Group items tagged

Reinventing Writing will be released in the UK from Guilford Press.

A great, and fun twitter bot account provides items which can be used as a writing prompt.

FROM THE ABOUT PAGE... the real purpose of this exercise is to alleviate our natural tendency to edit everything-and learn to flow. an analogy would be a film camera: when a film is shot, the camera just rolls and captures everything-good and bad. when all the shooting is complete, the raw film is edited into a cohesive piece. the camera operator doesn't keep stopping the camera and rewinding and editing on-the-fly-the camera just rolls. if it were to stop, some of the best performances and spontaneous moments might be missed. so: be the camera. well, that's a stupid saying, but you get the idea. in writing-just flow. go back later and edit. Go write.

a 1 word prompt for creative writing.  timed response.

In a recent PEW study, National Writing Project (NWP) and Advanced Placement (AP) teachers said that "a top priority in today's classrooms should be teaching students how to 'judge the quality of online information.'"  Furthermore, teachers are concerned that students don't get past Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube into deeper (and more accurate) ways of collecting information. If you want to discuss research sources, social bookmarking is the best way to do this. We should see more classrooms using Diigo (the most superior bookmarking service, in my opinion) or Delicious as they discuss and share the documents they will use in their research papers.  I've found when topics need deeper research or when the sources of research are in dispute, that social bookmarking is the best way to facilitate those discussions. It is a powerful form of pre-writing for students. If they can begin the conversations around research articles and sources, then more accurate information will emerge in their final document. Often students don't verify the sources of information and should learn to view all online information with skepticism and a critical eye as they converse over what makes a good source. Social bookmarking is a key source of discussion, data collection, and citation in the modern classroom.

There are many nations (like Finland) who have national standards but local flexibility. This technologist writes an article supporting Common Core while saying that many don't understand what they contain. Honestly, I see another person who hasn't read some of them. My biggest issue is - who controls the standards and how can they be revised in the future.In a country showing a poor ability to keep politicians from writing standards, by centralizing they become easy target to the whims and sways of the pendulum of politics in the US. That said, I think national standards are likely inevitable.I just hope they put enough different people onto Common Core that group think doesn't send us in a very bad direction. If we have national standards and make it there, they become very important to our future as a country.

An aeroplane themed sentence jumbler resource. Write in a sentence for your students to arrange back into the correct. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English

Here are some lesson plans for phonics and writing for younger students to use in your classroom. I've sorted it by the most popular first including some Outdoor ideas and some phonics games you could play.

This site has a huge number of compelling visual writing prompts with text and questions to get your students thinking. There is something for everyone here! http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English

John Seely Brown's PDF on the new learning environments for the 21st century based upon a 2005 presentation he did at the Forum of Higher Education's 2005 Aspen symposium. This is an important read. (of course many of you have already read it.) If you wonder why I'm digging into the research, it is as I work on my second book on collaborative writing. It is amazing to me that I can find so many more things online than I ever could in the Georgia Tech library when I was a research assistant for the then president of the national Economics Association, Dr. Danny Boston. I may not be in an institution of higher learning but I can institute higher learning in my daily practice. I want everything I write for publication to be well grounded. I hope that is why those of you who gift me with your presence on this blog will feel free to let me know in the comments if you have concerns or pointers to other work.

Overview of the use of efolios in the Expository Writing course at the University of Washington. along with some sample portfolios. Currently the electronic portfolios are optional although having a portfolio is not. "The six TAs who chose to teach with electronic portfolios discovered many advantages to introducing this technology. They found that students learned to write for a wider audience and were able to better connect to the course outcomes by showing a greater variety of examples such as graphics and links to relevant Web pages. The electronic portfolios also simplified some logistics, allowing the instructors to easily show examples of online portfolios and students to review each other's work. "

Jenny Luca writes a powerful post about why her school has students blogging and creating efolios.

Enter this Writing competition from the BBC for 13 years old and younger. Write a story in less then 500 words. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Competitions+%26+Events

We have talked before about the study benefits of re-writing notes - you READ them more carefully and you SEE them again as you write them, (AND you end up with more readable, neat notes in the proper format!) Additional benefits of typing (digitizing) the notes: Ability to add screenshots to embellish the material Ability to use formatting to embellish the material

This is an interesting site that feels like a cross between coding and story writing. Make branching stories where readers choose what happens next. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English

Tom Bigglestone, who explores the benefits of Philosophy for Children (P4C). Chris Healey, who write about homework in the digital Age. John Pearce, advocates that teachers pledge a pedagogical oath. James Abela gives us a global perspective, writing about his experience in Thailand. Andy Knill waves the flag for the SOLO Taxonomy. UKEdChat Exclusive feature asked teachers what jobs they do if quit the profession. Martin Burrett tells of various highlights observed at BETT this year. Sharon Jones debates how debating can benefit pupils. David Moody shares some Stickmen without Arms! Tina Watson explains how she supports pupils to fill the blank pages. Leon Cych gives tips on how to produce professional video and audio with pupils. We review the book "The Philosophy Shop", edited by Peter Worley.

This looks like a great contest. (Plus you can win the kind of computer I have on my desk and it is awesome.) Here's information from the sponsor of this essay contest. I also suggest you get photos and take videos and you can share on your own school website or blog. "The Legacy Project's 14th annual essay contest changes lives and communities as it connects generations and gives students a powerful purpose for writing - listening to and learning from a life . Students learn about real life from real people, and often end up making unexpected friendships along the way. Here's one amazing example of a past winning essay: http://www.legacyproject.org/contests/winners12.html#tulsa Here's a closer look at the educational value of the contest and 21st Century learning skills, with quotes from students and teachers across the country: http://www.legacyproject.org/contests/ltalhowenter.html To enter the Listen to a Life Contest, students 8-18 years interview a grandparent or grandfriend 50 years or older about the older person's hopes and goals through their life, how they achieved their goals and overcame obstacles, or key life experiences. The young person then writes a 300-word essay based on the interview. The Grand Prize is a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer, along with 10 Legacy Awards of a keepsake timepiece from Expressions of Time. The contest runs to March 28, 2014. Students and teachers can find out more about the Listen to a Life Essay Contest, including complete contest rules, at www.legacyproject.org. This national contest is run by the Legacy Project, a big-picture learning project, and the nonprofit Generations United in Washington, DC.

Great free downloads to support a succesful launch of Writing Workshop

A nice collection of writing prompts.

Time4Writing provides eight-week online writing courses that help elementary, middle and high school students build writing skills through one-on-one interaction with a certified teacher. Using an easy-to-use online system, teachers assign a weekly topic for study. Students log in and work through automated exercises, lessons, readings, and written assignments. A personal writing teacher reviews and provides feedback on each assignment the day after it is submitted.