Beyond the Paragraph: Teaching Writing in Middle School with Structure

Meet Tisha, an 8th grade ELA teacher who implemented the structured writing workshop in her classroom. She shares what worked during her first year of implementation. You'll learn: ✔️How to use BOTH physical and digital notebooks for writing ✔️organization strategies for student leaders ✔️how to incorporate AI successfully in the writing process ✔️how this workshop changed her 8th graders An episode not to be missed. Share with other ELA teacher friends! Thoughts? Questions? Sen...

🏀 What does Steph Curry’s pregame warm-up have to do with writing instruction? Everything. In this episode, I'm comparing the basketball legend’s unpredictable, skill-building practice routine with the way we should be preparing students to write. You’ll hear two stories...one courtside, and one from a humid gym in 1986... that illustrate exactly why rigid acronyms and overstructured templates can freeze young writers in their tracks. If your students ask, "What do I do next?" every time

Many teachers are abandoning writing workshop… but not because it failed. It’s because the structure was missing. In this episode of Beyond the Paragraph, I’m sharing how you can reclaim the power of workshop with simple, transformative shifts that bring clarity, consistency, and calm to your writing block. Whether you’re a former fan of Calkins-style instruction or just tired of chaotic, unproductive workshop time, this episode will help you: Identify why traditional workshop often falls apa...

🎯 In this episode, I’m walking you through the daily structure that keeps students engaged and independent without constant redirection. You’ll hear exactly how I: ✅ Use student-led routines to minimize off-task behavior ✅ Reinforce expectations without micromanaging ✅ Turn workshop into a powerful classroom management tool ✅ Build a classroom culture where students lead, collaborate, and stay on task Whether you teach in a classroom or homeschool around the kitchen table, you’ll walk away

In this episode of Beyond the Paragraph, I’m pulling back the curtain on what real writers do and how we can finally start teaching like that. As a middle school ELA teacher and children’s book author with Disney, HarperCollins, and Houghton Mifflin, I’ve lived both worlds. You’ll learn: What real authors actually do (and what we don’t)4 things writers do that students should tooA simple shift you can make this week to transform your writing blockWhether you teach in a classroom or arou...

In this first episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on why traditional writing instruction isn’t working and what you can do instead. I’ll walk you through the simple shift I made that completely transformed my classroom (and made teaching writing way more fun for everyone involved). I’m sharing: Why most students sound like robots when they write (and how to fix it) What “structured writing” really means What to expect from this podcast and how it can support you all year long If you want...