It is impossible to ignore the connection between reading and writing. This episode delves into the ways that understanding that connection help to inform and enhance writing instruction. Melissa shares what research says about how reading and writing work together, ways to begin to make this connection known to students and the 'behind the scene' ways that reading strengthens writing. Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by MelissaMelissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.  Freebie- Building Independent Writing Stamina ChecklistGrab the Checklist Here

Hey There Writing Teacher!Have you asked these questions before? 'How much should my students be writing?' 'What should their writing look like?' 'What should I focus on?' How should I instruct this writer?'Well-today we turn stop saying 'should' and start using 'can'! This episode will share Melissa's take on how teachers can approach their own learning of student-centered writing instruction by accepting the journey. We will also discuss the importance of knowing students' abilities and valuing the joy of writing!

'Publish means public, not Perfect' and 'Value the Process, not the Product!'These are the mantras I'd like you to take on when thinking about the editing and publish portion of the writing process for your students. When we keep the writer in mind (teach the writer, not the writing!) we will not have them edit to "perfection". We will have them edit to their level of skill with editing. When we value the process, not the product and we know that "publish means public, not perfect" we do not need to have our writers completely rewrite their final product.I hope this episode will help you to continue to transform your writing time!Freebie- Building Independent Writing Stamina ChecklistGrab the Checklist HereAbout MelissaMelissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.  Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa

Why are we having our students revise? Sure, we want them to make their piece the best it can be! But, are we revising with a focus on the writer, or on the writing?This episode will discuss two thoughts on the revision portion of the writing process: 1-Why do we revise and how can we make it effective for our writers?2-When do writers reviseMelissa will share how the idea of "teaching the writer" is still vital and effective for revision as well as ways to choose revision strategies in your classroom.If we want to get our students to write, we must teach them! Happy Listening!Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by MelissaFreebie- Building Independent Writing Stamina ChecklistGrab the Checklist HereMelissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction. 

Drafting is so much more than we realize! In this episode, Melissa shares the details of drafting by exploring all the purposes of this part of the writing process for our student writers as well as for ourselves as teachers, and how important it is for us to understand this aspect of writing for our writing instruction.Discussion points include:How planning is also "drafting"Drafting is a vulnerable step that requires a safe community of writersStudents and teachers learn from a draftMultiple drafts per unitFreebie- Building Independent Writing Stamina ChecklistGrab the Checklist HereMelissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.  Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa

If our goal is to grow independent writers, then we need to guide them in effectively cycling through the writing process in order to create clear, detailed and organized pieces of writing. Effective use of planning, or pre-writing, is an integral step in student writing, and in order for a writer's planning to be worthwhile, it needs to be the right fit for them.In this episode, you will hear my thoughts on traditional planning methods and why they are not supporting the idea of "teaching the writer, not the writing" as well as various strategies for ways students can plan their writing. Happy Listening!Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction.  Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by Melissa

Students and teachers are struggling with learning and teaching writing skills, and it is time for a change. But what do we consider writing? What is focused on and valued in our schools during writing time? This episode discusses the meaning of writing and how writing is often showing up in our classrooms. Melissa shares her views on what writing means to her and how to be sure we are hitting all aspects of writing in our instruction so that our writers learn and grow!Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa Instagram Follow Melissa for tips and support with writing instruction!YouTube Find out more about teaching writing as you watch webinars and model lessons taught by MelissaMelissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 18 years experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction. 

Teaching writing is difficult, and there are so many aspects to consider. My word of the year is Relationships, and since this idea was one that my special guest spoke about on the last episode, I thought I would talk about it more today! If you and your students are struggling with writing time, the relationship between you and your students may be just the thing to transform!Read more at my website: www.teaching-to-transform.com/blog Hear more from me on Instagram here

What another fabulous episode all about teaching writing with Jacob Chastain!In this episode, we dig into a few sections of Mr. Chastain's book, Writefully Empowered, and he shares his thoughts on writing assessment, breaking the mold in writing instruction, conferring with your writers and more. Quotes from this episode:"The equality of outcome is different than equity of access.""The standardization of what progress looks like misinterprets the growth of students."You will be so happy you joined us for this episode!

Calling all educators! What a pleasure it was to speak with author, educator and podcast host Mr. Jacob Chastain. Mr. Chastain's passion for students and for writing (and for student writers!) is clear and contagious, and is such an inspiration for all educators, regardless of the grade level or content they teach. A few quotes from our guest: "Not everyone is going to be a certain type of writer. Our job is to be their writing coach..." "In real writing a lot of writing happens in the head before it ever comes to the page." "Let's make our classrooms a place where writers can mingle, and they can get distracted, and they can live the writerly life. It's not just a free for all. We are still thinking about writing!" "I was never going to get [my students] to retain those grammar things if I never got them to care about what they were writing in the first place." If you are looking for help with teaching writing in a way that works for your students, this is the episode for you! You can find Mr. Chastain on Instagram @heychastain, Facebook at Teach Me, Teacher and on each of his two podcasts: Teach Me, Teacher and Craft and Draft. Also check out his two books; Teach Me, Teacher and Writefully Empowered --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachingtotransform/message