FROM THE DESK OF The Structured Writing Teacher

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...

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. ...

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 ...

If you're trying to help your students become stronger, more confident writers, one of the most effective tools you can use is a daily quick write .  But there’s a key twist that makes it work even better— teach them this:   Write a scene, not a story. Why Quick Write Scenes? Quick writes are short, low-pressure writing sessions where students get words on the page without overthinking. They’re perfect for: Building writing stamina Improving fluency Encouraging creative risk-taking Reducing writer’s block Getting them to pull a fist-pump while blurting, "yessssss!" as they enter the room (a teacher's dream, lol) But here’s the catch: not all quick writes are created equal. Skip the “One Day I Was…” When I assign quick writes, I have one important rule: No starting with “One day I was…” Why? That phrase leads to summary and backstory. Instead, I challenge students to drop us straight into the moment. 📌 Example: ❌ “One day I was walking to school...

Let’s talk writer’s workshop —not the Pinterest-perfect, every-kid-scribbling-furiously version. I mean the real one. The kind where some students thrive... and some stare blankly at the page for 20 minutes straight. That’s where I started. I loved the idea of writer’s workshop. Mini-lesson → independent writing → sharing out. Sounds dreamy, right? But in reality? ⛔ Some kids had no idea what to write about. ⛔ Some didn’t know if they were “doing it right.” ⛔ Some barely wrote a sentence and then… behavior issues. So, I changed everything. Yep... everything. After stepping away from the classroom to become a full-time children’s book author (and watching real authors work), I realized something huge: there are specific routines that professional writers use every day—and our students can use them too. Then I noticed something else… At my son’s baseball practice, I saw 8-year-old team captains leading warm-ups while the coach got everything else ready. When it was time t...

Let’s be real—if you teach 5th grade or above, you’re probably required to teach argumentative essays every year ... and every year, it feels like one of the hardest things to get right. The structure. The evidence. The thesis. The counterclaim. The formatting. 😩 It’s a lot. But after years of refining my process, I’ve found a way to make it manageable, effective, and even—dare I say—fun for students and teachers. This post walks you through how I teach the argumentative essay in just 10 days as part of my Structured Writing Method —including my favorite hooks, how I set up digital slides, what I emphasize in each paragraph, and one simple trick that helps students finally stop using rhetorical questions in their introductions. 🙌 Let’s break it down. 🧠 Start With a Hook They Care About Before we ever start writing, I pull students in with a topic they actually want to argue about . One of my go-to questions: 👉 “What have you binge-watched lately?” Suddenly, we’re hav...

  What's the Best Order to Teach Writing Skills in Middle School? A Step-by-Step Guide If you’re a middle school ELA teacher wondering what order to teach writing skills , you’re not alone. Should you start with figurative language? Sentence variety? Hooks? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and even easier to rush through skills before students are ready. As a middle school teacher and children’s book author, I’ve spent years refining how I teach writing and in what order . I created the Structured Writing Workshop™ , a 4th–8th grade writing program that focuses on skill-building, confidence, and structure. In this post, I’ll walk you through the six essential writing skills I teach and the exact order I teach them to get students writing with clarity, voice, and purpose. 💡 Why the Order of Writing Skills Matters There are so many writing skills to teach that it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. Should we teach students how to “show, don’t tell” before we even a...