Foster wonderful writing with quick and easy art activities. First, invite students to create a collage, winter mural, decorated crown, or other simple art project. Then use inspiring prompts to guide kids to use their art as a springboard to writing! The great writing activities teach elaboration, summarization, plot, character, and more.

Guide students through each step of the writing process--from selecting topics to publishing polished pieces! Step-by-step lessons and reproducibles cover five genres: "how-to" pieces, fictional and personal narratives, informational reports and essays, and persuasive writing. Teachers will also find graphic organizers, rubrics and checklists, examples of students' writing, extension activities, and helpful hints for managing writers' workshop. For use with Grades 4-8.

"Quick and easy literature-based lessons and activities that help students write super stories."--Cover.

The best story is one that comes from the heart. The library is having a contest for the best story, and the quirky narrator of this book just has to win that rollercoaster ride with her favorite author! But what makes a story the best? Her brother Tim says the best stories have lots of action. Her father thinks the best stories are the funniest. And Aunt Jane tells her that the best stories have to make people cry. A story that does all these things doesn't seem quite right, though, and the one thing the whole family can agree on is that the best story has to be your own. Anne Wilsdorf's hilarious illustrations perfectly capture this colorful family and their outrageous stories in Eileen Spinelli's heartfelt tale about creativity and finding your own voice.

The professional development for online teaching and learning that you've been asking for An unprecedented pandemic may take the teacher out of the classroom, but it doesn't take the classroom out of the teacher! Now that you're making the shift to online teaching, it's time to answer your biggest questions about remote, digitally based instruction: How do I build and nurture relationships with students and their at-home adults from afar? How do I adapt my best teaching to an online setting? How do I keep a focus on students and their needs when they aren't in front of me? Jennifer Serravallo's Connecting with Students Online gives you concise, doable answers based on her own experiences and those of the teachers, administrators, and coaches she has communicated with during the pandemic. Focusing on the vital importance of the teacher-student connection, Jen guides you to: effectively prioritize what matters most during remote, online instruction schedule your day and your students' to maximize teaching and learning (and avoid burnout) streamline curricular units and roll them out digitally record highly engaging short lessons that students will enjoy and learn from confer, working with small groups, and drive learning through independent practice partner with the adults in a student's home to support your work with their child. Featuring simplified, commonsense suggestions, 55 step-by-step teaching strategies, and video examples of Jen conferring and working with small groups, Connecting with Students Online helps new teachers, teachers new to technology, or anyone who wants to better understand the essence of effective online instruction. Along the way Jen addresses crucial topics including assessment and progress monitoring, student engagement and accountability, using anchor charts and visuals, getting books into students' hands, teaching subject-area content, and avoiding teacher burnout. During this pandemic crisis turn to one of education's most trusted teaching voices to help you restart or maintain students' progress. Jennifer Serravallo's Connecting with Students Online is of-the-moment, grounded in important research, informed by experience, and designed to get you teaching well-and confidently-as quickly as possible. Jen will be donating a portion of the proceeds from Connecting with Students Online to organizations that help children directly impacted by COVID-19.

"Fun, thought-provoking questions that inspire kids to write meaningfully about character, plot, setting, theme, and more"--Cover.