Another great workshop in Auckland today. Thanks to all the lovely teachers who attended our oral language workshop. We started the day using the Introductions talking strip (PM40, The Oral Language Book). This is... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

We worked with a fantastic group of teachers at the FMG Stadium in the Waikato today. The Chiefs rugby team was in attendance which was a highlight for many teachers! This reminded us that our amazing colleague David... readingwarrior.com/product/readin…

Many people are celebrating the Chinese New Year over the next few weeks. We thought this video would be great motivation for writing. Students could write ‘A moment in time’ (Page 100, The Writing Book) based on... youtube.com/watch?v=uQfjbV…

I managed to delete the post I did about organisation of writing resources. Thanks to Sophie O-Rourke and Sarah and Jane from Bayfield for sharing their ideas.

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. It is probably a good time to start setting up routines for proofreading. We call this a 'Self-check'. Our recommendation is to start with something achievable and to spend at... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

In The Oral Language Book we recommend home-talk activities. One that works really well at this time of the year is 'In the box' activities (page 129). Students could prepare a box about themselves and then share... thewritingbook.com/product/the-or…

Last week I shared ideas for the 'Self-check' or proofread. There are resources on the CD in The Writing Book to support proofreading. The editing fan (CD4) The editing pencils (CD4, 5 & 6). In addition, we have... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

Hi all - below is our latest Mailchimp newsletter. If you don't receive our updates, sign up on our website: thewritingbook.com In The Oral Language Book we have Conversation cards (PM14). We recommend... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

We hope our New Zealand colleagues are feeling supported this week. It has been touching to receive so many condolences from our Australian colleagues this week as we travel around New South Wales. It started at... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

Thanks to 'Music with Michal' for sharing this song. This could be used for shared reading. Maybe the students could write their own kindness songs or poems. facebook.com/musicwithmicha… facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

We are logging out for 50 hours to respect and remember the 50 victims killed in the Christchurch massacre. Please spend the weekend looking after yourselves and your loved ones. Aroha nui... newsie.co.nz/news/144475-50…

Nia's Extra Ordinary Life is a New Zealand web series funded by NZ On Air. They are great little stories to watch and discuss and could be used as motivation for writing. Students could write their 'Extra Ordinary Life' stories or... youtube.com/watch?v=FFaQOe…

Love this video. It could be used for a class or group discussion. Students could 'Call a friend' (page 109, The Oral Language Book) and tell them about rescuing the dogs. The partner could ask questions.... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

New Zealand teachers - Toitoi is working on some exciting new projects. They are... toitoi.nz/connect/?utm_s…

These are great reviews to share with your students. They could be used as exemplars and students could plan, write and record their own reviews. whatnow.tv/storylines-boo… whatnow.tv/storylines-boo…

I posted this video very late last year so thought I would share it again. It is a lovely clip to just watch and then discuss but you could link it to a writing activity. A Quick Write that would work well is 'Stop the movie' (page... youtube.com/watch?v=Icx7hB…

A cute animal video to start the term! Writing ideas: - recount the event - report the event - write from the last raccoon's perspective - write about what happens next facebook.com/LADbible/video… facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

Mother's Day is coming up ... We have a poetry lesson on our website that can be used to write metaphor or simile poems. thewritingbook.com/resources/ Scroll down for 'A Special Person Poetry Lesson'.... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

I hope all the mum teachers out there enjoyed Mother's Day. What an amazing 93 years David Attenborough has had. This video could be shared with students before a group or class discussion. Students could take... facebook.com/TheWritingBook…

So many questions ... so many ideas for writing! Have fun with this video. facebook.com/Pretty52Offici… facebook.com/TheWritingBook…