The Write Way

Winter Writing Activities

Treetops glistening with fresh snow is the quintessential winter image, which can be distracting for those students with wandering minds. So how can you bring those students back to the present and use the season to engage them in productivity? We’ve curated a collection of prompts and activities that you can use in your classroom and harness that winter energy.

Take any of these ideas and modify them to fit your students’ levels and needs. Add your own creative or required elements or leave them as is. In your account on the Prompts tab, click on “Add” to create an assignment. Give it a

How to Survive December in Your Classroom

The air is crisp. The weather is cold. There may be snow dusting your windows. Thanksgiving leftovers are all gone. Christmas music is playing in all department stores. Your students are getting antsy, thinking about their upcoming break and holiday travel plans. With all this excitement around you, how do you keep your cool in your classroom? Here’s some advice gathered from teachers across the country.

• “PATIENCE! We have to remember that they are kids, no matter how old they are, and they are excited! I also remind my students that as their stress levels go down, mine goes up, so we

Maya Angelou said it best--

As the holiday season approaches, much quicker each year it seems, we wanted to share some inspirational quotes that remind us all to be thankful for the people in our lives, the little things, and the things we most often take for granted. 

• From a Native America chief to TV personalities, we've collected quotes that will spark gratitude in everyone!
  • “Make it a habit to tell people ‘thank you.’ To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life

Leaders to Follow

By: Melissa Young, guest writer

Teaching in the digital age can prove to be a challenge for educators of any level or occupation. Keeping up with new technology, social media, and trends can be difficult, but it’s worth it to make your classroom more engaging to students. To make it easier, we’ve curated a list of people for you to follow on social media. From tech developers to teachers, all of these people are involved with education in some way, and their content is sure to spark your interest!

What Do We Do All Day? is an educational website/social media page run by Erica, a mother

New Fall Prompts and Lesson Ideas

By: Melissa Young, guest writer

It’s officially fall and we’re celebrating with some new autumn-themed prompts! Engaging and current prompts are the key to capturing the attention of students. Including different season-based work into the curriculum can make writing assignments more enjoyable for students. To celebrate the beginning of autumn, we are sharing a couple of fall-themed prompts for you! Take these and make them your own to use in your classroom.

Introduction:

• Connect the subjects of the prompts to different classes your students may be taking! For example:
  • Stories of

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry

You know that feeling when you plan the perfect lesson and everything is going great and then, out of nowhere, something goes wrong and the lesson just falls apart?

Well, we had that feeling last week.

 

We had planned and prepped for our October release for months. We ran endless diagnostic and load tests and tested the software for weeks to check for any bugs and issues. We even postponed the release for a week to ensure that everything would go off without a hitch. Just like that perfectly planned lesson, everything was looking exactly how it needed to be. But then we started the