“So, you’re a teacher. What do you teach?” “I teach children.” In an environment of standards and assessments, we sometimes struggle to focus on the kids, who are, after all, the reason we teach. Yes, they can be infuriating, but they can also be amazing and inspiring. The greatest moment for us is when that light comes on in a student’s eyes, when the child “gets it” for the first time. It’s like a sunrise that only we get to witness. So education is about reading and writing and ‘rithmetic, but before all of those, it’s about kids—minds, bodies, and souls. The whole child.

You routinely connect writing with reading, but how often do you connect writing with media literacy? It's a symbiotic relationship. You teach students to write about different topics for different audiences and purposes. They can use the same skills to engage media about different topics for different audiences and purposes. Most writing teachers, though, wouldn’t consider themselves media-literacy coaches.

Good writing comes to life through a series of steps: prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing.

Author Shannon Hale describes her writing process as “shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” Hale's metaphor speaks to the power of revising. How to revise, though, remains a mystery to many student writers. They tend to write one draft, correct a few surface errors, and submit their work without contemplating deeper improvements.

Sometimes writers must cut their favorite sentences because they don’t support the focus. Stephen King calls this process, “Killing your darlings.” It is one of the most effective revising strategies—and one of the most painful. Asking students to cut their writing can lead to quizzical stares. They often believe more writing is better writing. And for students who put a great deal of effort into expressing an idea, having to delete or reimagine that idea can feel demoralizing. Students need to know that cutting is a normal part of the writing process.

Fake news. Biased information. Divisive commentary. Today’s media landscape blurs the line between fact and fiction. Our students are left to sort out the truth.  Passive reading and viewing won't do.

When it comes to reading, fluency is fundamental.  Students can learn strategies to comprehend new information, predict upcoming text, and connect reading to personal experience. In the process, they improve speed, accuracy, and expression. Improving fluency requires regular practice and support.

“Could you be more specific?” Teachers love to ask this question, and for good reason. It encourages students to clarify their thinking with specific answers rather than generalities.  Students should ask this same question while they write. Without concrete details, writing falls flat. Vague ideas cause dull reading and misunderstanding. Specific details build interest and understanding. Featured Activity: Revising for Specificity Students will write clearer and livelier pieces when they replace general details with specific alternatives.

March marks the beginning of Women’s History Month. While women deserve recognition every day, this time of year presents a perfect opportunity to pay homage to women of the past and present. The five writing activities below prompt middle and high school students to explore women’s achievements while also honoring the ongoing fight for progress and equality. Writing a Historical Dialogue This prompt introduces students to 16 women who have contributed greatly to history, arts, activism, and science.

To innovate and problem solve, students need to exercise their creative muscles as much as their critical ones.  You don’t need to teach art or theater to inspire creative thinking.