There are two types of writers. Those who extensively plan and those who start writing not entirely sure of where their words will take them. The former people are the ones who compose outlines and are sometimes referred to as…

I love when I get great teaching ideas from whatever is I am reading in my spare time. This one comes courtesy of Alan Gelb from his book, The Seven Steps to Confident Writing. I think I will make this…

I have a theory about writing and where ideas come from. It basically goes something like this, you can’t force it. You need to let an idea cook for a while before it is ready to come to life on…

Seven Steps to Confident Writing by Alan Gelb Everybody could benefit from learning how to express themselves clearly and persuasively in a piece of writing. Unfortunately, many of us see writing as “the thing we had to do back in…

Sometimes a quotation can spark a great discussion. Let’s see if we can ignite something today. You can pose these questions to your class, accompanied by the original quotation of course or simply ponder them yourself. “The greatest tragedy of…

Denise Jaden has a theory.  She believes that “ideas float in the atmosphere, and they are fair game for anyone to grab and make use of.” This is sometimes referred to as the collective unconscious. It seems to be something…

Where did the words go? I can’t remember the last time I actually wrote something longer than a sentence or two on a social media post or a note to my spouse. When did my poetry slip away? I used…

Last week. we lost a creative genius who helped change the world with colourful characters and profound storytelling. Stan Lee created some of the best superheroes to ever grace the pages of comics, television, movies, and beyond. We will remember…

Last week’s Will Smith video response activity was a success. I decided to try it again with another of his Instagram videos. This one has a few harsh phrases or words that might not be appropriate for your classroom (please…

I am posting this edition of Teaching Tip Tuesdays as an activity you can do with your students. I will be doing this today with my class. If you try it out, let me know how it works in the…