Many of us learn by watching others do something and then we try the "something" on our own with greater independence. Learning to write is no different. Sometimes writing mentors are the authors of the books we read. Sometimes writing... Continue Reading →
In this post I am sharing the series of 15 sequential lessons I created for teaching our grade 2 poetry unit in a "virtual" format while we were learning from home during the spring of 2021. The scope and sequence... Continue Reading →
Disclaimer: this was not my original idea - somewhere on Twitter but not sure who to give the credit to anymore. Basically though the purpose of this single Google slide is that it is "live" and has all the info... Continue Reading →
This post is part 3 in a three part series on re-thinking how I teach personal narratives. Part 1 about a new way that I tried to generate small moment ideas worth writing (ie. the "plan"), and Part 2 about stretching small moment stories with details (ie. the "do") are linked at the bottom of... Continue Reading →
One of the battles I have been fighting throughout my teaching career is how not to lose mentor texts. I know right! I want to use high quality texts, and I love it when my students want to read and learn from them. However ... the books would always go walkabout and every time I... Continue Reading →
This post is part 2 in a three part series on re-thinking how I teach personal narratives. Part 1, about a new way that I tried to generate small moment ideas worth writing about is linked at the bottom of this post (ie. the "plan"). The focus of this post is on the "do" part... Continue Reading →
In grade 2 the start of a new school year eventually leads to writing personal narratives. Even this year! Amid all the other changes happening in and around school due to Covid-19. Reflecting on how I taught this unit in the past, I knew I could do better and decided on a few changes that... Continue Reading →
One of my professional goals for this school year was to make design thinking a more integral part of the curriculum, but not as a stand-alone activity, rather purposefully integrated. The whole "less is more concept," especially since there never seems to be enough time. What follows is reflections on the process I went through... Continue Reading →
It all started by accident really. Just before recess. On Friday. Out of a need to recognize and give a voice to those students who were consistently acting as role models for the others in the class. I pulled the students aside, told them how much I appreciated them and asked them to think about... Continue Reading →
Alex Lancia 