National Poetry Month

April 2017 eNewsletter

National Poetry Month

Social Media Spotlight

Teacher Feature

ICYMI—Teacher Webinar: Next Steps to Blending Your Writer’s Workshop

PledgeCents Partnership

Writing Giggle of the Month

Coming to a Conference Near You
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
~Robert Frost
National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month! Try one of these 5 non-traditional ways to incorporate poetry into your instruction. Share your poetry ideas with us on social media. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!
  1. Found Poem
    Lesson Idea: Have students choose a science or social studies text as a basis for a found poem. Give students each a copy of a text and have them highlight important words/phrases and then craft a poem.
  2. Autobiographical Poem
    Lesson Idea: Instruct students to write an autobiographical poem. Have them put it in an envelope and address it to themselves. Put a reminder in your calendar and mail the poems to the students one year from now so that they can see how they’ve changed.
  3. Cinquain
    Lesson Idea: Have students read and write cinquains to practice identifying parts of speech.
  4. Limerick
    Lesson Idea: Use limericks to teach academic language such as rhyme scheme, line, triplet, couplet, meter, syllabification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, etc.
  5. Concrete (Shape) Poems
    Lesson Idea: Students can create poems in the shape of an object. This works great in all content areas. Students will need to revise and edit to get everything just right.
Social Media Spotlight
WriteSteps provides test prep all year long!

Teacher Feature
Mrs. Fatima P. Cheffen, a 5th grade language arts and writing teacher at DL Sims Elementary School in Georgia, is new to WriteSteps this year. Read on to see how she feels about implementing a new writing program.



WriteSteps: What is your favorite thing about WriteSteps?
Fatima: My favorite feature is the Captivators videos!

WriteSteps: What advice would you give to a teacher who is new to WriteSteps?
Fatima: The advice I would give is to have an “open” mind when using the WriteSteps program—there are SO many positive reasons to use this program, and they all help our students to become better writers!

WriteSteps: What is the reaction of your students? Does this differ from other writing programs you have used?
Fatima: My scholars are excited to use WriteSteps! This program differs because it focuses on all types of learners and writers.

WriteSteps: What have you learned about teaching writing since using WriteSteps?
Fatima: I have learned that learning “how” to write is a process, which can be an extremely difficult process for a child. Therefore using a program that aids in the growth and development of writing boosts my confidence and self-esteem as a writer and as an educator.

WriteSteps: Do you have any strategies or tips related to the teaching of writing that you would like to share with other teachers?
Fatima: The most important advice that I have for teaching writing is to make sure that teachers listen to their students. It is imperative that we teach them the power of voice when writing and how to effectively use their voices beyond writing in the classroom.

If you would like to nominate a teacher to be showcased in our Teacher Feature, please email [email protected].

ICYMI—Next Steps to Blending Your Writer’s Workshop
WriteSteps sponsored its second teacher webinar entitled Next Steps to Blending Your Writer’s Workshop. If you missed it or would like to watch it again, click here for the replay.

PledgeCents Partnership
Loving your experience with our free trial or want to use CaptivationStation but your district can’t afford it? Because of our commitment to building empowered writers, we are now giving you the opportunity to raise funds with our partners at PledgeCents. To see how it works visit: www.pledgecents.com/how-it-works

We know that budgets are tight, but we don’t want that to prevent your students from receiving the benefits of a quality writing program that they deserve. We have partnered with Pre K-12 crowdfunding experts to help you raise funds for WriteSteps’ products.

If you or your school is interested in this funding opportunity, simply click www.pledgecents.com/signup/event/write-steps! It’s quick and easy. You’ll begin raising funds immediately.

Writing Giggle of the Month
Do you have a funny or heartwarming student writing piece that you’d like to share? If so, email it to [email protected] to be featured in an upcoming eNewsletter! Look at this 2nd grade student’s unique concluding sentence!☺

Coming to a Conference Near You
Our blended learning enthusiast, Joanna Van Raden, will be presenting at the following conferences. Sign up for her sessions if you want to learn more about blending your Writer’s Workshop.

May 3, 2017, Kent ISD, Grand Rapids, MI
Personalized Learning Conference

May 20, 2017 Rider University, Lawrence Township, New Jersey
Tomorrow’s Classrooms Today Conference

June 25-28, 2017 San Antonio, TX
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
“What I enjoy most about CaptivationStation is the opportunity for my students to become global citizens. It exposes them to a different type of learning style and allows them to take ownership of their education.”
~Jacqueline Wing, 3rd Grade Teacher, Morenci Area Schools, Morenci, MI

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