Tag Archives: Paragraph writing

ONLINE LEARNING: How to Teach Writing with Zoom and Jamboard

Posted on May 3, 2020 by theliteracycookbook

Let’s say you’re teaching online with Zoom and you want to help students improve their writing. Let’s say you have 25 students—7th graders—who are reading Frederick Douglass’s 1845 memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Demo Lesson, Evidence, Explanation, Instruction, Jamboard, ONLINE LEARNING, Paragraph writing, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Using Grammar to Improve Writing BOOK, Writing, Writing Feedback, Zoom | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PARCC RST Prep: How to Connect Note-taking to Sentence Writing

Posted on April 13, 2019 by theliteracycookbook

Whether you are in the throes of “test prep season” or not, it’s important to teach students how to take effective notes (i.e., brief and suited to the question at hand) and turn those notes into sentences (then paragraphs and … Continue reading →

Posted in ELA Common Core Standards, Instruction, Lesson-planning, Note-taking, Paragraph writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Test Prep, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My New Book, USING GRAMMAR TO IMPROVE WRITING, Is NOW AVAILABLE!

Posted on May 24, 2018 by theliteracycookbook

Dear friends, I am thrilled to inform you that my latest book, Using Grammar to Improve Writing: Recipes for Action, is NOW AVAILABLE on Amazon!!! To order a paperback or eBook, please click HERE. (Please note: The eBook is available … Continue reading →

Posted in Analyzing the Common Core Standards, Curriculum, ELA Common Core Standards, Grammar, Instruction, Language Standards, Lesson-planning, Paragraph writing, Resources, Using Grammar to Improve Writing BOOK, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Argument for “Quote Lasagna”

Posted on March 3, 2018 by theliteracycookbook

Although I’ve been a longtime proponent of teaching “quote sandwiches” to help students write effective paragraphs (see HERE and most recently HERE), lately I’ve begun to notice that students who use this approach (context, quote/evidence, explanation) seem to overemphasize the … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, Context, Evidence, Explanation, Literacy and the Common Core BOOK, Open-ended Response Writing, Paragraph writing, Quote Lasagna, Quote Sandwiches, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ANNOUNCING: New TLC “Argument vs Evidence” page!

Posted on February 11, 2018 by theliteracycookbook

I’ve just launched a new page on the TLC Website: “Argument vs Evidence“! This page curates my online resources for teaching students how to use “Argument vs. Evidence, Steps 1-6” to write more clearly. The TLC Blog posts explain the … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, ELA Common Core Standards, Evidence, Explanation, Literacy and the Common Core BOOK, Literary Analysis Writing, Paragraph writing, Research Writing, The Literacy Cookbook BOOK, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RECOMMENDED READING: The Writing Revolution by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler

Posted on December 4, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

In 2012, if you read “The Writing Revolution,” Peg Tyre’s article in The Atlantic about Judith Hochman’s effective method for teaching writing, you may have wondered, Where can I learn more about this? You were not alone. In fact, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum, Differentiation, Lesson-planning, Paragraph writing, Questioning, Recommended Reading, Resources, Summarizing, Topic Sentences, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching Writers How to Select and Explain Evidence

Posted on November 23, 2016 by theliteracycookbook

[This post originally appeared in slightly different form on MiddleWeb on November 15, 2016.] The more time I spend in classrooms trying to help students write effectively, the more I recognize how detailed and nuanced this process is, especially when … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, ELA Common Core Standards, Evidence, Explanation, Literacy and the Common Core BOOK, Paragraph writing, Research Writing, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nonfiction Writing: How to Build Quote Sandwiches

Posted on October 10, 2016 by theliteracycookbook

[This post originally appeared in slightly different form on MiddleWeb on October 3, 2016.] When writing nonfiction paragraphs or essays, students must frame their quotes (evidence) with appropriate context and explanation. In English teacher speak, we call this “building quote … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, Context, ELA Common Core Standards, Evidence, Explanation, Literacy and the Common Core BOOK, MiddleWeb, Nonfiction, Open-ended Response Writing, Paragraph writing, Quote Sandwiches, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Teach Students to Write Strong Paragraphs

Posted on April 19, 2016 by theliteracycookbook

[This post originally appeared in slightly different form on MiddleWeb on April 12, 2016.] Lately I have become obsessed with the beauty and utility of paragraph responses. When students are struggling to write clear, coherent essays or aren’t explaining their … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, ELA Common Core Standards, Evidence, Explanation, Paragraph writing, Resources, TLC Website Resources, Topic Sentences, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment