Empower Students Now

This week Amanda discusses where she has been and shares major life events that have occurred since the last podcast. This episode will dive into some heavier topics such as the unexpected loss of a friend, Black Lives Matter protests, and not being able to see students in the same capacity. Join Amanda in the conversation, how have recent events shaped your life moving forward?Liz's Go Fund Mehttps://www.gofundme.com/f/liz-brown-family-memorial-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tipFacebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1220591518069228/5-Day Challenge: Confidently Launch Reading & Writing Workshop (in class or from a distance)https://www.workshopteacherschool.com/july-2020-trainingAmanda Write Now Membershiphttps://amandawritenow.com/

In this episode, I delve into my very best tips to manage book clubs in a meaningful way so that teachers don't have to stress during a unit like this. You might be shocked at some of my methods!

Does this sound like you? You learn a new idea, a new way of teaching, a new strategy and you're all in. You become so convinced THIS is the way to go about things from now on! But, this energy to change everything all at once eventually wears off and you're left with a lot of overwhelming feelings.We have a lot in common if this sounds like you. I love trying new things but sometimes this innovative, open attitude leads to stress and absolute chaos in the classroom!In my years as a teacher and a human, I've learned that it's important to try new things slowly. Change is challenging so we need to take things one baby step at a time.In the latest podcast episode, I discuss the first baby step you need to take if you really want to get started with reading and writing workshop tomorrow! This baby step is so simple you'll probably wonder if what you are doing really is workshop. I'm here to tell you that yes, if you do this you are on your way to becoming a workshop teacher. You might even be shocked to realize you are already doing this thing!https://amandawritenow.com/want-to-get-started-with-workshop-do-this-one-simple-yet-powerful-thing/

I cut my grading time by over 10 hours and you can too! In this podcast, learn exactly what I did to cut my grading time tremendously! This episode is brought to you by Workshop Teacher Membership: https://www.workshopteacherschool.com/workshop-teacher-membership-sign%20up-page

Teachers are SUPER busy during the school year and need to be efficient when planning new writing units. It is absolutely necessary to find ways to save time. You are probably missing one huge step before you even begin planning your lessons to save time. Find out the ONE thing you need to start doing in order to save time when planning but more importantly, to teach students what they actually need. Below you will find additional resources to help you save time.Learn more here: https://amandawritenow.com/one-crucial-thing-you-might-not-be-doing-when-planning-writing-units-and-how-to-start-doing-it/

We all have resistant writers in our classrooms. This is a fact of teaching life. In the video below learn 13 different ways that you can help resistant writers become much more motivated. Not all of these ways will work. You need to try different combinations with different students until you’ve found the key to unlock your students’ motivation! Here are more resources related to this topic:https://amandawritenow.com/50-ways-to-get-kids-writing-more/http://amandawritenow.com/supporting-writers-at-all-levels/https://amandawritenow.com/my-students-dont-write-during-writing/https://amandawritenow.com/8-ways-teachers-kill-a-love-of-writing/

I've followed and quit so many programs in my life!Diets, work out routines, parenting guides, teaching curriculum.Programs are everywhere we turn.Dictionary.com defines "program" as: a plan of action to accomplish a specified end. In this blog post I want to focus on that term "end".All programs must come to an end. Quitting programs is the natural progression of growth.After using the program for a time, we must let our intuition and creativity guide us!But sometimes we feel, well, guilty for quitting programs or deviating a bit.I'm here to tell you, we don't need to feel that way.Quitting or deviating from a program is just the natural progression of learning.JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1220591518069228/

I get a lot of emails every week asking a wide range of questions. One question that seems to come up over and over again is, what does workshop actually look like in a secondary classroom?Here’s the simple answer: workshop can look however you want it to look.You could choose to do workshop every day, once a week, for a month or for six months and then quit! It’s really up to you! It can look how you want it to look. That’s the beauty of being a teacher. We get to decide how our classroom runs. You can pick and choose what resonates with you and what could work for you.In this post I’ll discuss what it looks like in my classroom but every teacher, school and student has different needs. But, you’re probably still wondering…what does this actually look like on a day-to-day basis? To me it’s simple.More Information about this episode:https://amandawritenow.com/what-does-workshop-actually-look-like-in-a-secondary-classroom/Amanda Write Now homepage:https://amandawritenow.com/FREE monthly training hosted by Amanda:https://www.workshopteacherschool.com/registration-page

I let students socialize the first day of school. Read on to find out why…After reading this important article by Write On with Miss G (which I highly recommend you read), I thought back to my first day of school, last year. https://writeonwithmissg.com/Here’s what’s written in my plan book 8/14/2017: introduce self, read My Name by Sandra Cisneros, go over routines/procedures and record names.The last activity, “record names” ended up being brilliant. Originally, I just planned to record names of students who felt their name was hard to pronounce with the voice recorder app on my iPhone. I wanted to make sure I pronounced my students’ names correctly. https://amandawritenow.com/what-im-doing-the-very-first-day-of-school-might-surprise-you-and-why-you-should-try-it-too/

Ever spend hours looking for YouTube videos to teach writing? Youtube channels for writing teachers are hard to find! YouTube is an incredible resource bank for writing teachers…but sometimes it can be annoying to sift through all the junk to get to the good stuff. Believe me, this post took hours and hours of sifting! I’ve separated out the channels based on if they are best to show students (student facing) or to keep for your own professional developmental arsenal. Check it out and don’t forget to share with your social media community if you find this post helpful…https://amandawritenow.com/10-best-youtube-channels-for-writing-teachers/