by Donna | Jul 15, 2017
Teaching writing is not for the faint of heart! It is the most subjective “subject” in school—and, consequently, can be one of the most challenging to teach. Oftentimes, materials designed to teach writing are more writing idea than writing instruction. They leave the student (and the teacher!) wondering exactly what to do to complete the writing prompt. This is one reason that after I write a book (one hundred in all!), test, test, and retest the book with real (or virtual starting this fall!) students to be sure that all of the steps are included and clear. Last week I shared a lesson from one of my books that I did with a mixed live/virtual class about writing from a given source. This week I’d love to give you another peek into my online writing classes for the fall with another cooperative “guinea pig” group!
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by Donna | Jul 7, 2017
I had my first test run of an online video class with some amazing guinea pig students from Israel! We are offering a couple of select classes this fall as online live video classes—CQLA Level B, CQLA Level A, Research Reports. So when someone said they’d like to join me for a few weeks this summer online, I asked them to be my guinea pigs—and my first online class was born! This particular lesson was one from halfway through our new-this-fall (but tested eight semesters over the past few years!) Meaningful Composition: Jump Start (a remediation book). It is a lesson about writing from a given source.
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by Donna | Jun 9, 2017
When we watch diligence webinars or attend diligence workshops, we have a tendency to think in terms of how we can teach our kids to be more diligent.
I have written and spoke about this extensively….check out…..
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by Donna | Apr 1, 2017
I love teaching Opening and Closing Paragraphs! By this time, my students have their amazing essays or reports written—and they are ready to show them off by writing poignant openings that draw readers in and closings that leave the reader satisfied.
Many of my students are very serious and conscientious about their Opening and Closing Paragraphs (as seen in the video below!), and they make me super proud of their efforts!
There are many ways to open and/or close an essay or report. Here are some general tips about opening paragraphs and closing paragraphs that writers of longer essays and reports (four paragraphs or more) should consider:
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by Donna | Mar 18, 2017
![[Video] Writing With Adjectives](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3936/33479806366_6e3ca61aea_z.jpg "[Video] Writing With Adjectives")
Students writing stories this week? Parents/teachers helping kids with stories this week?
Follow this “describing tip” we use with our student to help with the descriptions in your writing:
“Only use an adjective that will cause your reader to have a different picture in his mind than he would have without the adjective.”
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by Donna | Feb 18, 2017
There are hard ways to learn things. And there are easy ways to learn things. Teaching is in my blood. Love for students runs deep within me.
Those two things combined make me want to ALWAYS teach students the easy way to learn things.
Life is hard already. Let’s make grammar as easy as we possibly can. And for sure, let’s teach things that students actually need and use in real writing.
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