EDWR 5569 - Book Study: Best Practices in Writing Instruction
Course Description
This course will give you a fresh perspective on your writing instruction. Writing is personal and can be a difficult subject to teach. You will be guided through reflections on your current instruction while exploring new ideas and confirming the best practices you already use. Throughout this course we will focus on simplifying your writing instruction while making it more meaningful and fun for you and your students. A few of the topics this course will cover are: writing workshop, conferencing with writers, your writing beliefs, assessing writing, and many more! Grade levels: K - 8
Learner Outcomes
By the end of this course participants will:
- Understand the effective components in a writer’s workshop.
- Gather ideas for meaningful and fun writing instruction.
- Make a plan for and gather support for conducting effective student conferences.
- Develop their personal beliefs about teaching writing.
Notes
This course is available for variable credits. Please check section information to ensure you are registering for the desired number of credits.Testimonials
“This course definitely met my goals/expectations. I find I start the school year with high aspirations of thinking out of the box and doing new, exciting things. As the paperwork mounts, student challenges, inevitable class size increases wears on you – you sometimes retreat to recycling what worked last year. This course definitely re-energizes that spirit of creativity and always looking for improvements that would benefit your students today and tomorrow (when you recycle something great!).” —TINT Student“I really enjoyed the Writing Essentials book and think I will revisit it for years to come. I felt better about how I have been teaching writing (not failing my students completely) but learned so many new tricks and tips. Things I was fortunate about being able to try and things I am excited to start next year. I feel that I have a better understanding of how to engage writers and help develop their voices. Prompts are easy to give but have no real meaning. Allowing students the power to choose produces stronger writers. I witnessed this in the “How to build a sandcastle” writing the students came up with. I always enjoy learning new things and reflecting on old practices and trying new things. Thank you for your time and the thought provoking questions!” —TINT Student
“This course exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect to feel as confident as both a writer and teacher of writing with just these two texts. I knew of Calkins but didn’t realize her value until this course. The texts you chose are indispensable and will be dogeared and used again and again in the coming years. Having to plan out a unit or even “teach” a student or family member always helps me to see what it’ll be like in my own classroom to introduce strategies that are new to me. How prepared I feel for the fall, whether we’re online or in the building, is a great feeling mid-July!” —TINT Student