Thoughtful Learning Blog

Thoughtful Learning Blog

The Thoughtful Learning blog features articles about English language arts, 21st century skills, and social-emotional learning. Insights come from the teachers, writers, and developers at Thoughtful Learning, who have been creating top-notch instructional materials for more than 40 years.

Jun
10

2021

How to Give Good Grammar Feedback

Teacher at desk giving student feedback

Commenting on grammar issues in student writing presents a tricky teaching situation. You don’t want students to flounder without support, but you also don’t want them to drown in red corrections. 

Thankfully, a happy middle ground exists. 

Follow these tips to deliver quick, effective grammar feedback. Then download the free resource to see the advice in action. 

May
12

2021

Surveying Growth in Your Writing Classroom

You've given your students helpful writing feedback all year long. Now it's time to reverse roles.

Before summer break, survey your students about their learning experiences. Students will reflect on their progress and growth as writers, and you'll receive first-hand accounts of what worked and what didn't work in your classroom.

Featured Download: End-of-Year Writing Survey

Hand out this survey to gather information about students' attitudes, behaviors, and learning.

May
12

2021

Improve SEL Through Literature

Novels and short stories are filled with emotions. The characters in them experience the ups and downs of the human condition, often in dramatic fashion. And as we read along, we feel things, too—about the characters and ourselves. For these reasons, literature offers a gateway to social-emotional learning in your classroom.

When students analyze the emotions of the characters they are reading about, they gain not only a greater understanding of the text but also a greater understanding of their own emotions.

May
4

2021

Close the Year with Joyful Writing

The last months of school go by in a flash. Writing prompts can help your students gather their memories of the year and prepare for what the summer holds.

These low-stakes activities also invite your students to see writing as a fun, meaningful, and—dare we say—joyful activity. The prompts help students honor their experiences and reflect on the school year.

My Top 10

Students create a Top 10 List for the school year. Topics can range from serious (Top 10 Things I Will Miss) to silly (Top 10 Worst Sounds at School).

Apr
8

2021

Connect SEL to the Brain

Brain diagram with stem shaded green, limbic system shaded yellow, and cortex shaded blue

Teaching students about their brains and how they work will help them understand their emotions and thoughts.

While the brain is a complex structure, you can teach its basic parts in a way students will understand. Introduce your students to the “lizard,” “dog,” and “owl” areas of their brains with this quick, hands-on lesson from In Focus.

Apr
1

2021

Best Practices for Teaching Grammar

Students often associate grammar with a complicated set of rules and terms instead of an avenue for clear and powerful writing.

Unfortunately, this misconception often stems from traditional ways of teaching grammar. (Think of sentence diagrams and red ink.) You can create better conditions in your classroom.

Make grammar relevant and useful to your students with these research-supported practices.

students working on their writing

1. Teach grammar with authentic writing.

To make grammar instruction stick, connect it to students’ writing. Introduce new concepts as students reach the editing stage of writing projects. That way, they apply the concepts in an authentic context. For example, if students are writing narratives, teach and practice how to punctuate dialogue. Then have students correctly punctuate the dialogue in their own writing.

Mar
24

2021

Dealing with Sadness in School

Picsfive/Shutterstock.com

Sadness is a beautiful emotion, tender and vulnerable. When someone is sad or crying, it is like seeing into the person’s heart. 

Yet, many students don’t know how to properly manage sadness. Sadness is not something they’ve carefully considered or discussed. As a result, they may bottle it up or feel embarrassed by it.

You can empower students to deal with sadness in healthy ways. Use this quick activity from In Focus to start a conversation about sadness. Then share the posters to discuss coping strategies. 

Mar
17

2021

Solutions for Choppy Writing

Effective writing flows smoothly from sentence to sentence, leading to clear and pleasurable reading. Young writers, though, are still learning how to command the rhythm of a page. They can get their ideas down, but their sentences often sound choppy or halting.

What they need is a little variety. Teach your students to vary sentence lengths, beginnings, and types—and to deliver their ideas smoothly.

Featured Activity: Improving Sentence Fluency

Use this activity to help students write with rhythm and flow.

Mar
11

2021

Support Students Through Trying Times

Living through a pandemic has placed an enormous mental-health burden on students. Stress and isolation have increased anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts among young people.

Even though students are slowly returning to in-person classes, the mental toll of the past year will likely linger for a long time, influencing learning and behavior. How, then, can you best support your students’ social and emotional well-being while also caring for your own?

To start, it is important to recognize what stress does to the brain. With that understanding, you can plan and respond in healthy ways.

How does stress impact a young person’s brain?

Stress triggers a number of brain processes that impact learning and behavior. When students feel scared or threatened, much of their processing and energy drops from the cortex, where thinking and decision-making take place, down to the limbic system, where emotions are produced.

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