Episode 117 Writer's Identity as a Fuel for Growth with Leah Thomas

" ... it's really important that we start building their identities as writers and readers from that young age because they will rise to whatever level we set for them."

ABSOLUTELY!!! So many good things in this episode with the wonderful Leah Thomas!

-Building writing 'empathy' by being a teacher writer

-Allowing writers to be self-directed, making decisions and choices

-Leah's journey as a teacher of writing

-The importance of unpacking standards for writing

If you are looking for best practices for teaching writing or ways to boost student writing engagement, do not miss this episode!!

About Leah Thomas:

Leah (Koch) Thomas is a Kindergarten teacher who has also taught second grade in St. Louis, MO. She holds a B.A. from Graceland University in Elementary Education, Special Education, and Reading and an MSEd from Missouri State University in Elementary Education with a Literacy Certificate. She credits the TCRWP Summer institutes with helping to form her literacy philosophy and love for the workshop model. 

Leah is passionate about honoring student voice and identity through writing. She believes that for children to see themselves as writers, they deserve trust and autonomy to learn more about themselves and their writing process. If students can identify as authors, the motivation, skills, and craft will follow!

**Teachers! We want to hear from you! We want to hear your story, experience, aha moment or insights related to Getting Students to Write! The more we share, the more we learn together, the more we can accomplish for our writers!

Click the link below and record a voicemail. Your story may be featured on the podcast:)

Send a voice message to GettingStudentstoWrite

About Melissa:

Melissa is an enthusiastic educator and continuous learner with over 19 years' experience in education.  Her passion and expertise is transforming writing programs so that teachers are confident in writing instruction and student writers thrive! She strongly believes teachers are the key to effective instruction and their writers are their best resources.

Melissa knows that too often, explicit writing instruction is pushed aside in elementary education, and she feels it is her calling to help schools make it front and center, providing teachers with the knowledge and support necessary to implement effective and engaging writing instruction. 

Teaching to Transform, LLC was founded by Melissa in 2018 and partners with school districts to provide professional development in writing instruction.

If you would like to learn more or refer Melissa to your district, check out her website below!

Website and Blog Read the latest blog posts and find out more about services provided by Melissa

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