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The Sentence-Combining Strategy That Transforms Struggling Writers

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They can’t even write a sentence. It’s a thought I’ve had more than once, and maybe you have too. You pull a student for extra writing support. You’re ready to help them with paragraphs or structure or even that essay that’s due next week. But what hits you immediately? They don’t need paragraph help. They don’t need structure help. They need sentence help. So what do you do? Let’s talk about sentence-level writing as the foundation for writing intervention. Because once students can reliably write clear, complete, varied sentences, everything else gets easier... grammar, stamina, even confidence. This post is part two in my series on writing interventions. In Part One , I talked about reluctant writers, those kids who say, “I don’t know what to write.” In that post, we focused on mindset shifts and how to lower the barrier to entry. Now we shift gears. What happens after they’re finally writing... but the sentence structure is weak, awkward, or barely there? First: Why Sen...
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Writing Interventions: How I Got My Most Reluctant Writers to Finally Lean In

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Some kids walk into your class already calling themselves “bad writers.” Before you’ve even passed out a notebook, they’re throwing up the walls. They tell you writing is boring. Or hard. Or pointless. Or “not their thing.” And let’s be honest... sometimes they’re not wrong. If all they’ve ever known is five-paragraph essays, worksheets, and their writing being picked apart in red pen, of course they don’t want to write. But here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: Reluctant writers aren’t just lacking skills. They’re often lacking trust . When Students Say “I Hate Writing,” What They Usually Mean Is... “I’ve failed at this before.” “No one’s ever told me what I did well.” “I’m afraid of getting it wrong again.” “My ideas don’t seem to count.” It’s easy to think we just need to get them “back to basics.” You know... diagram some sentences. Label the parts of speech. Learn how to write a complete thought. But I’m here to tell you: starting with grammar wo...
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🎲 Why a Classic Card Game Beats a Screen for Teaching Grammar at Home

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  Homeschool parents, you know the drill. You're halfway through grammar practice when your kid's eyes glaze over, and the moment you reach for another worksheet, the sighs begin. So you turn to an app. Maybe one that promises “learning through play.” But ten minutes later, your child is randomly clicking through answers, chasing stars, and learning… nothing. But when it comes to real learning that sticks , especially with grammar, I’ll take a hands-on card game over a screen any day. Here’s why: 1. Hands-On Learning = Better Memory When kids actually hold the cards, shuffle them, and lay them down, they’re doing something physical with what they’re learning. That movement helps their brains lock in the information. It’s not just clicking and guessing. It’s real, active thinking. Research even shows that when we physically interact with what we’re learning, we remember it better.  That’s why I created a Brain Battle grammar game... it turns grammar into something kids can tou...
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How Becoming a Children’s Book Author Changed the Way I Teach Writing

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When I first started teaching, I didn’t really know how to teach writing. I knew it was important. I had some textbooks. I had a stack of construction paper and glitter.  And I had a lot of hope. So we made pop-up books and paper-plate characters. We turned in Tall Tales written on scrolls of receipt paper. We displayed stories with cotton balls and googly eyes. It was creative. It was fun. But it wasn’t teaching writing. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and no one had really shown me how. Why Was Writing So Hard to Teach? Part of the problem was that writing is invisible. You can’t point to it the way you can point to a math formula. There’s no clear-cut path. There’s no single right answer. I tried rubrics. I tried sentence starters. I tried grading checklists. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was guessing. And that my students were guessing, too. The bright ones thrived. The quiet ones hid. And the reluctant writers? They copied from the board or wrote ...
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You Don't Need New Writing Curriculum...What Finally Helped Me Fix My Writing Program (And Why I’ll Never Go Back)

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There was a time when my writing block was the most exhausting part of my day. I knew writing mattered. I knew students needed time to explore ideas, take risks, revise, and find their voice. I wanted my classroom to feel like a space where writers actually wrote . But no matter how hard I tried, it just… didn’t work. Some students barely wrote anything. Others scribbled five lines and said, “I’m done.” A few thrived—but even then, it was usually because they were natural writers to begin with. The rest were lost. And honestly? So was I. The Turning Point The shift didn’t happen overnight. It came after years of trying to make various writing programs “fit” my students—and failing. Then, I left the classroom to tour as a children’s book author. I worked with editors, publishers, and writing teams. I was immersed in what real writing looked like behind the scenes. And I kept thinking… Why don’t we teach our students to write the way professional writers actually work? I start...
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How Do You Teach Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning in Middle School? A 3-Step Method That Actually Works

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If your students say “because I like it!” when asked to explain their thinking, you’re not alone. Teaching Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) is one of the most powerful ways to build strong writers in grades 4–8, but it can also be one of the trickiest to get right. As a middle school teacher and the creator of The Structured Writing Workshop™ , I’ve spent years testing ways to make CER writing stick. Today, I’m sharing the three-step system I use in my own classroom. It's engaging, scaffolded, and ready for real-world writing. 💬 Why CER Is So Hard for Middle Schoolers Ask a student to tell you why they prefer Reese’s over KitKats, and they’ll have no problem answering. But ask them to support that claim with real evidence? “Because it’s good!” “Because I like it!” “Because it just is!” CER requires students to move beyond opinion and into evidence-based thinking. That shift doesn’t happen overnight. So I break CER into three manageable, confidence-building phases. ...
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No More "Busywork" Bellringers: ELA Warm-ups that Work

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I know I usually talk about writing, but we need to start with some math first. Let's take the number 10 and multiply it by 180 . You get 1,800 .  Now divide that by 60 . What does this all add up to and WHY AM I DOING MATH?!??! Because if you spend just 10 minutes a day on an ELA warm-up, that adds up to an entire month of instructional time over the course of a school year. A MONTH. So… are your warm-ups worth that much? If those 10 minutes aren’t building writing skills, strengthening grammar, or helping with test prep… they’re lost time. That’s why I stopped doing “Motivation Monday” and “Word Wednesday” and started using a structured routine that actually builds writing momentum. ✏️ What I Use Instead: The ELA Three-a-Day It’s quick. It’s structured. It’s powerful. And it works all year long. 🔹 1. Sentence Combining We start every day with this. At the beginning of the year, students practice simple compound sentences—adding commas and conjunctions correctly. As the year ...
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