Writing Instruction

  • Let’s Collaborate!

    Together, we can tailor professional learning experiences to meet the goals and needs of the educators in your school or district. We can explore the instructional strategies on this page through any of the following learning contexts:

    • Collaborative Planning and Co-Teaching
    • Demonstration Lessons in Classrooms
    • Full or Half-Day Workshops
    • Virtual Visits

    Fifty Nifty Picture Books and How to Use Them to Teach Young Writers

    Audience: K-5

    How can I inspire my young writers? Join Maria as she answers this question by sharing her growing collection of mentor texts and engaging writing mini-lessons. Equipped with an annotated bibliography of picture books, teachers will leave this session re-energized and ready to go back to their classrooms to help students read, think, and write!


    Modeling, Mini-Lessons, and More!
    Teaching the Traits of Writing Through Read-Aloud and Genre Writing Experiences

    Audience: K-2 or K-5

    In one of Maria’s most popular professional development sessions, teachers will learn how to boost ALL students’ writing skills by reading aloud quality literature, teaching students how to read like writers, and highlighting the qualities of good writing through targeted mini-lessons for a variety of genres including those that appear in many state standards.


    Planting the Seeds:
    Helping Budding Writers Bloom

    Audience: K-2

    Join Maria as she shares the research-based keys to effective balanced writing instruction in the primary grades. Learn how to teach ALL young writers using a morning message, mentor texts, and the writing workshop approach. Discover the step-by-step process Maria uses to launch and sustain a manageable writing workshop for young authors. Teachers will leave this session with sensible, ready-to-use ideas that they can implement in their classrooms right away!