Writing Companion - Writer's Notebook

Writing, Writer's Workshop, independent writing...these are words that make some teachers cringe! It doesn't have to be this way! As a writing teacher, I felt like I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing to help build strong writers! I was using mentor texts, modeling for the students, using anchor charts, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, my students were not transferring our large group lessons into their individual writing. I found that anchor charts were great, but I needed one more layer of support for my young writers. That’s when I started putting together resources for a Writing Companion. I helped my students understand that we all need help when learning something new and couldn’t remember it all. The Writing Companion became our best friend, someone to consult when we were stuck. I don’t want to brag, but the results were incredible! My students were learning more about letters, sounds, vocabulary, and thinking like a writer more than ever before. I have to think that it’s more than just coincidence. As a literacy coach trained by Fountas and Pinnell, I know that many times it’s difficult to take the theory of best practice and make it applicable in a classroom. The teachers that I work with often struggle to keep up with our ever-changing writers and needed something to stay one step ahead. That’s where the Writing Companion comes in. The truth is, teaching writing is hard. This product will not make it easier, but it will make it better. You will feel better about your students working more independently, your students will feel better about making moves as a writer on their own, and everyone will feel better about the strides your students are making in their writing! Teaching writing is messy and this will help to clean it up! The other bonus is that by teaching writing so well, your students will naturally become better readers. By noticing what moves a real author makes, helps students to then recognize these moves as readers and deeper comprehension occurs. Pretty awesome, huh? This product includes: Writer's Workshop Structure Anchor Charts and Beyond Lesson on Capturing Story Ideas Lessons on MY LETTER SOUNDS Lessons on MY VOWEL SOUNDS Lessons on Using PROPER NOUNS Lessons on Using HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS Lessons on VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION Lessons on Using TEMPORAL WORDS Lessons on Using INTERESTING WORDS Most Important Lesson of All Writing Companion Student Pages Teaching writing is much different than assigning writing and this is another tool to use to help support our young writers. It makes a great addition to any writing program. If you are interested in a HOW-TO GUIDE for teaching writing please click here for 1st grade and here for 2nd grade. My goal is for writing to become your favorite (and your student's) part of the day! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I want this to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks! Jessica Pelka Roots and Wings