One of the highlights of my upcoming week is some professional development I will be doing on Thursday to spotlight my monthly Writing PD sessions that I will be presenting to interested staff. Once a month, another teacher and myself will present on a writing topic either before school or after school for an hour.
Our topics are:
January: Getting Started with Writing Workshop
February: Using Mentor Texts
March: Conferring with Your Writers
April: Assessing Writing
May: Teachers as Writers
Our school goal this year is that there is writing in every classroom, every day! With the demands of packed curriculum and busy schedules, I want to be able to support my fellow teachers by offering practical tips they can use in their classroom to make that goal reachable.
Source: http://blog.ezinearticles.com/
Another thing we will be doing this week is writing letters back to our pen pals from Canada! We are lucky to have partnered up with Lisa from Grade 4 Buzz's 4th grade class.
This past week, they sent us letters and a very cute bracelet for each pen pal!
They talked about their pen pals so much that now two other teachers (5th grade) have asked me to try to find their class another class to pen pal with. Each class has about 20 students. If you are interested in becoming pen pals with one of these 5th grade classes, please leave me a comment below and I will pass your information along! :)
Wishing you a great week!
I agree with you 100% on the importance of writing every day. It is not always easy, but it is so important! I love the idea of pen pals. It is on my list to try next year. I have a little too much going on right now to start something new.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe winter break is only two weeks away!
Have a great week!
Mary
Fit to be Fourth
I am doing pen pals in my class for the first time this year and my students are so excited about it! We sent our first letter off and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our letters! How cool that your students were sent bracelets too!
ReplyDeleteBethany
FabandFunin4th!
I love the quote you used! Louis L'Amour was my first "grown-up" author that I read. After being home for a month with pneumonia in 3rd grade, I had read my way through Nancy Drew, my dad had "the car," and my mom was desperate. She gave me one of my Dad's Louis L'Amour books; I was hooked before nap time. In the long run, my mom's strategy might not have worked...still looking for Tell or Tyrel.
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me about the no reply blogger. The good news is that I have now memorized how to fix this problem, so I no longer have to look it up!
ReplyDeleteMary
Mary, it's so frustrating! Every couple of months someone emails me to say that I am a no-reply blogger again. It just seems to have a mind of its own!
Delete-Lisa
Grade 4 Buzz
My children also LOVE pen pals! They will be so excited to know that you are writing back this week. Did you notice that one of my boys wrote to his pen pal "When I get older I'm going to come visit you." So sweet! I'll link up soon...
ReplyDelete-Lisa
Grade 4 Buzz
I would LOVE to have pen pals! I have 26 students and teach 4th grade! Email me croftsclassroom@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteTina
Crofts' Classroom
How often do you write to your pen pals? I think that would be an awesome thing to do! I am in OK and have 27 students. Anyone interested? jamielyn1719@gmail.com
ReplyDelete-Your newest follower
Jamie
Life As I Know It
Hi Jamie!
DeleteI'm in New Zealand, and will have 27 kids next year (we finish for the year next Tuesday, but start up again on the 3rd of Feb) I'd be keen to be penpals with your class - if you don't mind sending internationally!
Erin
Hi Jennifer. I love having pen pals. I find them on Proteacher, but maybe next year, I'll be lucky and find a class in Canada. This year our pen pals live in Columbia, SC. Writing to our pen pals = kids want and love to write. I can't complain about that.
ReplyDeleteI love that writing quote-it's perfect! I need to share it with my students. Pen pals are so exciting-I should try to hook up with someone at the start of the year-very motivating for writing!
ReplyDeleteJoanne
Head Over Heels For Teaching
Oh my word I would LOVE to do penpals with someone!! I have 27 year 5/6 (grade 4/5) kids. Most of them are grade 5. HOWEVER, we are in New Zealand, and school finishes for the year on the 17th. SO I would only be able to start writing from the start of February. We start again on the 3rd. BUT there is no reason why I can't give the class who wants to write to us our first names and you can start writing first? Then when my kids start we can write back. It takes about 2.5-3 weeks for mail between America and New Zealand. I am really keen. We do have quite a transient school population, so some kids might not be able to write to the same people each time (I can keep in touch with the teacher via email though).
ReplyDeletePlease let me know if you are interested!!!!
Erin
The E-Z Class/Learning to be awesome
I did pen pals with my 3rd grade class and they LOVED it! It was such a great way for them to practice writing a friendly letter and they were so engaged. We also did Skype chatting with the other class. :) So much fun!
ReplyDeleteI love pen pals!! I have a very fortunate situation this year with pen pals. I spent a year teaching in Costa Rica and this year, my students are writing to the kids I taught there! I was so excited when the Spanish teacher asked me if I knew anyone who she could do pen pals with - of course, I had the perfect match! So far it has been going really well. I wish they could visit their pen pals in the summer and I could go with them!!
ReplyDelete