Grades: K-8
Venue: Teachers College and Online via Zoom
Instructor: Nancy Brennan
Price: $500 *Special pricing for NYC schools (please log in with your NYC email, if you qualify the price will appear at check out)
Dates: This study group for new teachers will meet across the year on 7 different days. We’ll start with an in-person day at Teachers College (on 9/30/25), and follow up with 6 virtual afterschool sessions.
Who Should Attend: New teachers (to a grade, a school, or the teaching of writing)
Program Description
This group is designed for new teachers to study the teaching of writing in the company of peers. The group will focus on understanding the foundations of teaching writing, learning ways to establish a writing community, building classroom protocols to support independent writing practices, learning how to provide critical feedback to students, and leveraging direct, explicit instruction to support young writers.
No matter the curriculum, students need opportunities to practice and receive feedback on their thinking and writing across all text types. In this study group, teachers will reflect on their classroom practices, rituals, and lessons, and also develop skills to assess writing based on standards, genres, and developmental skills. We will examine how motivation, identity, and collaborative structures play an essential role in developing powerful writers who use writing to think, process, prepare, and present.
Learning Objectives
Gain a deep understanding of the core principles and research based practices of teaching writing.
Learn how to establish classroom protocols and routines that foster independent writing practices and peer collaboration.
Develop the ability to effectively assess student writing based on established standards, different genres, and developmental skill levels.
Acquire and practice methods for providing critical, constructive, and actionable feedback that helps students improve their writing across all text types.
Teachers will learn ways to communicate and collaborate with families and caregivers to provide literacy support outside of school.