6-12th- ADD ARTICLES HERE — TeachWriting.org

The Most Important Essay for High School Seniors: The Personal Philosophy Statement

Teaching high school seniors makes for an interesting group of students because they've mostly already passed their standardized tests and know their next steps in life-- college, work, military, etc. Because of this, teaching seniors can also make for a difficult second semester in trying to keep students motivated.

13 Ways Pictures Can Inspire Students to Write Poetry

Picture-inspired poetry writing ideas for middle and high school ELA

FREEBIES, Best Practices, Writing Assignments, Writing WorkshopMelissa KruseApril 11, 2017national poetry month, poetry, fun writing, writing assignments, writing inspiration, writing poems Comments

Poetry for Writing Workshop in Grades 6-12: 10+ Devices & Poems to Model Them all!

"To be a poet is a condition, not a profession." -- Robert Frost

You may find yourself in agreement with Frost's famous quote when it comes to teaching poetry in the secondary classroom. However, love it or hate it, poetry can play a helpful role in teaching students how to write! Famous poems can serve as mentor texts for students and showcase key literary and rhetorical devices in action.

Best Practices, Mentor Texts, Writing Mini-lessons, Writing WorkshopMeredith DobbsApril 4, 2017poetry, national poetry month, poem, explication, literary devices, poetic devices, stylistic devices, rhetorical devices, simile, metaphor, personification, anaphora, parallel structure, parallelism, rhetorical question, antithesis, alliteration, consonance, assonance, epistrophe, literary analysis, mentor text, mentor poem, mentor sentence, mentor, writing workshop, writing process, secondary, English, Language Arts, language and composition, language arts, middle school, high school, teachers pay teachers, teacher, teaching writing, Writing Instruction, writer's notebook, writer's workshop, writing, the writing process, essay writing, essay, best practices, best practice, writing assessment, assessing writing Comment

How to Teach Writing: 3 Cornerstones for Writing Instruction with Older Students

"3 Cornerstones for Teaching and Assessing Writing" is a part of a writing philosophy series for teachers who are always learning and adapting to their students' needs and educational demands.

Assessing Writing, Philosophies on Writing, FREEBIES, Best Practices, Editing & RevisionMelissa KruseMarch 7, 2017writing, assessing writing, writing assessment, scaffolding writing, teaching writing, writing philosophy Comment

A Philosophy for Assessing Writing: Aim for Improvement, not Perfection

Over the past 10+ years of teaching high school, my philosophy for writing instruction has changed greatly. It has been a decade of experimentation and adaptation; a decade dedicated to finding what works and trying out new methodologies...