Welcome to the first episode of my new series - Writing Tip Wednesday! Each Wednesday I'm sharing one quick tip you can use to improve your writing instruction. We're kicking off the series with mini lessons.
When it comes to your writing lessons, you'll want to keep them mini. I know how easy it is to want to pile many different things in a lesson - especially when we notice a lot of things we're eager to fix in our students' writing.
Mini lessons should be MINI. I recommend capping your lessons to be no longer than 15 minutes if you teach second grade. Mini lessons are meant to be very focused on one topic. For example, if we are teaching about introductions we are only talking about introductions. Maybe the lesson is looking at types of introductions and picking one type. Using a mentor text is great for this lesson. Only read the introduction from the mentor text during the mini lesson - you don't have to read the whole story for your lesson.
If we compare teaching a mini lesson for writing to how we teach math or reading, keeping our lessons focused is easier. Learn more by listening to today's Shared Teaching Podcast episode 121.
Related Podcast Episodes:
- Episode 52: 3 Steps to Planning Your Writing Mini Lessons
- Episode 40: Writing Mini Lessons You Must Not Skip
- Episode 17: Choosing a Mentor Text for Reading and Writing
Get my FREE K-3 Writing Skills Progression - perfect for getting started with a writing pre-assessment here or by clicking above, https://sharedteaching.com/writing-skills-progression/