I stopped using boxed writing curriculum and wrote my own program. It goes ALL IN on motivation techniques and explicit instruction. ✍️
#EduSky #elateacher #ela #teacher #middleschool teacher

I like using CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) for most of our history responses. Students learn about it in detail during their ELA class, then transfer that to history topics.
This one is from their Julius Caesar activity, using Classkick.
#EduSky #edtech #ela #iteachenglish

...keep their topic a "secret" in that first line. I'll paste a before and after. This is a 6th grade ELL student. By the end of the year, his confidence SOARED! :)

During weekly writing workshops, my students choose a skill, a writing path, and a line length goal.
This student was having trouble deciding what to write about, so she chose path #2: Rants & Raves. This is a letter to her story. AMAZING! 😍

✏️ I'm a HUGE fan of Constructivist pedagogy. It's the theory of instruction where students construct their own knowledge through experiences versus being lectured on abstract concepts. They learn by doing!
Here are some ways I use the approach in my writing program...
#EduSky #ela #iteachenglish

The value of a timed, daily quick-write... students finally take risks and practice applying the skills. Huge! 😄