Getting Students to Write- Helping Elementary and Middle School teachers improve student writing.

By Melissa Morrison, Elementary, Middle School Writing Consultant, Literacy CoachEducation How To

Getting Students to Write- Helping Elementary and Middle School teachers improve student writing. episodes

June 04, 2024 Episode 68 Interview with Coley Conter and Katy Wischow Pt 2
You won't want to miss the second part of my interview with these two fabulous educators!
We continue our discussion on the topics of:
Handling the "expectations" of teaching writing:
-considering each writer's "default"
-letting go in order to prevent holding writers back
-creating school-based progressions
-focusing on growth
Editing in a new light
-editor vs writer
-risk vs perfection
-non-negotiables
Our guests' favorite pieces of advice
I left this interview with so many new learnings to share with teachers and I know you will too!
Books mentioned: The Unstoppable Writing Teacher by Colleen Cruz, Teaching Fiercely by Kass Minor, Why They Can't Write by John Warner.
Guests
Coley Conter: Coley Conter brings deep experience as a curriculum writer, lead teacher, and literacy innovator to her work at TC Advancing Literacy. She’s been a contributor to new editions of Units of Study in Writing and an instructor in the Writing Program at Rutgers University. Her educational experience spans grades 3-12. Coley is passionate about cultivating brave classroom communities and increasing interdisciplinary literacy in schools, both of which she continues to explore as a student in the Literacy Specialist program.
Katy Wischow: Katy Wischow has been a staff developer, supporting schools and teachers around the world, since 2013. Before that, she found her way to workshop teaching, seeing how it transformed her students' work in her Newark, NJ middle school classroom. Her students' response led Katy to enroll in the Literacy Specialist Program at Teachers College, where she earned her M.A. Katy is the co-author of the professional book Unlocking the Power of Classroom Talk, co-written several Units of Study for middle school, and the Ida & Jake series in the Jump Rope Readers decodable book collection. She is passionate (and super nerdy!) about curriculum, writing instruction, and all things literacy!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
34 min
May 28, 2024 Episode 67 Interview with Coley Conter and Katy Wischow Pt 1
In this episode, you will hear from two literacy experts who have worked with a number of districts to support them in best practices in reading and writing.
Coley Conter and Katy Wischow are a pleasure to speak with and I you will gain so much from hearing what they share with us!
Our discussion begins with Katy and Coley's favorite part about teaching writing and moves on to discuss:
-tapping into "out of school" writing
-children's writing communities
-strategies for getting writers started
Books mentioned in this episode: How to Tell a Story by The Moth
Guests
Coley Conter: Coley Conter brings deep experience as a curriculum writer, lead teacher, and literacy innovator to her work at TC Advancing Literacy. She’s been a contributor to new editions of Units of Study in Writing and an instructor in the Writing Program at Rutgers University. Her educational experience spans grades 3-12. Coley is passionate about cultivating brave classroom communities and increasing interdisciplinary literacy in schools, both of which she continues to explore as a student in the Literacy Specialist program.
Katy Wischow: Katy Wischow has been a staff developer, supporting schools and teachers around the world, since 2013. She currently works for the Reading & Writing Project at Mossflower. Before that, she found her way to workshop teaching, seeing how it transformed her students' work in her Newark, NJ middle school classroom. Her students' response led Katy to enroll in the Literacy Specialist Program at Teachers College, where she earned her M.A. Katy is the co-author of the professional book Unlocking the Power of Classroom Talk, co-written several Units of Study for middle school, and the Ida & Jake series in the Jump Rope Readers decodable book collection. She is passionate (and super nerdy!) about curriculum, writing instruction, and all things literacy!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
26 min
May 21, 2024 Episode 66 Shake Up Writing Time
What does writing time FEEL like in your elementary or middle school classroom?
Is that feeling something your students need in order to enjoy and engage in writing?
Writing instruction needs to be explicit and effective, but in order for our students to WANT to write, writing time needs to be enjoyable, collaborative and engaging!
If you want to see a classroom full of students excited to write, taking risks and writing more,
this episode will help you reflect on the structure of your writing time and provide ways for you to create an environment that is conducive to writing for your students.
Ready to Shake Things Up? Press play!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
24 min
May 14, 2024 Episode 65 Writing Instruction: Conventions vs Composition
In a previous episode (#57) I spoke about the "composing" aspect of writing instruction.
It is vital to understand that our young writers need to learn how to compose!
Oftentimes, because the conventions are what stands out to us when we read a student's writing piece, they become our focus, and lessons and discussion on the composition portion of writing fall to the wayside.
Fear not, because this episode will help you to stop the war between conventions and composition so that you will help your writers to grow with well-balanced writing instruction!
Mentioned in this episode: Jennifer Serravallo's The Writing Strategies Book.
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
Elementary
Middle School
Teaching Writing
21 min
May 07, 2024 Episode 64 Stop Performing and Start Learning: Growing in Writing Instruction
This episode was inspired by a recent keynote speech given by Mr. Eduardo Briceno.
His speech resonated with me and the work I do with writing teachers and writing instruction in elementary and middle school classrooms!
We all want to do our best, but do we really know how to make change in our work?
Teachers are always performing, trying to give their best to their students. However Mr. Briceno tells us that living in the "performance zone" hinders our ability to learn and grow.
If you want to truly grow as a teacher of writing and help your student writers to grow as well, this is the episode for you!
Eduardo Briceno's Book The Performance Paradox
Freebie- Building Independent Writing Stamina Checklist
Grab the Checklist Here
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
16 min
April 30, 2024 Episode 63 You Are Only One Part of Their Journey in Writing
My dear teacher,
You are working so hard and are just so worried about that one student. They don't seem to be catching up or getting closer to "grade-level expectations" as writers.
This episode is for you, because I don't want you to stress anymore!
You will hear about how to look for growth and see your part in your writers' journey!
Listen in and feel better about all that you are doing for your elementary and middle school writers!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
16 min
April 23, 2024Episode 62 The Benefits of Share Time in Writing
In this episode you will hear all about Share Time in Writer's Workshop and why you should be sure to implement it in your classroom!
We will discuss how Share Time can help with:
generating ideas for writing
reinforcing writing skills
building community of writers
building writer's confidence
and more!

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Sign up here!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
18 min
April 16, 2024Episode 61 Why You Should Write Too:)
Ok- Hear me out!
I am going to share 5 convincing reasons why taking time to write for yourself will truly benefit you as a teacher of writing as well as your students as writers.
I know you are so very busy, and I promise that even a little bit of your own writing will go a LONG way!
If your students aren't enjoying writing or are stuck in one spot, this strategy will help!
Listen in to this episode and you will be moved to start writing and share it with your students!
Sneak Peak of the Benefits:
Understanding what happens with students as they write.
More easily identifying what your students need.

About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
21 min
April 09, 2024 Episode 60 What You Say Matters! The Language of Writing Instruction
This episode holds the key to transforming your writing instruction from WRITING-focused to WRITER- focused!
This is how we truly grow our elementary and middle school writers!
What we say shows so much to ourselves and our writers about what we value.
We want our writers to know that we value them and what they do as writers!
What we say also forms what we think. Focusing our language on the writer will help you to focus your instruction on them as well!
If we want to grow our students to be successful writers, we must make this change in our writing instruction.
Grab the free resource mentioned in the episode HERE
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
21 min
April 02, 2024 Episode 59 - Writing Isn't Math, But It's Taught Like it!
School leaders, teachers and students are frustrated with writing, and I know why!
I find that getting teachers to see writing instruction in a new way to be extremely helpful.
One way I have accomplished this is in my comparison to teaching math, as well as the goal of using math in our lives vs using writing.
This episode lays out this view point as well as explores the reasons for the "traditional" way of teaching writing that is most often seen in classrooms.
In order to help our young writers be successful, we have to allow for their independence.
Although many teachers fear this idea, in reality, it actually sets them free! Free to identify what their writers truly need as well as to teach them effectively.
Listen in to hear why!
About Melissa:
Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education. Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.
Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.
Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.
If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!
Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa
TikTok Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!
YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa
LinkedIn Connect with Melissa!
21 min

About Getting Students to Write- Helping Elementary and Middle School teachers improve student writing.

From the publisher's feed

Are you a K-8 Elementary or Middle School ELA teacher wondering how to get your students to write? This podcast is for teachers looking for a way to revamp and transform their writing time! You don't need daily lesson plans or prompts-you just need to understand what writers need!