In this episode, Melanie provides a few tips for building students' automaticity with letter formation.

Go deeper

• Effective Strategies for Teaching Handwriting in Grades 3-8
• The Handwriting Part of Writing

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• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

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For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

This week, we examine cognitive flexibility and its importance for young writers and learners. Listeners will hear clear, classroom-based examples—such as switching from an outside voice to an inside voice, adapting to new assignments, and seeing disappointing grades as growth opportunities. The discussion links cognitive flexibility to writing, emphasizing how it aids in planning, revising, experimenting with different leads and endings, and responding to teacher feedback productively. Practical strategies like perspective-taking, word play, experimentation, writing within constraints, and goal-setting are shared to help teachers develop this skill. The episode also features picture book mentor texts such as Don’t Feed the Bears, Beautiful Oops, The Dot, and One Word from Sophia, using them as springboards to discuss flexible thinking with students.

Sources Mentioned

• Dr. Nelson Cowan
• Pip the Guide Dog
• Valerie Boling podcast
• Jess Mazzonne’s post
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Beauty of Opinion Writing podcast
• One Word From Sophia

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Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

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• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

Opinion writing in grades K–6 is more than just persuasive essays. It lets kids express what they really think and see their ideas matter on the page. In this episode, we look at what makes opinion writing special: children sharing real opinions on topics they care about, building their sense of self, and bravely taking risks with their words. You’ll hear how opinion writing grows from simple preferences with pictures and labels to more thoughtful arguments that consider other viewpoints. We also share a list of mentor texts you can use to lift the level of your students’ opinion writing. Finally, we offer ways to celebrate students’ work, like author’s chair, hallway displays, family mailings, and online publishing, all focused on giving students a voice and the joy of sharing their opinions with real audiences.

Go Deeper

• Doug Kaufmann
• Tracey Lafayette
• Beth Moore’s website for paper
• The New York Times’ Writing Contests

Books We Mentioned:

• 1,000 Awesome Things by Neil Pasricha
• Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays: Your Favorite Authors Take A Stab at the Dreaded Essay edited by Brad Wolfe and Rebecca Stern
• Don’t Feed the Bear by Kathleen Doherty
• Can I Be Your Dog by Troy Cummings
• Eating to Save the Planet by Ann Broyles
• Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali
• The Black Mambas by Kelly Crull

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Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

In this episode, Stacey explores how picture books about moving, starting over, and making a new home—including stories of immigrants, refugees, and families in transition—can inspire and elevate students’ writing. Drawing on Rudine Sims Bishop’s work about books as mirrors and windows, she highlights three powerful titles: My Home is in My Backpack, You Are Home, and Just Say Welcome. Each book offers students opportunities to see themselves, build empathy, and practice meaningful writing craft moves. You’ll also learn a simple, actionable routine for using picture books as mentor texts in your classroom right away. Whether your students have lived through significant changes or are learning to welcome others, these stories will help every child find their voice and build a sense of belonging through writing.

Click here to look inside the picture books in “Finding Home and Building Voice: How Picture Books on Moving and Belonging Inspire Young Writers.”

References:

Craft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts by Stacey Shubitz (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016)

Just Say Welcome by Emily Raij and Nathalia Takeyama (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2025)

Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Rudine Sims Bishop (1990)

My Home is in My Backpack by Eugenia Perrella and Angela Salerno (Floris Books, 2025)

You Are Home by Bex Tobin Fine and Andres Landazabal

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Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

This Writing Roundtable episode features Valerie Bolling discussing her book, Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom: Building Student Agency, Independence, and Success. Valerie shares what inspired her focus on writing, goal setting, and how teachers can balance guidance with student ownership. She explains how to model goal setting, teach effective strategies, and assess student progress. Valerie also addresses common challenges teachers face and offers practical solutions. This episode provides valuable insights into fostering agency and independence in young writers.

Go Deeper: Here are several Two Writing Teachers blog posts and past podcast episodes that deal with the topics discussed in this episode:

• A Few Tips for Small Group Instruction
• Build Strong Writers with Executive Function Tools
• Increasing Student Agency as Writers
• Student Agency, Self-Assessment, and Small Group Instruction
• Student Seminars and Goal-Setting
• The Power of Goal-Setting

Valerie Bolling is an award-winning 30-year educator/author who has written over 10 books for children; Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom: Building Student Agency, Independence, and Success is her first book for teachers, and she has two others on the way. Follow these links to find Valerie online:

• Website
• Instagram
• Bluesky
• Facebook
• X
• Linkedin

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Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

In this episode, we explore the typical path that every writing unit follows, regardless of the curriculum. We highlight teaching strategies that work in different settings. We discuss immersion, its importance, and how to make it more beneficial for writers. We also discuss how co-creating anchor and process charts can support students, focusing on what authors do and how they do it. You'll hear tips on helping students think about their purpose and audience, guiding them through planning, drafting, and revising, and building a strong classroom community through partnerships, sharing, and feedback. We wrap up with ideas for celebrating writing and encouraging meaningful reflection.

GO DEEPER:

• A Trajectory to Duplicate: These Poems Were VERY Good Things
• Something Do-Able to Try: The Editing Minute

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Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

This episode explores practical executive functioning tools that support students’ writing and goal-setting success. Inspired by Valerie Bolling's book, Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom: Building Student Agency, Independence, and Success (Stenhouse Publishers, 2025), Stacey highlights seven strategies—such as making timelines, using timers, and tracking progress—that help improve organization, focus, and motivation. These tools build essential skills for writing and lifelong executive functioning. Drawing on personal experience, the episode shows how goal-setting applies both in and out of the classroom. Tune in to learn how to help students develop confidence and independence with their writing goals.

GO DEEPER!

• TWT Podcast Episodes That Deal with Executive Functioning
  • Accommodations for Access to Writing Instruction
  • Build Executive Functioning with Time Management Techniques
  • Build Writing Confidence with the "Ready, Do, Done" Model
  • Co-Create Writing Goals
  • Help K-8 Students with Executive Functioning Needs: A Conversation with a Colleague
  • Unlock Strategies for Task Initiation
• TWT Blog Posts That Explore Executive Functioning
  • Contingency Maps for Writing Workshops
  • From Memory to Mastery
  • Hands in the Air: How Gestures Support Writing Instruction
  • Routines Build Capacity
  • Writing and Working Memory: Reflective Practice

Send us a text

Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

In this episode, Melanie talks with TWTBlog co-authors Sarah Valter and Leah Thomas about ways to infuse writing experiences in students' lives beyond classroom instruction.

GO DEEPER:

Finding Wider Audiences for Student Work

This or That: Inspiring Writers to Learn About Themselves

Extracurricular Writing Clubs

Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge

*****

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Send us a text

Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.

You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district.

• Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com
• Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com

Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.

For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.