It can be such a great feeling when our kids are writing solid paragraphs or essays, using the fun little acronyms or mnemonic devices we've supported them with. But just like learning to ride a bike with training wheels, it's not until those extra supports are taken off that you're truly challenged with applying your skills. Today, we are chatting all about teaching writing without a formula.

💻 Looking for more ways to take learning from ROTE to REAL? Grab the free video training here, plus a print-and-go planning template you can use tomorrow!

📍 The Navigator: Use this to find what you need most!

• (2:15) How to help your students access higher order thinking skills by solving a campus problem (P.S. I thought of an idea mid-recording, and I'm totally trying it next week!)
• (8:00) Spend less time on the instruction up front - more time on the applications of higher order thinking skills, layering the content instruction within that
• (10:40) How a wine company made me realize we need to give our students more variety on how information can be presented (this one's just a teacher resource for inspiration!)
• (13:40) 5 common keys to increasing student engagement (one includes bringing Jeff Kinney and Aaron Reynold's' presentations into our classroom!)

🔗 Links and resources from this episode:

• Grab the FREE virtual training: 5 Lasting Ways to Increase Student Engagement in Upper Elementary
• Read my Edutopia article about the 5 authentic audiences that will motivate your upper grade writers.
• Free sample pages from Wendy Conklin's Strategies for Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Grades 3-5
• Amy's @theuniqueclassroom Animal Shelter persuasive paragraphs

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