Michelle Sullivan is the vibrant and passionate face behind The Colorful Classroom. Her mission? To equip elementary teachers with captivating, SOR-aligned tips, tools, and strategies for strong literacy instruction. Michelle champions teaching WITH color in multisensory ways and encourages educators to BE colorful—showing up with rich vibrancy and brilliance to make a significant impact on their students' literacy development. With over a decade of experience in literacy-centered roles, Michelle has worked as a small group reading interventionist and instructional literacy coach. She has dedicated hundreds of hours to training and self-study, reading dozens of books to deepen her knowledge. Michelle is OG trained, currently on a two-year LETRS training journey, and committed to being a lifelong learner. At The Colorful Classroom, Michelle introduces the acronym COLORFUL: Captivating Our Learnings on Reading Fluently & Understanding Language. She is big on knowing a word deeply—from phonology to orthography and the morphology, etymology, and vocabulary. Join Michelle in making literacy instruction a brilliant and joyful experience!

Learn More from Michelle Here::

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Heather Cacioppo has taught in self-contained classroom settings for middle school and high school students for 8 years. She is currently a Special Education Curriculum and Assessment Coordinator at a private autism school. Heather has a Bachelor's degree in Special Education and a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Teacher Leadership. Heather is also a special education teacher mentor. She helps self-contained special education teachers with individualized and personalized support to make self-assured educational decisions so that you can avoid the stress, overwhelm and burnout in this field. Special education teachers are better together!

Learn More From Heather Here:

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Thomas J. Bussey is a dedicated educator with 15 years of experience. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Elementary Education from Georgia State University and is currently pursuing a Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Thomas has taught 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades across all subjects and currently teaches 5th grade ELA. His passion lies in making learning engaging and exciting for his students.

Learn more from Thomas here:

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Susan is a current first-grade teacher in Massachusetts. She has her Ed.M. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston University and is both LETRS and OG trained. Her passion is sharing research-based tips and activities for K-2 teachers, which she does weekly on her YouTube channel (Susan Jones Teaching). Susan loves teaching reading, writing, and math and is constantly looking for the best ways to effectively teach a skill and increase student engagement simultaneously!

Learn More From Susan Here:

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

 Nicole Turner is a highly respected K-12 educational coach, author, speaker, and trainer, dedicated to supporting instructional coaches. She launched the first full virtual conference designed specifically for instructional coaches, Simply Coaching Summit™, which has influenced thousands of educators, coaches, and administrators.

You can learn more about Nicole Turner at https://simplyinstructionalcoaching.com.

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Thank you for listening! If you need help evaluating your current writing materials, please contact me.

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Articles & Research

Graham, Steve. 2019. “Changing How Writing Is Taught.” Review of Research in Education 43 (1): 277–303. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732x18821125.

Summary: To be successful in various aspects of life, students must learn to write, which requires adequate practice and instruction. Many schools fail to achieve this, as numerous students lack essential writing skills. This chapter identifies factors hindering good writing instruction, such as inadequate instructional time and insufficient teacher preparation. It also offers recommendations for improving writing practices by increasing stakeholders' knowledge and developing effective writing instruction policies.

Reutzel, D.R. (2015). Early literacy research: Findings primary grades teachers will want to know. The Reading Teacher, 69(1), 14-24.

Summary: Early literacy research emphasizes the importance of foundational skills like handwriting, phonemic awareness, and understanding text structures for young students. Handwriting fluency is crucial for effective writing, as it predicts the quality of written work and helps students organize their thoughts. Research shows that teaching handwriting early improves overall writing performance.

Horn, M. (2005). Listening to Nysia: Storytelling as a Way into Writing in Kindergarten. Language Arts, 83(1), 33–41. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csusm.edu/https://www.ncte.org/journals/la/issues

Summary: This article explores the importance of storytelling in kindergarten as a foundational step toward writing. It highlights a specific storytelling session where a child, Nysia, shares her experiences of a field trip while the teacher is guiding her narrative. Horn emphasizes that oral storytelling is a natural way for young children to begin writing, as it allows them to express their experiences and develop their thinking. The piece advocates for recognizing storytelling as a vital component of literacy education that fosters a sense of authorship in children.

Finlayson, K., & McCrudden, M.T. (2020). Teacher-implemented writing instruction for elementary students: A literature review. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 36(1), 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/10573569.2019.1604278.

Summary: The literature review by Finlayson and McCrudden (2020) examines the effectiveness of teacher-implemented writing interventions in elementary classrooms to improve student writing performance. Thirteen experimental research studies were identified, with classroom teachers implementing a variety of writing strategies. The most commonly used approach was explicit strategy instruction, including self-regulated strategy development, which significantly enhanced students' writing achievement. The review highlights the importance of supporting the development of writing skills at a young age. It also provides insights into evidence-based instructional practices that can positively impact students' writing outcomes in elementary grades.

April Smith is the author of the book Simplify Your Writing Instruction: A Framework For a Student-Centered Writing Block. You can find her on socials at the links below. Find her free writing training at https://www.simplifywriting.com/training

Articles & Research

Graham, Steve. 2019. “Changing How Writing Is Taught.” Review of Research in Education 43 (1): 277–303. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732x18821125.

Summary: To be successful in various aspects of life, students must learn to write, which requires adequate practice and instruction. Many schools fail to achieve this, as numerous students lack essential writing skills. This chapter identifies factors hindering good writing instruction, such as inadequate instructional time and insufficient teacher preparation. It also offers recommendations for improving writing practices by increasing stakeholders' knowledge and developing effective writing instruction policies.

Reutzel, D.R. (2015). Early literacy research: Findings primary grades teachers will want to know. The Reading Teacher, 69(1), 14-24.

Summary: Early literacy research emphasizes the importance of foundational skills like handwriting, phonemic awareness, and understanding text structures for young students. Handwriting fluency is crucial for effective writing, as it predicts the quality of written work and helps students organize their thoughts. Research shows that teaching handwriting early improves overall writing performance.

Horn, M. (2005). Listening to Nysia: Storytelling as a Way into Writing in Kindergarten. Language Arts, 83(1), 33–41. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csusm.edu/https://www.ncte.org/journals/la/issues

Summary: This article explores the importance of storytelling in kindergarten as a foundational step toward writing. It highlights a specific storytelling session where a child, Nysia, shares her experiences of a field trip while the teacher is guiding her narrative. Horn emphasizes that oral storytelling is a natural way for young children to begin writing, as it allows them to express their experiences and develop their thinking. The piece advocates for recognizing storytelling as a vital component of literacy education that fosters a sense of authorship in children.

Finlayson, K., & McCrudden, M.T. (2020). Teacher-implemented writing instruction for elementary students: A literature review. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 36(1), 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/10573569.2019.1604278.

Summary: The literature review by Finlayson and McCrudden (2020) examines the effectiveness of teacher-implemented writing interventions in elementary classrooms to improve student writing performance. Thirteen experimental research studies were identified, with classroom teachers implementing a variety of writing strategies. The most commonly used approach was explicit strategy instruction, including self-regulated strategy development, which significantly enhanced students' writing achievement. The review highlights the importance of supporting the development of writing skills at a young age. It also provides insights into evidence-based instructional practices that can positively impact students' writing outcomes in elementary grades.