every single one of them creates paragraphs in line with one of these Ten Stages of Paragraph and Multi-Paragraph Mastery . Furthermore, this eBook explores many of the topics that teachers and theorists debate about how we teach writing. *

3. Nine Strategies for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum

I developed Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay by teaching writing across the curriculum. I have always used grammar and skill-specific lessons because I need them and because they are often part of a required curriculum, but I use them quickly so that my students have time to write across the curriculum. If my students are writing across the curriculum , I am thinking about how I can teach them something about writing as they write. This eBook covers nine systems, routines, and mindsets that I use to teach writing across the curriculum. *

4. How to Use the Six Traits of Writing and the Common Core Traits to Teach Writing Across the Curriculum

We have all heard of the Six Traits of Writing. But have you heard of the Common Core Traits of Writing? Although the Six Traits are still highly relevant, the Common Core has added to and changed the traits of writing . In this eBook, I explain all of this and more. I discuss how to teach any trait that you think is important as you teach writing across the curriculum. Of course, I also link to many of the best and most authoritative Six-Trait rubrics. *

5. Multi-Purpose Journal and Learning Log: Ten Types of Writing

Has your class ever begun writing in a journal or learning log with great excitement and high expectations only to quit? If so, this eBook is a must-read. This type of writing mostly falls into the category of “low-stakes” writing. Although the research makes clear that low-stakes writing is a valuable component of writing instruction, teachers do need to use their time wisely and with purpose. In short, this “Multi-Purpose Journal and Learning Log” will help teachers provide their students with additional valuable writing opportunities. *

6. Beginner’s Guide to Teaching Writing

This eBook provides a solid, fast-paced overview of what teaching writing is. This eBook is for teachers who are lost in theory or tired of turning pages in curriculums that don’t improve their students’ independent writing. This eBook helps teachers understand why they need to forget all that and take charge of teaching writing.

7. Ten Types of Writing Prompts and Various Genres on State and District Writing Assessments

In this free eBook, I analyze and explain ten types of writing prompts from actual state writing assessments. To be clear, many writing prompts are more complex than they appear on the surface. While some combine Format Genres and the Four Main Genres to create unique genres, others use standard terms in non-standard or ambiguous ways. This intentionally complex nature of writing prompts is why some prompt-analysis strategies actually backfire and send students down blind alleys. Don’t let that happen to your students! Read this eBook!

8. How to Create Scaffolded, Student-Owned Writing Assignments with Your Students to Teach Writing Across the Curriculum

I suggest that teachers read Nine Strategies for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum before they read this. This eBook is for teachers who are seriously committed to teaching writing across the curriculum and who also want to become skilled at creating student-ownership of writing. In short, teachers learn how to stop having their students write about things that aren’t aligned with their goals across the curriculum.

9. How to Grade Writing and Classroom Work FAST and FAIRLY Across the Curriculum Using the Pile Method

Teachers need to hold their students accountable for using proper writing skills in their daily writing across the curriculum. If they don’t, their students won’t do their best writing. Although I use many different systems to achieve this goal, assigning grades is certainly one of them.

Students need grades to concretely tell them how they are doing. After moving to a higher grade, I once had a student tell me, “This grade lets me know that I need to work harder.” I realized that I had not been assigning enough grades for this age group. This “Pile Method for Grading Writing and Classroom Work” helps teachers assign all of the grades that they need to fast and fairly. And yes, this Pile Method also works in the content areas across the curriculum.

10. How to Use Rubrics, Checklists, and Assessment Sheets (RCAs) to Teach Writing Across the Curriculum (TWAC)

Ideally, teaching writing is in the moment and across the curriculum. How can one rubric and one checklist reflect everything that we need to teach our students in various genres across the curriculum? This eBook puts teachers in charge of rubrics, checklists, and holding students accountable across the curriculum.

What Are Teachers Saying About Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay?

» Grade 3: “I like that the program is simple, easy to follow, and IT WORKS. I have recommended this program to all of the teachers at my school.”

» Grade 4: “Two months later my students could actually write.”

» Grade 6: “I had great success with your program this year. Going into our standardized provincial tests in February, my students were well prepared.”

» Grade 7: “My students, I believe, did wonderfully on the 7th grade writing exam in March.”

Click here for writing success!

Section 2: links to more teaching-writing resources.

Over the years, I have come across a variety of valuable resources that help teachers complete the how-to-teach-writing puzzle. About half of these links lead to a page on my blog where I link to the resources; the rest link directly to resources on an external website.

A Note on Broken External Links: Although I do update the links regularly, occasionally, you will come across a broken link from an external website. Put simply, people move their resources around or delete them completely. If the resource has simply been moved, you should be able to do a quick Google search and find it.

1. Evidence-Based Writing Practices for Writing Instruction (2014) by Gary Troia

This is an excellent summation of all the research on teaching writing so far, and I’ve placed it in checklist form. On the one hand, you will say, “This is excellent,” on the other hand, you will say, “Does all of this research really help me get results teaching writing? Isn’t most of this common sense and common wisdom?” Such is the nature of “the research says.” Of course, if you look at the checklist and find that you are not doing anything on the checklist—that’s a problem. *

2. Common Core Writing Standards in Checklist and Table Form: Grades K-12

A checklist makes things simple. Either you can add a checkmark or you can’t. I’ve created many different versions of the Common Core Writing Standards to place them in a usable form. Once again, if you look at the checklist and are not achieving anything on the checklist—that’s a problem. *

3. FreeMind Mind Mapping Software

FreeMind is an open-source mind-mapping software that teachers can use to create webs and hierarchies of ideas that are often a part of the prewriting process. You can Google “Freemind” or use the link. You want to end up on the Sourceforge.net page. This software is free and open-source. Open source means the code is available for everyone to see, use, and contribute to (kind of like Wikipedia). I tend to trust most popular open-source software, as everyone can see the code. However, install software at your own risk! Be sure to have an anti-virus software scan your download before you install it. You may also want to do a Google search for “free mind mapping software.”

4. Student Writing Samples and Analysis for Elementary, Middle School, and High School: Two Complete Collections

Teachers must bring objectivity to teaching writing, and these two collections of student writing samples help teachers achieve that goal. Both collections of writing samples are from on-demand writing assignments. One collection is a Common-Core writing collection (grades K-12), and the other is from an Oregon State Writing Assessment (grades 3-10).

The Common-Core writing collection is helpful because… well, it’s Common Core related. The Oregon collection is excellent because it’s clear-cut, unvarnished on-demand writing. This is true independent student writing. This collection shows what the best writers and the struggling writers do when left to their own devices. Both collections contain plenty of analysis and scoring commentary for every single piece of student writing.

5. State-Writing-Assessment Tools and Resources

This page contains links to valuable resources from seventeen different state writing assessments. You will find all of these: 1) released writing prompts, 2) scoring rubrics, 3) anchor papers, scoring commentary, student writing samples, 4) teacher guides and/or test directions, 5) and more! Unfortunately, these resources move around quite a bit, so many of the links may be broken. But if you are looking for writing assessment resources, it’s still a great place to begin.

6. Released Writing Prompts for State Testing

Here is an awesome collection of 114-pages of released writing prompts from state writing assessments. Practicing with authentic released writing prompts is one of the best ways to prepare students for a writing assessment. Teachers have three ways to practice with these prompts: 1) analyze and dissect the prompts, 2) create prewriting, and 3) write to the prompt. The reality is that students don’t need to write to the prompt to familiarize themselves with the prompts and develop skills with them. I encourage all Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay users to use these prompts at least occasionally so that they achieve multiple goals at once.

7. Six-Trait Rubrics

In all of these downloads, you will find a Six-Trait rubric. These are all from authoritative Six-Trait sources, so they are all close to the original intent and structure of the Six Traits. You may find other Six-Trait rubrics that you like better, but it’s also nice to have an original.

A. An Investigation of the Impact of the 6+1 Trait Writing Model on Grade 5 Student Writing Achievement Final Report (2011) Appendix E. Scoring rubrics for student essays. This appendix describes the two types of study rubrics applied by the scoring teams: the holistic rubric and the six analytic rubrics. ERIC Number: ED527445

B. Traits Rubric for Grades 3–12 (2014) – Education Northwest

C. Traits Rubric for Grades 3–12 (2013) – Education Northwest

D. Dear Parent: A Handbook for Parents of 6-Trait Writing Students (1997) by Vicki Spandel : This is an excellent “Student Friendly Scoring Guide.” Even though the scan is not the best quality, the handbook as a whole provides a friendly overview of 6-Trait writing.

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Over 15 Years of Creating Writing Success for Beginning and Struggling Writers of All Ages!

The fastest, most effective way to teach students clear and organized multi-paragraph writing… guaranteed.

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Elementary Writing Teaching Kit

Elementary Writing Teaching Kit

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writing resources for elementary teachers

135 pages of elementary writing resources for teachers - strategies and advice from veteran teachers, graphic organizers for writing, writing pre-assessment and differentiation tools, student choice activities, and writing prompts you can use all year - this Teaching Kit has everything you need to teach elementary writing successfully from day one through end of year.

What's Included In This Teaching Kit

  • More than 30 graphic organizers for writing, all in one place, printable and ready to use
  • Advice and strategies for teaching writing from veteran teachers and writing instruction experts
  • Writing pre-assessment and types of writing differentiation strategies for elementary grades
  • Resources for expository, persuasive, and narrative writing, including a list of character traits
  • Rubrics, self-assessment, student inventory, and assessment tools
  • Student choice writing activities and writing prompts to use throughout the year
  • Prints in 8.5" x 11" portrait or landscape for easy reading and copying

Resources Featured In This Teaching Kit

  • Graphic Organizers for Writing: KWL Chart, Sequencing Map, Five-Paragraph Essay, Beginning-Middle-End, 5Ws and 1H Organizer, Story Elements, Clustering, Outlining, Citing My Sources, Story Pyramid, and more
  • Advice and Strategies: How I Teach Elementary Writing: Best Practices, 5 Steps to Better Outcomes, Writing Differentiation and Remediation Strategies for Elementary Grades, Strategies for Building Vocabulary
  • Writing Assessment: Rubrics for Expository, Narrative, Persuasive, and Expressive Writing, Writing Pre-Assessment for Grades 3-5, Writing Self-Assessment, Student Writing Inventory
  • Focused Writing Resources: Writing a Research Report, Character Traits Writing Activity, Activities for Building Vocabulary
  • Writing Prompts and Activities: Seasonal and holiday writing activities, student choice boards for writing, summer writing activities

What You'll Find Inside

Teaching ideas and best practices for teaching elementary writing (pages 3-20).

  • How I Teach Elementary Writing - Best Practices for Teaching Writing
  • How I Teach Writing: A Veteran Teacher’s 5 Steps for Better Outcomes

Writing Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Elementary Grades (pages 20-35

  • Teaching notes and advice
  • Let Me Be the Teacher Template
  • Step by Step Lesson Plan Outline
  • Writing Hooks Template
  • Writing the Introduction Guided Lesson Plan
  • Sensory Overload Template
  • Proofreading Checklist
  • Writing a Personal Narrative - Story Organizer

Elementary Writing Pre-Assessment for Grades 3-5(pages 36-41)

  • Teaching Notes
  • Writing Assessment Script
  • Writing Prompts
  • Scoring Guide for Correct Word Sequence

Elementary Writing Activities and Printable Rubrics (pages 42-59, 64-72)

  • Character Traits Writing Activity
  • Rubric for Expository Writing
  • Rubric for Expressive/Descriptive Writing
  • Rubric for Narrative Writing
  • Rubric for Persuasive Writing
  • Writing Rubric (Generic)
  • Writing Self-Assessment
  • Student Writing Inventory
  • Strategies and Activities for Buidling Vocabulary

Elementary Writing Graphic Organizers (pages 60-63, 73-96)

  • Writing Planning Graphic Organizer Set
  • Writing Organizer for Students
  • A Map to Organization Graphic Organizer
  • Beginning, Middle, End Graphic Organizer
  • Brainstorming Web Graphic Organizer
  • Citing My Sources Graphic Organizer
  • Clustering Graphic Organizer
  • Five-Paragraph Essay Graphic Organizer
  • Five Sentence Paragraph Graphic Organizer
  • KWL Chart Graphic Organizer
  • Main Idea and Supporting Details Graphic Organizer
  • Outlining Graphic Organizer
  • Plot/Story Sequence Graphic Organizer
  • Story Pyramid Graphic Organizer
  • The Handy 5Ws and 1H Graphic Organizer
  • 2 Story Timeline Graphic Organizer
  • Who, What, When, Where, Why, How Graphic Organizer
  • 6 Writing a Research Report

Elementary Writing Choice Boards and Activities Packets(pages 97-135)

  • St. Patrick’s Day Writing Activities Packet
  • Easter Writing Prompts
  • Halloween Story Starter Cards Writing Activity
  • Halloween Writing Choice Board
  • Thanksgiving Writing Choice Board
  • Summer Writing Practice Choice Board
  • Vocabulary Choice Board
  • Writing Choice Board
  • 30 Tips for Teaching Writing at Home - Handout for Parents

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Summer Writing Practice Choice Board for Elementary Grades

About the author

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TeacherVision Editorial Staff

The TeacherVision editorial team is comprised of teachers, experts, and content professionals dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and relevant information in the teaching space.

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Writing Resources

If you’re looking for ways to boost your writing instruction or to bring your colleagues along on your writing journey, we have several resources that can help.

Resolutions

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Themed Journal Issues

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Reimagining Writers and Writing

Language Arts, March 2018

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Teachers Who Write (as Teachers of Writers)

Voices from the Middle , December 2017

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Writing Matters

Voices from the Middle, December 2015

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Composing and Creating Writing in Classrooms

Talking Points , October 2017

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Writing Is Power: Helping Students Craft Their Wor(l)ds

English Journa l, January 2018

writing resources for elementary teachers

For this revised edition, Dean worked with high school teachers to refine, reorganize, and update the material to better support classroom teachers dedicated to teaching not just the process of writing but also the strategies that help students learn to write effectively throughout their lives.

Read the first chapter from this book. 

Check out her post for the NCTE blog , “Becoming Strategic Writers—and Teachers of Strategic Writing.”

writing resources for elementary teachers

In this book from the Principles in Practice Imprint, Van Sluys demonstrates how to (re)claim our professional practice to ensure that young people have the opportunity to become competent, constantly growing writers who use writing to think, communicate, and pose as well as solve problems.

Read the sample chapter, “Writers for Today and Tomorrow’s World.”

Listen to author Katie Van Sluys talk about her book with imprint editor Cathy Fleischer.

Shop Writing Books

Articles on Teaching Writing

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Deserting the Narrative Line: Teaching the Braided Form”

Teaching English in the Two-Year College , December 2014

This essay describes an approach to teaching the braided essay, highlighting the rewards and difficulties.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Writing 2.0: How English Teachers Conceptualize Writing with Digital Technologies”

English Education, October 2016

This article examines how a group of secondary English teachers conceptualized writing process pedagogy and digital tool use after a week-long professional development program.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Cloud-Based Tools for Teaching Writing as a Process”

English Leadership Quarterly, April 2016

The author provides readers with resources to enrich writing instruction but also underscores the importance of being intentional about the choices we make for our students.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“The Good Writer: Virtue Ethics and the Teaching of Writing”

College English, January 2017

The author argues that the tradition of the virtues has much to offer teachers and students and can clarify what it means, in an ethical sense, to be a “good writer” in a skeptical, postmodern moment.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Writing as Relationship”

English Journal, January 2016

This article examines relationships in the writing process and offers some strategies to address student needs on both the cognitive and affective domains.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Slay the Monster! Replacing Form-First Pedagogy with Effective Writing Instruction”

English Journal, July 2016

This article provides concrete suggestions for teaching purpose, audience, context; invention strategies; text structures; genres; revision; and writer’s craft.

“Guide on the Side: Collaboratively Writing and Revising with Students”

The authors contend that by writing alongside students educators have the opportunity to serve as mentors for all stages of the writing process, especially during revision.

“Designing Writing Instruction that Matters”

Voices from the Middle , December 2015

In this article the authors present two tools teachers have been using to ensure their writing instruction is balanced, engaging, and authentic.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Fostering ‘Good’ Writers: Making Writing Meaningful”

Voices from the Middle , May 2016

In order to address the misconception that “good” writing equals errorfree writing, this article reports the need for students to create meaningful works of writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“‘Everybody Have Their Own Ways of Talking’: Designing Writing Instruction That Honors Linguistic Diversity”

Voices from the Middle , March 2017

The author describes instruction that was specifically designed to align with the concepts of code-meshing and constructivism.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Because Writing Is Never Just Writing: 2017 CCCC Chair’s Address”

College Composition and Communication,  December 2017

“Our research, our teaching, our discussions of what we do and why we do it are suffused with illustrations of how writing is never just writing.” —Linda Adler-Kassner

writing resources for elementary teachers

Review: ”Teaching Writing in the 21st Century: Composition Methodologies, Reading, and Transfer”

College English , March 2016

The five books reviewed call for care in understanding students and the many ways that they are positioned in the world and for more attention to reading pedagogy in conjunction with writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Resources Preservice Teachers Use to Think about Student Writing”

Research in the Teaching of English , August 2016

This article identifies five categories of resources that preservice teachers drew on as they considered student writing and planned their own approaches to assessing and teaching writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Writing to Change the World: Teaching Social Justice through Writer’s Workshop”

Language Arts , November 2017

Lily Diamond, 2016 winner of the Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing, discusses ways in which she integrates issues of social justice during writer’s workshop.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Reframing Readiness: “The Framework for Success as Writing Comprehension”

English Journal , July 2017

This column highlights examples of the values espoused by the  Framework for Success  in Postsecondary Writing and aims to increase understanding of this statement, advocating for its rich conception of writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Lesson Plans on Writing

These classroom-tested lesson plans from ReadWriteThink provide ready resources for teachers working with students from kindergarten to high school.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Blog Posts on Writing

NCTE members and staff have published writing-related blog posts on a variety of subjects, from using NCTE and ReadWriteThink materials in the classroom to writing for civic action, and more.

writing resources for elementary teachers

National Day on Writing

The National Day on Writing (October 20) was founded by NCTE on the premise that writing is critical to literacy but needs greater attention and celebration.

writing resources for elementary teachers

#WhyIWrite Podcasts

The #WhyIWrite podcast features interviews with authors about their writing process, what inspires them, and the challenges they’ve faced.

Writing-Related Professional Development

writing resources for elementary teachers

Perspectives on Practice: “Writing as Teachers: The Power of Place”

Language Arts, March 2017

Places can be powerful catalysts for writing, inviting us to explore and understand our individual and collective relationships with one another and the world.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Looking Back to Look Forward: The Transformative Power of Ongoing, Collaborative, Teacher-Driven Professional Development”

Voices from the Middle , September 2017

Collectively, teachers have the power to leverage their voices and empower their students. They must continue to expand and enhance their skills by demanding professional development.

“More Than Skin Deep: Professional Development that Transforms Teachers”

In this article, four teachers of various levels of instruction share what makes the National Writing Project summer institute experience so valuable to them in their teaching lives and in the lives of their student writers.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Take Time to Write!: A Teacher’s Story of Writing within a Community of Teacher Writers”

English Leadership Quarterly, October 2017

The authors explore the questions of whether and how ELA teachers can or even should add writing to their skill sets by following a teacher as she participates in a National Writing Project Advanced Summer Institute.

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Transforming Instruction: How Collaborative Professional Development Changed the Teaching of Argumentative Writing”

English Leadership Quarterly, October 2015

This article explores questions about how to create meaningful PD experience related to the effective teaching of argumentative writing.

NEW VOICES: “Where Early-Career Educators Learn to Teach Writing”

In this column, we meet three early career educators who are finding strength and possibility in the teaching of writing through mentorship, reflection, and writing alongside their students.

English Education , October 2016

writing resources for elementary teachers

“Teacher Empowerment through Partnerships: A Sustaining Model of Professional Development”

English Journal , March 2018

This article describes a state-level partnership with the goal of empowering teacher leaders to implement a professional learning project at their individual schools.

“Developing Readers and Writers with a Districtwide Literacy Strategy Set”

English Journa l , March 2018

This article describes an approach to professional development that capitalized on investments in expertise among English language arts teachers to support literacy across the district.

“Global Leaders’ Views on the Teaching of Writing”

Leaders have the opportunity to inspire, to motivate, and to make a positive difference in the lives of teachers and adolescents. This article focuses on international literacy leaders and their views of the teaching of writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Becoming Strategic Teachers, Teaching Strategic Writers

In this interactive session, teacher and author Debbie Dean will help participants enhance their writing instruction by considering process as a strategy and genre as an approach to teaching writing.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Write This Way: How Modeling Transforms the Writing Classroom

Modeling is one of the most effective of all teaching strategies, and yet many teachers overlook this powerful tool in writing instruction.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Revision: How to Teach it, Learn it, Love it!

In this Web Seminar, Barry Lane focuses on tools to aid revision including growing leads from questions, digging for details using binoculars, and more.

WOULD YOU LIKE ACCESS TO ALL THE FREEBIES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS? ➔

writing resources for elementary teachers

How to Motivate Students to Write at the Elementary Level in 2024

I was so tired of hearing a collective groan from my students wshen it was time for writing. I thought there had to be simple solutions out there for how to motivate students to write.

Where I saw the struggle, frustration, and dislike for writing emerge from my students was when they were expected to write on their own in a journal or writer’s notebook. Unfortunately, this was something we worked on daily so I needed to find a solution (and quickly).

Sure, I always had 2 or 3 eager writers, but overall their writer’s notebooks were a cause of stress and aggravation… for all of us.

This blog post suggests ideas and resources for how to replace the chorus of groans with loud cheers and excitement about writing. Learn more below about how to motivate students to write!

Why Do Elementary Students Struggle with Writing?

Below are 5 potential reasons why your students struggle with writing.

1. Students Don’t Know What to Write About

My students did really well with the paragraph of the week activities and seasonal writing assessments we did, so it seemed like the problem wasn’t the process of writing. Instead, it seemed students struggled with getting started and coming up with quality topics and ideas to write about.

One thing that helped tremendously was an activity we did at the start of each new school year which had the students brainstorm a list of topics to keep in their writer’s notebook. This was a great resource for them throughout the year, served me well as part of my emergency sub plans , and reinforced the concept of writing about “small seeds” or “tiny ideas.”

2. They Feel Overwhelmed

Writing can feel very overwhelming for elementary students. One idea to consider is to practice writing daily so it becomes more routine. Another suggestion is to break down the steps of writing so students are focusing on one step of the writing process at a time. Learn more about the 6 steps of the writing process !

3. Perfectionism Gets in the Way

Some students may get stuck due to fear of making a mistake or the final product not coming out the way they want it to. One suggestion to consider is delivering a lesson on growth mindset .

4. Their Learning Difference Makes it Harder

ADHD, anxiety, dyslexia, and dysgraphia are just some examples of learning differences that make writing harder for students. Be sure to follow the accommodations and modifications in their IEPs and 504 plans to support them. Even if students do not have an IEP or 504 plan, implement differentiation strategies to support your students.

5. The Basic Skills Needed for Writing are Not Automatic Yet

If students struggle with forming their letters and that’s where all of their concentration goes, then it makes writing a paragraph extra difficult. Think about the purpose of the lesson. If it’s to brainstorm ideas, then consider having a student who struggles with the physical part of writing draw pictures or use a technology device.

5 Ways to Motivate Your Elementary Students to Write

Below are 5 ways to motivate your elementary students to write.

1. Pose Interesting Topics

Posing interesting topics makes writing a lot more fun for elementary students. Consider the time of year, what your students are interested in, and what is going on in the world around them. For example, if it’s the middle of October, consider posing some spooky topics or ones about costumes. Use their excitement about Halloween to elevate the writing experience. This is exactly what I did in my monthly writing prompts resource! Another example is if you are working on opinion writing and a student is really interested in Pokemon cards, then have them write a piece about why kids should or should not be able to trade Pokemon cards in school. Catering your topics to your group of students is a great way to get them excited about writing.

2. Offer Student Choice when Possible

Whenever you can, offer students choices. Consider offering them a list of writing prompts to choose from like I do in my monthly writing prompts resource . When students feel a sense of autonomy over what they are doing, then they are more engaged and invested.

3. Have Students Write Every Day

The more students write, the better they will get! When something is really difficult for us, we usually aren’t thrilled to do it. The best way to motivate them to write is help them improve by offering lots of opportunities to practice their writing skills. My favorite way to do this is through a monthly writing journal .

4. Follow a Solid Framework for Writing

Having a solid framework makes expectations clear and makes writing feel more routine. This helps students feel more comfortable and confident writing and will help them improve their writing skills. Learn all about the 6 step of the writing process so you can implement it in your classroom!

5. Celebrate Student Writing Often

Celebrating student writing can take many different forms. Some examples are hosting a coffee shop-themed poetry event, posting student writing on the hallway bulletin board for others to see, and inviting parents to come in to listen to student writing at a teddy bear picnic. The opportunities are endless!

The Secret to Motivating Elementary Students to Write

Back in the day, I used to have my students do journal writing, but found that many struggled with coming up a topic. Most kids would write the same genre of story in their journals (often starting with “Last night…”) over and over.  I decided to do something a wee bit more structured.

Each year, we began by making a personalized writer’s notebook (inspired by the About Me collage in the book, Judy Moody ) and collected ideas in the Writer’s Idea Bank  to use throughout the year when journaling. They always had the option of selecting a topic of their own, but the idea bank was a resource for those who struggled with ideas. While that solved the “I don’t know what to write about” problem, I observed many kids still really struggled with how to get started. 

Once they had that initial sentence on paper, they were off and running, but that blank page was often intimidating. That’s why why I created a the monthly writing journals . The first one I made was the October journal prompts so I could capitalize on their love of all things Halloween and the intrinsic motivation it brings. 

I was excited to introduce them to my class, but was not prepared for the positive impact they had on writing in our classroom almost immediately. By offering them prompts and a collection of thematic paper for them to write on, they magically went from dreading writing to choosing to do it during free time and indoor recess. They were seriously more enthusiastic about writing than I’ve ever seen. It was such a hit, I made sets for all other months in the year as well. 

What are the Monthly Writing Journals?

The monthly writing journals are a writing resource for elementary teachers. They are available as 10 individual months or as a year-long bundle. It includes writing activities that cover the following writing genres: Creative, informative, opinion, narrative, procedural, descriptive, review, persuasive, poetry, and letter writing.

These writing prompts are designed to provide students with regular writing practice, teach a systematic approach to writing, and build a love of writing amongst students. Use these writing resources for writing centers, morning work, fast finisher tasks, homework, sub plans activities, evidence for report cards, and samples for parent-teacher conferences.

These monthly printables will transform your young authors into excellent writers!

writing resources for elementary teachers

What do the Monthly Writing Journals Include?

The monthly journals include the following:

  • 4 cover options for each month so you can choose which one fits you and your students’ needs best
  • 6 versions of thematic writing paper for each month, so you can differentiate based on your students’ needs
  • table of contents printables for students to use to organize their many pieces of writing
  • monthly lists of creative, informative, opinion, narrative, procedural, descriptive, review, persuasive, poetry, and letter writing prompts, so your students will engage with lots of different types of writing throughout the school year
  • student checklists to track how many of each types of writing students complete over the course of the school year, which will help you ensure that they are working on all types of writing – not just their two or three favorite types
  • rubrics that help make expectations clear to students and make grading quick and easy for you
  • self-assessment activities that help you guide students through reflecting on the experiences
  • feedback forms to help you identify student strengths, set goals for each student, and develop future lessons
  • digital versions of all the resources so students can access them in school and at home

Why Do Teachers Love the Monthly Writing Prompts?

Below are reasons why elementary teachers love the monthly writing prompts .

1. They motivate students to write.

Kids love seasonal and thematic activities. They are always much more motivated by topics that interest them.Changing the journals and prompts monthly eliminates the boredom that comes with the “same old same old” and keeps their interest level high. No lie, my kids actually cheered at the start of the month when the new prompts were revealed. They would actually beg me at dismissal on the last day of each month to let them have a sneak peek at the new month’s packet. I couldn’t believe we went from a chorus of groans to hooting and hollering in a joyous way when it came to writing.

2. They improve instruction.

The monthly journals drive my instruction. While I don’t formally correct their work, I use them to assess their writing skills and look for areas where improvement is needed. This information is used to plan whole-class minilessons at the start of writer’s workshop and also allows me to form small groups for guided instruction on specific skills. 

The journals provide lots of content to discuss during 1:1 writing conferences with each individual student. During our conferences, we review their writing samples, talk about their previous goals, look for examples of how they’ve applied the skills we’ve been working on and set new goals. Having these journals has allowed them to really see how much they are improving and motivates them to do even more.

3. Student progress is documented.

The monthly journals are another easy, yet an absolutely wonderful way to show how much gain a child has made as a writer throughout the course of the school year. They are perfect for sharing with families during parent-teacher conferences and are always a hit during our spring open house.

4. Kids regularly practice all genres.

Using this resource makes it very easy to get your students to regularly practice different types of writing. Each monthly packet includes creative writing story starters, narrative writing prompts, opinion and persuasive prompts, and even a collection of timely informational writing topics they can research and write about.

5. Early finishers know what to do.

The monthly writing journals also helped end the problem of early finishers. No longer did my students ask, “I’m done. What should I do now?” No longer did I need to prepare extra work for students who finished their other assignments quickly. They knew that when their work was complete they had two choices: read a book or write in their monthly journals.

6. Writing sub plans is super easy.

Planning for a substitute teacher suddenly became a whole lot easier. I never needed to find, prep, and write detailed instructions for a guest teacher to do in my absence anymore. Let’s face it, that never goes well anyway. With these journals as part of our routine, my sub plans simply include extended journal writing. Easy for me. Easy for the sub. Valuable for the kids.

How to Implement the Monthly Writing Prompts

This monthly writing prompt resource is so quick and easy to prepare for student use. In fact, the only prep needed makes a great job for parent volunteers or classroom aides because it is simple. You’ll just need to select and print which pages you would like to use with your students. Then you can have a volunteer make stapled packets for each student for each month. Each packet should have a monthly cover, the pages with the writing prompts, and multiple copies of the thematic writing stationary.

At the start of each month, you can do a big reveal of what the new monthly writing prompts are. Simply show off the cover of the new month’s writing journal and then read aloud some or all of the writing prompts.

Student can keep the current month’s packet at their seats so they are accessible at any time. This makes it a great fast finisher task.

3 Other Writing Resources Elementary Teachers Need

Below are 4 writing resources all elementary teachers need.

1. Paragraph of the Week

One of the parts of my writing instruction that was going really well at the time was when I implemented Paragraph of the Week . My students routinely wrote with enthusiasm when they were working on Paragraph of the Week activities . These activities follow a consistent structure, so students quickly learn what is expected of them and how to complete the tasks.

I loved using paragraph of the week because I was able to prep a whole year’s worth of writing activities at the beginning of the school year that I offered students meaningful writing practice. As I mentioned, they follow a consistent structure. This solid framework improves writing skills tremendously and makes it easier for parents to assist with it when it’s assigned for homework.

writing resources for elementary teachers

2. Seasonal Writing Assessments

In my classroom, I used 4 seasonal writing assessments (fall, winter, spring and summer) that became their seasonal writing portfolio. It documents their writing progress, looks great displayed on our bulletin board throughout the year, and ends up being one of the projects that parents save forever and ever. Learn more about these seasonal writing assessments !

3. Seasonal Writing Activities

Seasonal writing activities are a great way to motivate students to write. Check out these January writing activities , February activities , and March activities for inspiration!

In closing, we hope you found this post about how to motivate students to write helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

  • Tips for How to Teach Writing to Elementary Students
  • 10 Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement
  • The Best Behavior Management Strategies for Elementary Teachers
  • Read more about: ELEMENTARY TEACHING , LITERACY

You might also like these posts...

Activities for native american heritage month for students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade, autumn reading comprehension activities for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade, women’s history month reading comprehension activities for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade.

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The Write Practice

Teaching Resources: 11 Resources for Writing Teachers

11 Resources for writing teachers

Teaching writing has probably never been harder. How do you teach writing to students whose main experience with writing is  text messaging! 

At the same time, writing is more important now than ever. Colleges make life-changing decisions about students' acceptance based on their writing, and employers say good writing is a hard skill to find in the workplace. Writing is a must-have skill.

So how can you teach writing more effectively?

How to Teach Writing

At The Write Practice, we strive to convince our readers why learning to write better is important to them  and their lives, and we do this  before  we ever teach a single concept.

In other words, we talk about the question  why  a lot because we believe that a student who   is convinced what they're learning is important to them will always learn better.

We also believe deeply in  deliberate practice , and that's why at the end of each lesson, we give students a chance to put what they've just learned to use immediately, encouraging them to share their work with other writers to get feedback.

How to practice writing

Teaching Resources for Writing

With that in mind, we've assembled a list of our eleven best resources about writing for students.

1.  Why We Write: Four Reasons . George Orwell wrote that there are four reasons why people write. We've updated his list to encourage new and experienced writers alike to think about what motivates them to write.  Click here to view the article.

2.  Before You Start Writing, Do This First . Crafting a solid premise is an essential part of the writing process, whether you're writing an essay, a one-act play, or a short story. Here, we explain the process of creating a premise for non-fiction and fiction.  Click here to view the article.

3.  10 Effective Tips to Write an Essay . Writing an essay isn't easy, no matter how long you've been writing, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun. In this article, we give all our best advice to write a great essay.  Click here to view the article.

4.  Grammar 101.  Good grammar is important, but does it really matter whether you know what an Oxford comma is or how to use a semi-colon? YES! And we'll having fun learning all the strange rules, too.  Click here to view the article.

5.  Why Your Writing Sounds Weird (And What to Do About It) . Most schools don't teach sentence structure anymore, but the reality is that if your sentences aren't structured correctly, your writing will sound  weird . Here's a fun and authoritative guide to sentence structure.  Click here to view the article.

6.  5 Essentials Elements of a Story. Every story is made up of building blocks: action, dialogue, description, inner monologue, and exposition. In this article, we explain how they fit together.  Click here to view the article.

7.  The Secret to Showing Instead of Telling. “Show, Don't Tell,” is an important rule in storytelling. Here's the secret to explaining it as simply as possible.  Click here to view the article.

8.  How to Become a Better Writer in One Simple Step . This is the single piece of writing advice we give most often. If students can master this, they'll instantly become powerful, captivating writers.  Click here to view the article.

9.  16 Observations About Real Dialogue. Writing good dialogue is hard work. In this article, we give honest observations about realistic dialogue, and then challenge students to a fun and creative exercise.  Click here to view the article.

10.  The Strongest Form of Characterization. Great stories are made up of interesting and unique characters, but how do you create a great characters? This article explains the best form of characterization.   Click here to view the article.

11.  10 Best Writing Prompts . Students love writing prompts, and these are our 10 best! Have fun with them! Click here to view the article.

How to Use These Resources

You're welcome to use these resources in any of the following ways:

  • Print the articles and use them in your classes
  • Email or link within your syllabus for your students to view on their own
  • Develop lesson plans based on the concepts discussed
  • Use the exercises at the end of each article for homework projects
  • Allow students to read and critique each others' writing

Also, if you do decided to use any of these resources in your classrooms, please send us a note letting us know . We love hearing from teachers!

Good luck, and happy writing!

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Free Teacher Resources

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Writing Professional Development for Elementary Teachers

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Emmitt Beckham

September 23, 2023

As an elementary school teacher, keeping up with the latest educational best practices is critical for providing effective instruction that supports student learning.

Professional development opportunities offer an excellent platform for teachers to engage in ongoing learning, connect with colleagues, and expand their teaching toolkit.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of writing professional development for elementary teachers, including strategies for finding high-quality learning opportunities.

Table of Contents

Common Challenges Facing Elementary Teachers In Professional Development

As with any profession, professional development is critical for elementary teachers to stay up to date with the latest trends and techniques. However, the process can be challenging for educators. Some of the critical challenges they face include:

  • Time constraints:

Elementary teachers have packed schedules with teaching, grading, and administrative duties. Therefore, it becomes challenging for them to take part in professional development programs. Moreover, it is challenging for them to find the time to research and stay up-to-date with the latest teaching methods or techniques.

  • Lack of funding:

Professional development can be costly, and most schools don’t have the budget for extensive programs since they need to allocate funds to other expenses like classroom materials and student supplies.

This can make it impossible for some teachers, especially those from low-income neighborhoods, to obtain essential professional development opportunities, and it can lead to uneven instruction.

Fortunately, there are some possible solutions to the challenges mentioned above:

  • Incentivize participation:

School administrators must appreciate the importance of professional development. They can encourage or incentivize teachers to participate in these programs by giving them bonus payments or rewards.

They can also create opportunities for teachers to collaborate with colleagues in their schools or districts, making it more convenient for them to participate.

  • Online professional development:

With technological advances, online professional development programs have become a popular alternative for those who cannot attend in-person training programs.

Additionally, e-learning reduces constraints on time, location, and cost, which can make it easier for more educators to obtain valuable professional development opportunities.

Elementary teachers face some significant challenges with professional development, such as time constraints and lack of funding.

However, implementing possible solutions like incentivizing participation and online professional development can have a positive impact, making it easier for teachers to benefit from new developments in pedagogy and improve student learning outcomes.

As a result, it is vital that schools and districts take the necessary steps to facilitate comprehensive professional development opportunities that support their faculty members.

Collaboration Between Teachers And Administrators

Collaboration between teachers and administrators is essential to ensure an effective teaching and learning environment. The benefits of working together extend beyond a better educational experience for students and also lead to career growth for teachers , connectedness among staff, and the improvement of the school as a whole.

The Benefits Of Collaboration Between Teachers And Administrators

Collaboration between teachers and administrators has various advantages, including:

Improved student outcomes: When teachers and administrators collaborate, instruction is cohesive and comprehensive. Both parties support and assist each other in achieving common goals, leading to improved student outcomes.

Career advancement of teachers: Collaboration can help teachers develop their skills , enabling them to advance in their careers. It also provides a platform for teachers to work on collective projects that can result in professional recognition.

Enhanced school culture: Collaboration results in stronger connections among teachers and administrators, leading to a healthy school culture. When everyone works towards the same goal, it fosters a more positive and supportive working atmosphere.

Collective responsibility: Collaboration instills a sense of collective responsibility. It promotes a shared approach to decision-making, which leads to a better understanding of the needs of students and the school.

Examples Of Successful Collaborations

Collaboration between teachers and administrators has led to several success stories that have impacted teaching practices. Some of them include:

  • Early intervention programs: Collaboration between teachers and administrators has enabled the development of early intervention programs, which cater to students in need. Such programs result in more focused interventions and resources to help struggling students.
  • Technology integration: Collaboration between teachers and administrators has helped to integrate technology into the classroom. This has improved students’ access to new and exciting learning opportunities.
  • Development of curriculum: Collaboration between teachers and administrators has resulted in the development of comprehensive curriculums. Teachers provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the current curriculum, leading to improvements that benefit students.
  • Professional growth opportunities: Collaboration has resulted in the development of professional growth opportunities for teachers. These opportunities enhance their skills, ensuring that they are better equipped to handle students’ needs.

Collaboration is a vital aspect of education that influences the success of both students and the school as a whole. When teachers and administrators work together, they can improve teaching practices, promote a positive school culture, and ultimately, contribute to better student outcomes.

Workshops And Conferences

As an elementary teacher, keeping up with the latest teaching techniques and practices can be challenging amid a busy workload. Attending workshops and conferences is an excellent way to advance one’s professional skills while making vital connections with other educators.

Here are a few points to consider:

Attending Workshops And Conferences

  • Workshops and conferences are some of the most effective ways to build up teaching experience.
  • Going to a conference or workshop can give teachers new insights into the instructional methods they use every day in their classrooms.
  • The interactive format of workshops and conferences also allows teachers to see what other successful educators are doing and bring new ideas and strategies to their classrooms.

Finding Workshops And Conferences

  • Check local and regional educational organizations’ websites for information on upcoming events.
  • Explore online training opportunities, such as webinars and virtual conferences. These formats can be convenient for busy educators and a cost-effective way to participate in professional development.
  • Consider reading professional development publications that share information on upcoming events in teaching.

Whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned pro, attending workshops and conferences can be effective professional development tools. By staying up-to-date, attending events, and seeking out opportunities, you’ll be able to enhance your skills and improve your teaching practice.

Online Resources And Technology

In today’s world, technology has revolutionized the way people learn and collaborate. This is particularly true for teachers; online resources and technology have opened up vast opportunities for professional development to elementary teachers, aiding their growth in and out of the classroom.

Educational Webinars

Webinars are great for engaging with other professionals in your field and learning from experienced educators. These accessible online sessions allow elementary teachers to learn from the comfort of their homes, on their own schedule, without having to travel.

Teachers can access a range of topics such as enhancing writing skills, virtual classroom management, and effective communication with parents.

Blogs And Podcasts

One of the most resourceful ways for elementary teachers to benefit from professional development is by following education-based blogs and podcasts. Many influential bloggers and podcasters share their expertise on numerous relevant topics.

These blogs and podcasts can be accessed on various platforms such as YouTube, Spotify , and iTunes.

Furthermore, teachers can get instant access to the most up-to-date news, opinions, and other valuable resources related to education.

Online Workshops

Online workshops provide teachers with the opportunity to engage in professional development from a distance, with quality online content and resources. These workshops can be accessed anytime and anywhere, providing flexibility that better accommodates teachers’ busy schedules.

Learning Management Systems

Learning management systems like Google Classroom or Edmodo are popular computer applications that have changed the traditional classroom learning experience. Teachers can save time and resources by accessing all educational materials and information they need to perform their duties online.

Social Media

Social media platforms have become indispensable tools for networking, sharing ideas, and accessing resources for professional growth. Social media platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn provide ample opportunities for elementary teachers to interact with one another, share resources, ask for advice, and collaborate on projects with other schools.

The Importance Of Writing Skills For Elementary Teachers

Writing is a crucial skill that elementary teachers must possess and continuously improve upon. Not only do they need to provide effective written communication with their students, but they must also demonstrate the ability to write clear lesson plans and reports to parents and administrators.

Why Writing Skills Are Important For Elementary Teachers

Elementary teachers need to have strong writing skills for several reasons:

  • Communication with students: Writing is an essential tool for communicating with students. Elementary teachers who can write well can create lesson plans, worksheets, and other materials that students can easily understand.
  • Communication with parents and administrators: Writing is also critical for communicating with parents and administrators. Emails, reports, and other written documents help teachers keep parents informed about their children’s progress and give administrators the information they need to make important decisions.
  • Effective teaching: Writing is a necessary skill for teachers who want to provide the most effective instruction. Teachers who can write clear and concise lesson plans can ensure that their students meet academic standards and achieve their learning objectives.
  • Future career opportunities: For teachers who want to advance into leadership positions, strong writing skills are essential. These professionals will need to write reports, grants, and other materials that require a high level of writing skills.

Improving writing skills is critical for elementary teachers who want to provide the best education for their students. Through professional development, educators can learn how to strengthen their writing, improving their ability to communicate with students, parents, and administrators.

Effective Writing Strategies For Elementary Teachers

Writing is a fundamental skill that can help students succeed academically and in their future careers. That is why it is essential for teachers to equip themselves with effective writing strategies to help their students become proficient writers. Below are some strategies that can be used by elementary teachers to enhance the writing skills of their students:

Provide Feedback

Feedback is an essential aspect of writing. It helps students learn from their mistakes, understand the writing process, and know what they need to improve. Here are four ways to provide feedback to elementary students:

  • Provide specific feedback that targets the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s writing.
  • Highlight areas that require revision and provide clear and constructive suggestions on how to improve them.
  • Encourage peer feedback by pairing students and having them provide feedback on each other’s writing.
  • Celebrate success by providing positive feedback when strengths are displayed.

Model Effective Writing Habits

Effective modeling can help students learn and mimic good writing habits. Here are a few ways that teachers can model their writing to support their students:

  • Think out loud while writing an example on the board or overhead projector. This approach provides students with insight into the deliberative writing process.
  • Provide examples of well-written texts and point out the features of effective writing.
  • Share your own writing experiences and how you use strategies to plan, write, evaluate, and revise your writing.
  • Create anchor charts that showcase the writing process, specific strategies, and the characteristics of well-written pieces.

Using effective feedback and modeling effective writing habits can improve students’ writing skills. As teachers, it’s crucial to incorporate these strategies in the classroom to instill the value of writing in the students’ lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is professional development for elementary teachers.

Professional development helps teachers learn new skills to improve their teaching. It may include workshops, conferences, or online courses.

Why Is Professional Development Important For Elementary Teachers?

Professional development helps teachers stay up to date with the latest teaching methods, strategies, and technology. It also improves student learning outcomes.

How Often Should Elementary Teachers Participate In Professional Development?

The frequency of professional development varies but it is important for teachers to engage in ongoing learning opportunities to stay current in their field. Multiple times a year is ideal.

What Are Some Examples Of Professional Development For Elementary Teachers?

Professional development can include workshops on math instruction, reading strategies, or implementing technology in the classroom. It can also involve mentoring programs or online courses.

How Can Attending Professional Development Benefit My Career As An Elementary Teacher?

Attending professional development can lead to career advancement opportunities, increased job satisfaction, and an improved ability to meet the needs of diverse learners.

As elementary teachers, your professional development is essential to creating and maintaining a positive learning environment for your students. In this blog post, we’ve explored a number of key ways to enhance your writing skills to keep your students engaged and challenged. With these tips, you can elevate your writing game and equip your students with the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

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Elementary Teacher Resources: Writing Mentor Texts

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  • Writing Mentor Texts

Note to Teachers

Below are just a few examples of exemplary mentor texts for teaching writing and literary devices.  All of the Wilson School District Libraries can borrow books from each other, so if your school doesn't have a particular books, talk to your librarian about getting a copy through inter-library loan.

If you have a suggestion to add to this list (especially newer books), please e-mail your librarian!   We have included the Fountas & Pinnell levels when available.

Codes for book locations: ALL = All of the elementary buildings own this book. CT = Cornwall Terrace GV = Green Valley SL = Shiloh Hills SR = Spring Ridge WH = Whitfield

Interactive ebook = Indicates this book is available to read or listen to online through the library catalog.

Wordless Picture Books for Writing

Books to teach the craft of writing, books to teach cause and effect, books to teach point of view, books to teach drawing conclusions, books for word study, books to teach character traits, mentor texts for informative narrative, books to teach compare and contrast, books to teach dialogue, books to teach transitions, books to teach figurative language / similies / metaphors, books to teach voice or tone, books to teach reading charts / graphs, books to teach small moments / slice of life, books to teach main idea, books to teach sequencing, books to teach predicting, books to teach character struggles and motivations, books to teach expressive narrative, books to teach description, books to teach persuasion, books to teach great beginnings / hooks, books to teach satisfying endings, books to teach organization, books to teach nonfiction text features, books to teach inferencing, books to teach strong emotion, books to teach "how to", created and maintained by your teacher-librarian.

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Mentor Text Web Sites

Below are great websites to go to for creative ideas when it comes to using Mentor Texts in reading and writing.

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Open Educational Resources (OER): Resource Roundup

An educators’ guide to open educational resources with information about online repositories, curriculum-sharing websites, and sources for lesson plans and activities.

Graphic of an open padlock

OER, a part of the global open content movement, are shared teaching, learning, and research resources available under legally recognized open licenses -- free for people to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute. Why are OER important? High-quality OER can save teachers significant time and effort on resource development and advance student learning inside and outside the classroom. Further, open sharing of resources has the potential to fuel collaboration, encourage the improvement of available materials, and aid in the dissemination of best practices. For more about the potential of OER, check out " 5-Minute Film Festival: Why Open Education Matters ."

Getting Started

Sharing resources:  The nonprofit Creative Commons offers free, easy-to-use copyright licenses that allow you to specify which rights to your works you want to reserve and which rights you'd like to waive. Read more at " About Creative Commons " and " About the Licenses ." If you are a state or school leader, you might want to check out " Open Educational Resources and Collaborative Content Development: A Practical Guide for State and School Leaders ," a downloadable report from the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

Quality considerations:  With all the promise of OER, some challenges remain. One of these is assuring the quality of resources. Achieve's Open Educational Resources includes a set of downloadable rubrics that can help districts, teachers, and other users evaluate OER for quality and determine the level of alignment to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Additional rubrics for evaluating OER quality have been collected as part of the Washington OER Project . It's worth noting that many of the larger repositories for OER will include copyright information, and their materials will typically adhere to some established criteria.

How to Find OER

  • Open Educational Resources Meet Instructional Design , by Andrew Marcinek (2015) To find the best OER, consider the skills you're teaching, how content aligns with standards, ease of assessment, and whether you'll provide an active, creative experience.
  • 20 Top Pinterest Tips , by Vicki Davis (2015) Pinterest is an educator's dream come true because of its many options for curating and sharing ideas (including OER), displaying student work, and building a PLN.
  • Supporting Practice With Emerging Technologies , by Sandra Schamroth Abrams (2015) As we incorporate new technologies in the classroom, we must keep the learning relevant and meaningful. Here are some considerations and resources to help you choose.
  • Transitioning to Open Educational Resources , by Andrew Marcinek (2013) Marcinek explains why and how Burlington Public Schools transitioned to Open Educational Resources and discusses four OER options to get started.
  • 5-Minute Film Festival: Copyright and Fair Use for Educators , by VideoAmy (2013) In K-12 education, it's a challenge to navigate the copyright and fair use waters. What can educators use? How can they use it? In this compilation, very relevant to the discussion around OER, VideoAmy has collected some fun, engaging videos to help teachers and students understand the confusing subject.
  • A Primer on Curriculum-Sharing Sites , by Vanessa Vega (2011) Though suggestions are from 2011, this overview of useful curriculum-sharing sites is still relevant today.
  • Radical Curriculum Sharing at the Open High School of Utah , by Todd Finley (2011) Browse a curated list of high-quality, open source, English language arts curriculum websites.

Open Lesson Plans, Courses, and Activities

  • 5-Minute Film Festival: 10 Sources for Free Lesson Plans , by Amy Erin Borovoy (2013) Exploring free lesson planning resources can be overwhelming. Some are extremely useful, and others not so much. Here, VideoAmy shares a list of 10 of her favorite lesson planning tools available, as well as a playlist of videos to help teachers utilize them.
  • Where MOOCs Miss the Mark: The Student-Teacher Relationship , by Matt Levinson (2014) Massive open online courses (or MOOCs) are an outgrowth of the OER movement. Levinson looks at what's missing from MOOCs and the importance of the student-teacher relationship in successful learning. For more on MOOCs, you may also want to read Andrew Miller's post, " 4 Lessons We Can Learn from the 'Failure' of MOOCs ."
  • 5-Minute Film Festival: 8 Podcasts for Learning , by Amy Erin Borovoy (2015) Intrigued by the world of podcasting? Explore videos, resources, and articles to help any educator get started using podcasts in the classroom as a learning tool.
  • A Tour of High-Quality Open Education Resources (OER) for Writing , by Todd Finley (2012) Finley leads an engaging tour of open educational resources for any teacher who wants his or her students to be better writers.
  • Open Educational Resources for Educators , by Matt Davis (2013) Davis has authored a variety of resource compilations, organized around calendar-based topics and other themes.

Take a look at some other Edutopia-curated lists, many of which include open materials, by Davis, VideoAmy, and others:

English Language Arts

  • Elementary ELA Common Core
  • Middle School ELA Common Core
  • National Poetry Month
  • Read Across America and Dr. Seuss
  • Literacy Resources

Mathematics

  • K-5 Common Core Math
  • High School Common Core Math

Science and the Environment

  • Websites for Science Teachers
  • Exploring the Universe
  • Water and Conservation

Social Studies

  • Independence Day Resources and Videos
  • Memorial Day
  • Women's History Month
  • Black History Month
  • Teaching About Lincoln
  • Remixing Civics
  • Film Literacy Resources and Videos
  • Spoken Word Poetry

Other Events and Themes

  • Digital Citizenship Week
  • Preparing for Diversity
  • April Fools' Day
  • National Nutrition Month
  • Valentine's Day Resources and Videos
  • World Series

Open Alternatives to Textbooks

  • Teaching With Web-Based Resources , by Edwige Simon (2015) Web-based teaching starts with identifying and vetting your resources, creating a lesson plan, and developing online handouts that provide information and encourage student participation.
  • Moving Beyond the Textbook , by Andrew Marcinek (2014) Welcome to the days of OER, PLCs, and student-supported tech as education transitions from static textbooks to connect students' learning with the world around them.
  • 6 Open Educational Resources , by Andrew Marcinek (2013) Marcinek presents his six favorite open educational resources, introducing a wide world of curriculum materials as alternatives to textbooks, resources for inspiring your students toward creative exploration and inquiry.
  • Building Your Own Textbook , by Audrey Watters (2011) Watters looks at the digital possibilities for customizing and updating texts -- at a fraction of what the hard copy would cost.
  • David Thornburg on Open-Source Textbooks , by Betty Ray (2011) Thornburg on how the open-source movement is transforming the textbook industry.

Additional Resources on the Web

Open Repositories, Collections, and Tools

  • OER Commons
  • PBS LearningMedia
  • ShareMyLesson
  • Smithsonian Learning Lab
  • WatchKnowLearn

Open Books and Textbooks

  • CK-12 Foundation
  • Project Gutenberg

Open Courses and Learning Modules

  • Big History Project
  • HippoCampus.org from National Repository of Online Courses
  • Khan Academy
  • MIT Open CourseWare: Highlights for High School

Blogs, Articles and Other Resources

  • Open Learning Objectives (Next Generation Learning Challenges, 2016)
  • Power Up! Open Educational Resources: On the Web and Free (ASCD's Educational Leadership , 2014)
  • A 7-Step Guide to Creating Your Own Open Educational Resources (EdSurge, 2014)
  • Open Educational Resources (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, 2014)
  • Tips for Sharing Great Open Educational Content (KQED's MindShift, 2013)
  • The Obstacles to OER (Hack Education, 2012)
  • Creating and Using Open Content (The Regents of the University of Michigan, 2011)
  • Open Educational Resources: Pros and Cons of OERs (University of Maryland University College)
  • Education Program at Creative Commons
  • School of Open
  • 200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites (Open Culture)
  • Twitter: #OER and #GoOpen
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Teaching with Jennifer Findley

Upper Elementary Teaching Blog

November 20, 2016 | 33 Comments | Filed Under: Writing & Grammar

Writing Toolkits (Free Writing Resources for Upper Elementary)

Over the summer, I made math toolkits with tons of math charts and resources to help my students during math centers. I knew I wanted something similar for writing and I finally have it ready to share with you. These writing toolkits are full of FREE writing resources and charts that will help your students become independent and confident writers.

FREE writing toolkits to use in interactive writing notebooks or as a digital reference.

This post includes affiliate links if you wish to purchase the storage containers mentioned in this post.

Writing supplies.

FREE writing printables to use in interactive writing notebooks or in writing toolkits.

Probably one of my students’ favorite writing resources is our editing and revising pens. We use purple and green pens for this step in the writing process and they fit perfectly in our writing toolkits. The purple pens are for revising drafts and the green pens are for editing drafts. I have included a blank version in the free download if you want to use different colored pens.

I have my students use two different color pens for two reasons:

1.) I want them to understand that revising and editing serve different purposes.

2.) Also, I want to be able to easily SEE that the students revised and edited their writing.

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Writing Charts

writing resources for elementary teachers

These charts are a huge help for my students’ writing. The charts are super versatile and can be used in several different ways, depending on how and when you want your students to use the writing resources:

  • Hole punch them in place them on rings. Place the rings in storage containers, put them in cubbies, or even hang them from a bulletin board.
  • Simply place the charts in the writing toolkits.
  • Use the charts as interactive notebook charts and have the students glue them into their notebooks after you teach a mini lesson on the skill.

The writing charts included in this free download include charts for revising and editing, a chart for the writing process, grammar reminders, and much more! You can pick and choose which ones you want to use with your students and only print those pages.

Storage Options

writing resources for elementary teachers

As I mentioned in the above section, these writing resources can be stored in a couple of different ways. You can store them in the small photo containers as I have (click HERE to see these containers on Amazon) and place them at the writing station or center (if you have a separate area).

The writing resources could also be placed on rings at a writing center. If you have your students seated in groups or tables, you could put these writing resources on a ring and have one available for each table/group.

Another option is to simply have all these writing resources in the students’ writing notebooks.

writing resources for elementary teachers

Digital Writing Tools

Use the digital writing toolkit on your interactive whiteboard, tablet, or computer!

I have included a digital version of the writing toolkits so your students can have a digital reference while they’re writing. The content is exactly the same as the printables, but they have been redesigned to work in Google Slides on a variety of devices.

  • Project charts on your interactive whiteboard as a reference while students are writing.
  • Add the digital writing toolkits as “Material” in Google Classroom for students to access when they are writing independently.

Click here for the FREE Writing Tools

How Will I Use the Writing Toolkits?

Each year, it seems I do things differently depending on my students, their needs, and their levels. The great thing about these writing charts is their versatility. I can use them in writing centers, in my small group writing table, or I can have several sets made for the students to use during independent writing.

Don’t forget to click HERE to grab the math toolkit freebies as well!

Let me know in the comments if you think you will try these out this year.

Share the Knowledge!

writing resources for elementary teachers

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You May Also Like These Posts

Free engaging persuasive writing prompts available on this post! Get some new ideas for persuasive writing topics and grab the free download to use for writing stations, centers, or student-choice.

Reader Interactions

33 comments.

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November 20, 2016 at 2:47 pm

This is a wonderful resource that you put together. This is great for a supplemental aids for students having academic support under the Special Education program. LOVE LOVE LOVE

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November 20, 2016 at 7:44 pm

I will absolutely use these this year, probably starting tomorrow actually! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your wonderful, detailed, well-organized, amazing resources in all subjects! I’ve been using your reading station ideas and the kids love those!

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November 20, 2016 at 10:41 pm

This is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this!

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November 21, 2016 at 12:04 pm

I do not see an address or web site to order some of your products. Please reply

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November 21, 2016 at 3:34 pm

Hi Sharon, you can see my products for sale at shopjenniferfindley.com. Thanks for asking!

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November 21, 2016 at 3:32 pm

Do you have a kit for each student? Or do you have enough for a small group or half the class or…? This is a wonderful thing! Thanks so much for sharing!

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November 22, 2016 at 12:59 pm

Thank you for sharing your writing kit. I was in search for a tool that the students can self- monitor. Happy Thanksgiving!

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November 27, 2016 at 3:10 pm

I can’t wait to try these, thank you!

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November 28, 2016 at 1:12 pm

I will be taking over a 5th grade classroom mid-year. I am thrilled to have found these. I can’t wait to put these to use. I love the idea of creating a kit that my students can take with them back to their seats. Well done!

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December 23, 2016 at 10:16 am

I love the kit, but was wondering if you could add “or when citing text” to the quotations block on the punctuation card?

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February 20, 2017 at 1:25 pm

Hi, I teach 4th grade and I have to admit – I”m addicted to your website and resources! Thus far, I have created the Math Toolkits, Close Reading Toolkits, and now I am working on these Writing Toolkits! My next project is the Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit (waiting on my Amazon delivery)! I have purchased many of your bundles, and many others are on my wishlist at your TPT store. Keep ’em coming!!!

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March 13, 2017 at 11:21 am

Wow! These will be a fantastic addition to our interactive notebooks next year. I teach 8th grade ELA, but these will still be so helpful to my students. Thank you for making them free.

March 13, 2017 at 2:37 pm

I am so glad they will be helpful, Tyna! And you are very welcome!

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May 30, 2017 at 9:19 am

I love this!!!! I cannot wait to use it, but was wondering if you had these pages available in full size instead of just the 4 per page, so I can post them as more of an anchor chart as well.

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June 23, 2017 at 2:23 pm

I noticed on the “Writing Supplies” card that there is a copy with a blank line so teachers could fill in what color pens they use. However it is only on the top left one. Can you edit it so we can print 4 of them with blank lines please?

I love this and cannot wait to finish my toolkits for my classroom! Thanks. 🙂

June 29, 2017 at 7:27 pm

HI Samantha, I have it fixed. Sorry about that!

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July 21, 2017 at 1:15 pm

Thank you SO much for this amazing resource! I am working on developing my writing program for next year (because what else do teachers do in the summer!) and I love the idea that students can cut these and paste them in a writing notebook or have them in those containers you mentioned. I will definitely use this so thank you thank you!!!!

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October 11, 2017 at 8:35 pm

This is an AMAZING resource! Thank you!

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October 15, 2017 at 9:35 am

What a WONDERFUL idea!! Thank you SO much for sharing!!!! I can’t wait to use this!

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October 24, 2017 at 12:38 am

Hi, I love this resource but I am wondering if there is any way of getting a copy that is editable? I would love to use but need the Australian spelling of some words. Thankyou 🙂

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December 6, 2017 at 11:44 am

Thank you so much for these clear, lovely resources!

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June 18, 2018 at 9:38 pm

LOVE this idea! Thank you so much! I was thinking of using photo pages so the students can put them in a binder.

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July 18, 2018 at 7:41 pm

Thank you so much for sharing these! Writing has been a struggle to teach as there is so much students must remember in the writing process. After teaching them about our writing block, I will definitely introduce these. They will be fundamental to struggling as well as advanced writers. Just have to figure out how I want to organize this. I also found your math tool kits… I cannot wait to use both. Thank you for making these free!

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July 31, 2018 at 10:53 pm

Hello there! Love this writing tools resource! Our verbiage is a tad different than what you have. Do you have an editable version anywhere? Thank you!

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October 19, 2018 at 9:25 am

Thank you so much for sharing them ♥️♥️♥️ Newbie teacher here and these really helped a lot. Your blog is a gem.

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November 16, 2018 at 5:09 pm

You are amazing. I love this step-by-step guide to writing along with the many tools you have provided. I am ever so grateful to have found your site. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

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November 30, 2018 at 12:42 am

This is a big help to me Jen. Thanks for your kindness. The freebies that your sharing me is very interesting and fun. I hope the Filipino children would love them. It’s a add on me as the teacher.Thank you very much for sharing.God Bless you more!

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January 23, 2021 at 2:50 pm

This is great! Thank you for sharing.

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May 4, 2022 at 10:37 am

I feel as I have struck GOLD coming across your resources. I cannot wait to start printing and putting the various kits together. Thank you for the effort that you have put into sharing your wisdom!!

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June 1, 2022 at 8:27 pm

I LOVE THESE- they have been so helpful with Covid and each student having there own tool box at their desk with all the resources that they need. ONE huge favor or question- Are these writing tools in poster sizes? I know I can take them and ‘blow them up’ but it is always easier when they are already that size.

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August 25, 2023 at 6:20 am

I can’t seem to get the link to open. It’s like it’s just a picture and not a link. Thanks!

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October 2, 2023 at 10:04 pm

Are these writing toolkits still available?

October 3, 2023 at 12:44 pm

Yes, here is the direct link: https://jenniferfindley.com/download/18549/

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writing resources for elementary teachers

Welcome friends! I’m Jennifer Findley: a teacher, mother, and avid reader. I believe that with the right resources, mindset, and strategies, all students can achieve at high levels and learn to love learning. My goal is to provide resources and strategies to inspire you and help make this belief a reality for your students. Learn more about me.

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

How to Help Students With Their Writing. 4 Educators Share Their Secrets

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Teaching students to write is no easy feat, and it’s a topic that has often been discussed on this blog.

It’s also a challenge that can’t have too much discussion!

Today, four educators share their most effective writing lessons.

‘Three Practices That Create Confident Writers’

Penny Kittle teaches first-year writers at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She was a teacher and literacy coach in public schools for 34 years and is the author of nine books, including Micro Mentor Texts (Scholastic). She is the founder and president of the Book Love Foundation, which annually grants classroom libraries to teachers throughout North America:

I write almost every day. Like anything I want to do well, I practice. Today, I wrote about the wild dancing, joyful energy, and precious time I spent with my daughter at a Taylor Swift concert. Then I circled back to notes on Larry’s question about teaching writers. I wrote badly, trying to find a through line. I followed detours and crossed out bad ideas. I stopped to think. I tried again. I lost faith in my words. I will get there , I told myself. I trust my process.

I haven’t always written this easily or this much. I wouldn’t say I’m a “natural” writer because I don’t believe they exist. Writing is work. When I entered college, I received a C-minus on my first paper. I was stunned. I had never worked at writing: I was a “first drafter,” an “only drafter.” And truthfully, I didn’t know how or what to practice. I was assigned writing in high school and I completed it. I rarely received feedback. I didn’t get better. I didn’t learn to think like a writer; I thought like a student.

I’ve now spent 40 years studying writing and teaching writers in kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school, as well as teachers earning graduate degrees. Despite their age, writers in school share one remarkably similar trait: a lack of confidence. Confidence is a brilliant and fiery light; it draws your eyes, your heart, and your mind. But in fact, it is as rare as the Northern Lights. I feel its absence every fall in my composition courses.

We can change that.

Confidence blooms in classrooms focused on the growth of writers.

This happens in classrooms where the teacher relies less on lessons and more on a handful of practices. Unfortunately, though, in most classrooms, a heap of time is spent directing students to practice “writing-like” activities: restrictive templates for assignments, with detailed criteria focused on rules. Those activities handcuff writers. If you tell me what to do and how to do it, I will focus on either completing the task or avoiding it. That kind of writing work doesn’t require much thinking; it is merely labor.

Practice creating, on the other hand, is harder, but it is how we develop the important ability to let our ideas come and then shaping them into cohesive arguments, stories, poems, and observations. We have misunderstood the power of writing to create thinking. Likewise, we have misunderstood the limitations of narrow tasks. So, here are my best instructional practices that lead to confidence and growth in writers.

1. Writing Notebooks and Daily Revision. Writers need time to write. Think of it as a habit we begin to engage in with little effort, like serving a tennis ball from the baseline or dribbling a basketball or sewing buttonholes. Writers need daily time to whirl words, to spin ideas, to follow images that blink inside them as they move their pen across the page. In my classroom, writing time most often follows engagement with a poem.

Likewise, writers need guidance in rereading their first drafts of messy thinking. I’ve seen teachers open their notebooks and invite students to watch them shape sentences. They demonstrate how small revisions increase clarity and rhythm. Their students watch them find a focus and maintain it. Teachers show the effort and the joy of writing well.

Here’s an example: We listen to a beautiful poem such as “Montauk” by Sarah Kay, her tribute to growing up. Students write freely from lines or images that spring to them as they listen. I write in my notebook as students write in theirs for 4-5 minutes. Then I read my entry aloud, circling subjects and detours ( I don’t know why I wrote so much about my dog, but maybe I have more to say about this … ). I model how to find a focus. I invite students to do the same.

2. Writers Study Writing . Writers imitate structures, approaches, and ways of reaching readers. They read like writers to find possibilities: Look what the writer did here and here . A template essay can be an effective tool to write for a test, but thankfully, that is a very small and insignificant part of the whole of writing for any of us. Real writing grows from studying the work of other writers. We study sentences, passages, essays, and articles to understand how they work, as we create our own.

3. Writers Have Conversations as They Work . When writers practice the skills and embrace the challenges of writing in community, it expands possibilities. Every line read from a notebook carries the mark of a particular writer: the passion, the voice, the experiences, and the vulnerability of each individual. That kind of sharing drives process talk ( How did you think to write about that? Who do you imagine you are speaking to? ), which showcases the endless variation in writers and leads to “writerly thinking.” It shifts conversations from “right and wrong” to “how and why.”

Long ago, at a local elementary school, in a workshop for teachers, I watched Don Graves list on the chalkboard subjects he was considering writing about. He read over his list and chose one. From there, he wrote several sentences, talking aloud about the decisions he was making as a writer. Then he turned to accept and answer questions.

“Why do this?” someone asked.

“Because you are the most important writer in the room,” Don said. “You are showing students why anyone would write when they don’t have to.” He paused, then added, “If not you, who?”

confidenceblooms

Developing ‘Student Voice’

A former independent school English teacher and administrator, Stephanie Farley is a writer and educational consultant working with teachers and schools on issues of curriculum, assessment, instruction, SEL, and building relationships. Her book, Joyful Learning: Tools to Infuse Your 6-12 Classroom with Meaning, Relevance, and Fun is available from Routledge Eye on Education:

Teaching writing is my favorite part of being a teacher. It’s incredibly fun to talk about books with kids, but for me, it’s even more fun to witness students’ skills and confidence grow as they figure out how to use written language to communicate what they mean.

A lesson I used to like doing was in “voice.” My 8th graders had a hard time understanding what I meant when I asked them to consider “voice” in their writing. The best illustration I came up with was playing Taylor Swift’s song “Blank Space” for students. Some students groaned while others clapped. (Doesn’t this always happen when we play music for students? There’s no song that makes everyone happy!) But when they settled down, I encouraged them to listen to the style: the arrangement, her voice as she sang, the dominant instruments.

Then, I played a cover of “Blank Space” by Ryan Adams. Eyes rolled as the song unfurled through the speakers, but again I reminded students to listen to the arrangement, voice, and instruments. After about 60 seconds of the Adams version, heads nodded in understanding. When the music ended and I asked students to explain voice to me, they said it’s “making something your own … like your own style.” Yes!

The next step was applying this new understanding to their own writing. Students selected a favorite sentence from the books they were reading, then tried to write it in their own voice. We did this a few times, until everyone had competently translated Kwame Alexander into “Rosa-style” or Kelly Link into “Michael-style.” Finally, when it was time for students to write their own longer works—stories, personal essays, or narratives—they intentionally used the words and sentence patterns they had identified as their own voice.

I’m happy to report this method worked! In fact, it was highly effective. Students’ papers were more idiosyncratic, nuanced, and creative. The only change to this lesson I’d make now is trying to find a more zeitgeist-y song with the hope that the groans at the beginning die down a little faster.

itsfun

Teaching ELLs

Irina McGrath, Ph.D., is an assistant principal at Newcomer Academy in the Jefferson County school district in Kentucky and the president of KYTESOL. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville, Indiana University Southeast, and Bellarmine University. She is a co-creator of the ELL2.0 site that offers free resources for teachers of English learners:

Reflecting on my experience of teaching writing to English learners, I have come to realize that writing can be daunting, especially when students are asked to write in English, a language they are learning to master. The most successful writing lessons I have taught were those that transformed the process into an enjoyable experience, fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride in my students.

To achieve this, I prioritized the establishment of a supportive learning environment. At the beginning of each school year, I set norms that emphasized the importance of writing for everyone, including myself as their teacher. I encouraged students to write in English and their native language and I wrote alongside my English learners to demonstrate that writing is a journey that requires hard work and dedication, regardless of age or previous writing experiences. By witnessing my own struggles, my students felt encouraged to persevere.

My English learners understood that errors were expected and that they were valuable opportunities for growth and improvement. This created a comfortable atmosphere where students felt more confident taking risks and experimenting with their writing. Rather than being discouraged by mistakes, they viewed them as steppingstones toward progress.

In my most effective writing lessons, I provided scaffolds such as sentence stems, sentence frames, and word banks. I also encouraged my students to use translation tools to help generate ideas on paper. These scaffolds empowered English learners to independently tackle more challenging writing assignments and nurtured their confidence in completing writing tasks. During writers’ circles, we discussed the hard work invested in each writing piece, shared our work, and celebrated each other’s success.

Furthermore, my most successful writing lessons integrated reading and writing. I taught my students to read like writers and utilized mentor texts to emulate the craft of established authors, which they could later apply to their own writing. Mentor texts, such as picture books, short stories, or articles, helped my students observe how professional writers use dialogue, sentence structure, and descriptive language to enhance their pieces.

Instead of overwhelming students with information, I broke down writing into meaningful segments and taught through mini lessons. For example, we analyzed the beginnings of various stories to examine story leads. Then, collaboratively, my students and I created several leads together. When they were ready, I encouraged them to craft their own leads and select the most appropriate one for their writing piece.

Ultimately, my most effective lessons were those in which I witnessed the joyful smiles on my English learners’ faces as they engaged with pages filled with written or typed words. It is during those moments that I knew my writers were creating and genuinely enjoying their work.

To access a self-checklist that students and EL teachers can use when teaching or creating a writing piece in English, you can visit the infographic at bit.ly/ABC_of_Writing .

iprovided

‘Model Texts’

Anastasia M. Martinez is an English-language-development and AVID Excel teacher in Pittsburg, Calif.:

As a second-language learner, writing in English had not always been my suit. It was not until graduate school that I immersed myself in a vast array of journals, articles, and other academic works, which ultimately helped me find my academic voice and develop my writing style. Now, working as an ESL teacher with a diverse group of middle school multilingual learners, I always provide a model text relevant to a topic or prompt we are exploring.

When students have a model text, it gives them a starting point for their own writing and presents writing as less scary, where they get stuck on the first sentence and do not know how to start.

At the start of the lesson, prior to using a model text, I create a “do now” activity that guides my students’ attention to the topic and creates a relevant context for the text. After students share their ideas with a partner and then the class, we transition to our lesson objectives, and I introduce the model text. We first use prereading strategies to analyze the text, and students share what they notice based on the title, images, and a number of paragraphs. Then, depending on the students’ proficiency level, I read the text to the class, or students read the text as partners, thinking about what the text was mostly about.

After students read and share their ideas with partners and then the whole class, we transition to deconstructing the text. These multiple reengagements with the text help students become more familiar with it, as well as help students build reading fluency.

When deconstructing the model text, I guide my students through each paragraph and sentence. During that time, students orally share their ideas determining the meaning of specific paragraphs or sentences, which we later annotate in the model text using different colored highlighters or pens. Color coding helps visually guide students through similar parts of the model text. For instance, if we highlight evidence in paragraph 2 in one color, we also highlight evidence in the same color in the following paragraph. It helps students see the similarities between the paragraphs and discover the skeleton of the writing. Additionally, color coding helps students during their writing process and revision. Students can check if they used all parts of the writing based on the colors.

Furthermore, one of the essential pieces during deconstructing model texts that I draw my students’ attention to is transition words and “big words,” or academic vocabulary. We usually box them in the text, and I question students about why the author used a particular word in the text. Later, when students do their own writing, they can integrate new vocabulary and transition words, which enhances their vocabulary and language skills.

As the next step, I invite students to co-create a similar piece of writing with a partner or independently using our model text as their guide. Later, our model text serves as a checklist for individual and partner revisions, which students could use to give each other feedback.

Model texts are an essential part of the writing process in any content-area class. As educators, we should embrace the importance of model texts, as they provide a solid foundation upon which students can develop their unique writing skills, tone, and voice.

modeltexts

Thanks to Penny, Stephanie, Irina, and Anastasia for contributing their thoughts!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email . And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 12 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list here .

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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159. Writing Stamina: 6 Challenges Students Face and How to Help Them The Literacy Dive Podcast: Reading and Writing Strategies for Upper Elementary Teachers and Parents

I am passionate about literacy, especially finding creative and engaging ways to get students writing. However, none of that matters if their writing stamina is low. I know from my experience being in the classroom, that so many of my students didn’t have the writing endurance for longer pieces of writing, which meant I had to come up with ways to increase their stamina over time. In the first episode in a series about writing stamina, I’m sharing six writing stamina challenges and strategies that support them to increase their stamina. When I use the phrase "writing stamina", I’m referring to more than just duration, but having students maintain their writing quality and engagement throughout their writing session. I break down this into three components and discuss why they need to work together to increase a student’s writing stamina. But when it comes to writing, students always face difficulties. Therefore, I highlight six main writing stamina challenges, why or how it’s a challenge, and strategies to implement that support each challenge. Although making sure a student has good writing stamina might not seem like a big deal, it has an impact on their academic success. This includes standardized tests and their development of writing skills, which is why identifying students’ writing stamina challenges and understanding why it’s necessary to focus on is so important. Stay tuned to next week’s episode where I explore ways to build writing endurance with practical tips. Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode159 Resources Mentioned: Daily Writing Disguise Creative Writing Activities on TPTMonthly Writing PromptsVocabulary Writing PromptsDescriptive Writing Anchor Charts Connect with Me: Join The Daily Writing Disguise Membership hereShop my TpT store hereReceive emails from me hereFollow me on Instagram hereRead my blog posts here

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    Note to Teachers. Below are just a few examples of exemplary mentor texts for teaching writing and literary devices. All of the Wilson School District Libraries can borrow books from each other, so if your school doesn't have a particular books, talk to your librarian about getting a copy through inter-library loan.

  22. Open Educational Resources (OER): Resource Roundup

    Explore videos, resources, and articles to help any educator get started using podcasts in the classroom as a learning tool. A Tour of High-Quality Open Education Resources (OER) for Writing, by Todd Finley (2012) Finley leads an engaging tour of open educational resources for any teacher who wants his or her students to be better writers.

  23. Writing Toolkits (Free Writing Resources for Upper Elementary)

    Simply place the charts in the writing toolkits. Use the charts as interactive notebook charts and have the students glue them into their notebooks after you teach a mini lesson on the skill. The writing charts included in this free download include charts for revising and editing, a chart for the writing process, grammar reminders, and much ...

  24. How to Help Students With Their Writing. 4 Educators Share Their

    Long ago, at a local elementary school, in a workshop for teachers, I watched Don Graves list on the chalkboard subjects he was considering writing about. He read over his list and chose one. From ...

  25. ‎The Literacy Dive Podcast: Reading and Writing Strategies for Upper

    ‎Show The Literacy Dive Podcast: Reading and Writing Strategies for Upper Elementary Teachers and Parents, Ep 159. Writing Stamina: 6 Challenges Students Face and How to Help Them - Feb 12, 2024

  26. Mamaw Yates Teaching Resources

    Browse over 50 educational resources created by Mamaw Yates in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store. Log In Join. Cart is empty. Total: $0.00. View Wish List. View Cart. Grade. Elementary. ... It contains an outline for writing Elementary Literacy and the Elementary Math but can also be used for other subject areas including

  27. ETS Praxis

    Elementary Education Assessment (5006; subtests 5007, 5008) Elementary Education Assessment: Mathematics and Science (5008) Elementary Education Assessment: Reading and Language Arts & Social Studies (5007) Elementary Education: Content Knowledge (5018) Elementary Education: Content Knowledge for Teaching (7811; subtests 7812, 7813, 7814, 7815)

  28. Stephanie Osmundson & Loreal Hemenway on Instagram: " TEACHERS! HIT

    HIT PLAY & WALK AWAY! Cover a huge variety of ELA standards with this resource..." Stephanie Osmundson & Loreal Hemenway on Instagram: "💥TEACHERS! HIT PLAY & WALK AWAY! 💥 Cover a huge variety of ELA standards with this resource while also carving out some time to catch up on your many teacher duties!