FROM THE DESK OF The Structured Writing Teacher

  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...

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 ...

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...

Reese's or KitKat? If you ask a middle schooler to tell you which is best, they can do this immediately. But when you ask Why? you often get: "Because it's good!" "Because I like it!" "Because it's the best!" Most middle schoolers don’t naturally understand how to support their opinions with evidence. Teaching Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) is one of those higher-level skills that sounds simple—but takes serious repetition to master. I’ve spent years refining how I teach CER to middle schoolers in a way that’s engaging, repeatable, and actually sticks . It’s now a core part of my Structured Writing Workshop, and I break it into three distinct phases that build up both skill and confidence. Let’s dig into what each step looks like—and how you can make CER writing less painful (and way more powerful) for your students. Step 1: Start with Relatable Topics We don’t begin with long articles or complicated texts. Instead, I give them one...

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...