How to Make Your Writing Suspenseful
TeachersTeacher CafeVocabularyWriting...Writers harness that fear not by revealing horrors, but by leaving the audience hanging in a state of suspense. Victoria Smith gives some tips for adding suspense to your writing.
550 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing
TeachersEducationTeacher CafeWritingQuestions that invite students to tell stories, describe memories, make observations, imagine possibilities, and reflect on who they are and what they believe.
Why should you read “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy?
AdultsCreativityHumanWriting...Dig into Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things,” and follow the story of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by society’s “Love Laws.”
The Egg - A Short Story
AdultsCreativityEducationScience...A Big Thanks to Andy Weir for allowing us to use his story.
Free Ebook: Preparing Teachers to Teach Writing Using Technology
TeachersTeacher CafeTechnologyWriting..."Technology is changing not only how people write, but also how they learn to write." This free ebook discusses necessary changes in pedagogy and introduces approaches and experiences of real teachers teaching writing with technology.
Interactive Writing Benchmarks
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingSamples of student work at different proficiency levels to assist teachers with a better understanding of the writing competencies and benchmarks.
Steps to Get Started with Digital Student Portfolios
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingHere is what you need to know in order to help students create meaningful digital portfolios.
Write a Letter to the Future
TeachersFutureSelfTeacher Cafe...Students write an email to their future selves and it is delivered in the future.
April - National Poetry Month! Poetry Starters for Every Classroom
TeachersArtTeacher CafeWriting...April is National Poetry Month and no matter what you teach, you can transform the first five minutes of class to an empowering, issues-packed, discussion-based, poetry-friendly space.
Blogging With Students In 5 Simple Steps
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducation...There is increased engagement by sharing with an authentic audience. Blogging encourages reflection, collaboration and communication. Follow the steps provided to start blogging with your class.
Note Taking Skills For 21st Century Students
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingNote taking skills aren't just automatic. We tell students "take notes" but they have no idea what that means. What makes "good notes". What do they write down? How should notes look?
Spelling Takes Work With New Words
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducation...Do you ever wonder how many times students should copy new words? Here are two articles that dive into the issue. The articles provide suggestions and strategies for learning to spell new words.
How to Use Social Media to Strengthen Student Writing
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducation...The more we write, the better we become as writers. Social media can be a tool where students are encouraged to use their creativity combined with personal expression to improve and strengthen their writing. Blogging, Twitter and Instagram are a few outlets which can be used to strengthen student writing.
13 Strategies to Improve Student Classroom Discussions
TeachersReadingTeacher CafeEducation...As teachers know well, finding and using textual evidence is challenging for students- choosing a solid piece of evidence or creating a clear interpretation can be overwhelming. These 13 teacher and expert-tested strategies will strengthen your students' ability to find and use evidence from any text.
Pen Pals in the 21st Century
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducation...Pen pals provide an opportunity to break down classroom walls. Whether you connect your class with another state or another country, it serves the same purpose. It gives students the chance to see things outside of their walls. Take advantage of some of the great options available.
Five Proven Hacks to Help Students Tackle Revision
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducation...We know more about the science of learning than ever before, but too few pupils use these strategies when preparing for exams. Working smarter involves using your time and energy efficiently, but many students still do not use the most effective strategies.
9 Ed-Tech Tools to Help Boost Essay Writing
TeachersTeacher CafeWritingEducationEssay writing is an import skill. Check out these nine tools that can help your students become empowered learners.