top of page

Reaching Reluctant Writers

This session will demonstrate "tried and true" (and fun!) strategies that help bridge the gap for today's learners in the language arts classroom. The presenter will share best practices for teaching poetry, narratives, nonfiction, grammar, and punctuation that both engage and challenge students to become better writers, especially those who are most reluctant to write.Handouts will include helpful links, student samples, and ready-to-use classroom activities/projects. Student web publishing tools will also be provided.

​

Dr. Melissa Shields, NBCT

mshields@alsde.edu

Twitter: mjshields

Edmodo: http://www.edmodo.com/mjshields

Short URL: https://goo.gl/cmjRZn

2019-2020 Feedback from Central and North Alabama Regions

​

"I learned a great wealth wealth of resources that I could implement tomorrow!" (Birmingham)

​

"Fantastic! This was extremely helpful! I loved the ideas and how the resources were very easily accessible for future use!" (Jacksonville)

​

"Very informative!  There were many ideas that I plan to implement with my SPED students." (Tuscaloosa)

​

"Great session. You can feel the passion Dr. Shields has to teach children writing.  Provided real-world ways to teach and implement."' (Tuscaloosa)

​

"Many times, we are given PD that I understand in the session, but later, when I'm alone looking at it, it's not as clear.  Your packet was NOT this way, and I love that! (Huntsville)

 

2021 F2F Session Presentation  and Handout 

2020 Virtual Session Presentation and Handout 

2019 Presentation and Handout   (Agenda,  Activities, and Student Samples)  

​

​

 




ActivePrompt Poll - What would you like to learn today?


Getting Started (Portfolios, Journals, Rubrics)

​​


Narrative and Nonfiction Writing

​

​

  • Sketch to Stretch

    • Template​

    • Patricia Polacco's Christmas Tapestry (great for Holocaust units) - Template 

    • Patricia Polacco's The Butterfly (great for Holocaust units) - Template

​

​

​​

​


Poetry



Grammar & Punctuation

​

​

​

​

​

​

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cool Web Publishing Places
 

​

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web Resources for Teaching Reading/Literature


Review and Research

  • 60 Second Recapis a GREAT resource for ELA classrooms. It's kind of like CliffsNotes on speed. The idea behind 60 Second Recap is it provides videos to explain important aspects of the books. Each 60 second video clip provides some or all of the following: overview, context, plot, characters, theme, motif, symbolism, and conclusion.

  • Lexipedia provides meanings and synonyms to various words in an web type graphic. Wordnet provides a dictionary and thesaurus in one.


Audio Files

  • Lit 2 Go is a free collection of MP3 audio books for 1000's of books, stories, and poems. You can search the database by author, title, reading level, and subject matter. Another option is Repeat After Us, which was created by a high school student.


Improve Reading Speed

  • ZAP Reader and Spreeder are web-based software that allow students to copy and paste material from the Internet and then apply settings to improve their words per minute reading ability.


What to Read?

  • What Should I Read Next provides users the ability to type in a book that they have read and it will then suggest other books based upon the author and the book that the user might be interested in.


Other Goodies

  • Poetry 180 provides a poem for each of the 180 days that students are in school. It provides the poem as well as information about the author and copyright permission. A great way to study poetry.

  • Five Poetry Writing Exercisesis great for beginners, and they are a lot of fun too.

  • Write Better English is one of my favorite go-to sites. Great activities for reading, spelling, grammar... you name it! I love the "Fun" tab - really cool tools to use in the ELA classroom.

  • If you have never utilized Shmoop in the classroom, give it a whirl. Amazing resource for teachers and students! Shoomp has a Literature section that provides learning guides and teacher resources for 100's of books that students read. Each book they provide an intro, summary, quotes, themes, characters, analysis, questions, photos, and even assist with writing an essay about the book. Each book also has a "best of the web" section that provides links to other resources about each book. There are excellent "Test Prep" tools as well (ACT, AP, SAT).

  • Why Our Students Can't Write

​

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Resources:
Beech, Linda W. 240 Vocabulary Words 6th Grade Kids Need to Know. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2004.
Burke, Jim. The English Teacher’s Companion. New York: Heinemann, 2007.
Feldman, Kevin. http://www.scoe.org/reading
Forney, Melissa. Razzle Dazzle Writing. Gainesville, Florida: Maupin House Publishing, Inc., 2001.
Noden, Harry R. Image Grammar. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1999. http://www3.uakron.edu/noden/
"Ten Resources for Teaching Reading/Literature with Technology." Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness. 15 March 2011. Web. 6 September 2011.

 

bottom of page