Andrea Knight

Teacher · Learner · Author

No More Mentor Texts?

"Because texts don't mentor ... authors and illustrators do." (Lisa Cleaveland) I love this book ... and if you teach writing in a K-1 classroom, you should get this book, too. (Ask your principal. That's my answer to all the $$ questions.😉) Teaching writing is a favorite of mine, so this book was really interesting to me and it got me thinking about how a small shift in our planning and … [Read more...]

A Must Have Text for K-1 Writing Teachers

I'm always on the lookout for those must have texts. I recently ordered four new picture books for writing workshop, sight unseen, and I ended up only liking one of them. (I have to stop buying books I haven't actually looked through.) But lucking out on this one book made up for the other three. And actually, I don't just like this book... I LOVE IT! It's not even new. But I just discovered … [Read more...]

What Is Labor Day? Nonfiction Books for Kids

What is Labor Day? Most kids don't know. Depending on where they live, they might think it's the last day the community pool is open for "the season." Some families will have the day off. Some will go to the beach one more time. And some might be doing their last bit of shopping before school starts. But Labor Day has an important back story many children haven't heard. For our youngest readers … [Read more...]

Mentor Texts for Small Moments

It's really important to have great mentor texts for small moments as you plan out this writing unit. It can be challenging for young writers to focus in on one small moment in time. Many kids tend to write the same way they tell stories. They can go on and on, and are often distracted by unrelated tangents. Been there? 👉 Tip: One of my favorite ways to show the small-moment-non-example is … [Read more...]

Biographies for Children Come to Life on Netflix

I've been collecting titles from the Who Was biography series for years. The text is too complex for most of the primary children I work with, but every now and then I find a student with a deep interest in a connected topic who has the ability to read and comprehend the material independently, so they haven't been wasted.  Mostly I use them to research information and then adapt … [Read more...]

The Anatomy of an Anchor Chart

I get asked about anchor charts all the time. It seems to be a thing a lot of teachers dread making because they think they aren't good at it. But anchor charts are an important part of any classroom. They contain key information about the concept you want children to learn. They represent the learning going on in the classroom and they foster independence, so they need to be posted … [Read more...]