Beyond the Paragraph: Teaching Writing in Middle School with Structure

October is pure magic for writing teachers...if you use it right. 🕯️

In this episode, I’m sharing why you should lean into spooky writing this month (and not just because it’s fun). You’ll learn how Halloween-themed prompts can teach real craft skills like suspense, pacing, and voice… and how they can completely turn around reluctant writers.

I’ll walk you through my favorite October classroom activities: persuasive “Change My Mind” debates, Stranger Things-style story prompts, and a hilarious monster real-estate challenge your students will beg to do again.

Ready to make this October u...

In this episode, I start with a student story that proves just how powerful a hook can be, and then we dig into the real work of teaching them. You’ll hear my philosophy on why hooks aren’t just “sentence starters,” why rhetorical questions are only training wheels (and how to move past them), and the one secret that makes kids lean in with curiosity.

Plus, I’ll explain how keeping cognitive load low is the key to helping every student succeed.

And finally, you can Hook Hop! Here's your Teacher Trail I’ve creat...

In this episode, I share the story behind one teacher’s phrase “the unicorn of writing” and unpack what that really means.

We’ll explore why writing instruction so often feels frustrating, what qualities a true “unicorn” approach would have, and the small shifts you can make to bring some of that magic into your own classroom. Along the way, you’ll hear stories of reluctant writers turning a corner, and I’ll leave you with a few practical strategies you can try tomorrow.

Grab your crash course HERE

Thoughts? Questions? Send me a text m...

 What if your students could experience essay structure instead of just being told about it? In this episode, I introduce The Rebuild Relay, which is a constructivist teaching method that gets students moving, problem-solving, and teaching each other. You’ll hear how it works with a 7th grade argumentative essay, why it’s more effective than reading the rubric aloud, and how it can be adapted for younger learners with a fun Detective & Informant twist. Plus, I’ll share ways this strategy can be used across subjects like math, science, and history. 

To read abo...

In this 60-minute audiobook, you’ll learn the complete framework behind the Structured Writer’s Workshop™, a structured approach that helps students in grades 4–8 become confident, independent writers. They also LOVE it. 

Why This Workshop Is Different

I’m not just a teacher, I’m also a published author of children’s books with Disney-Hyperion, HarperCollins, and Houghton Mifflin. What I learned from working with editors and revising manuscripts under tight deadlines transformed the way I teach writing.

The routines in the Structured Writer’s Workshop™ are the same ones professional a...

The writing crisis in American classrooms isn't due to lack of teacher effort, it's our instructional model. When the Nation's Report Card reveals only 27% of eighth graders scoring proficient in writing, we need to examine what's really happening in our classrooms.

After spending nearly a decade away from teaching to become a professional writer, I returned to education as a "fish out of water," shocked by both how writing instruction had changed and how my professional writing experience contradicted classroom practices. While publishers expected complete manuscript rewrites in weeks or even days, schools were still dedicating entire...

In this episode, I’m diving into why CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) is the ultimate pivot skill. It’s not just for ELA. Students can use it in science, history, short responses, and full essays—and the more they practice it, the more confident and structured their writing becomes.

You’ll hear how I scaffold it with sentence frames, expand it with an “Explain in your own words” step, and enrich it with a hook and a powerful closing statement.  No matter your experience with CER, you’ll walk away with tools to make it more effective, more transferab...

When it comes to writing instruction, the first week can make or break your year. In this episode, I’m walking you through exactly how I start the school year in my writing classroom. You'll hear about the phone call I make before students ever step through the door, and the voice lesson my students beg to do again.

I’m sharing:

This episode is the audio from one of my most popular YouTube videos, so if you hear me say “look at this” or reference something on screen, don’t worry! I've linked the full video below!

In this deep dive, I unpack what I discovered after listening to the Sold a Story podcast and asking myself a big question: Where’s the research on writing instruction? Spoiler alert: it’s complicated. But I share what I found, what’s missing, and what we can do right now to teach writing with more clarity and confidence.

You’ll...

Traditional comprehension questions are holding your students back. It’s time for a shift. This method flips the script on how we approach novel studies and writing in middle school, moving beyond recall questions and into deep, authentic engagement.

Instead of asking students to remember what happened, this strategy teaches them to track what matters. By gathering purposeful evidence on theme, characterization, world-building, and author’s craft as they read, students naturally build the foundation for high-level literary analysis. And the best part? It all connects seamlessly to evidence-based writing using the CER (Claim, Evid...