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The Community
The Origin Story
Think Write Read was born of a desire for community. Over the span of my teaching career (almost three decades) I have been a traditional classroom teacher, and a Montessori classroom teacher for toddlers, young children, tweens, teens and young adults. I have lectured in adult education, led community education projects, and worked as a private literacy and numeracy specialist. I have also had the great joy and pleasure of educating my own children at home. I sit on the executive committee of the largest Teacher Association in Australia, have been a founding committee member of a Home Education Association, and currently serve on the academic board of the oldest Montessori Teacher Training Institute in Australia. I have some perspective on the demands that face educators in many different settings, and the tightrope that educators walk each day in trying to serve their students whilst meeting mandates and making budgets stretch. Classroom Teachers, Home Educating parents, Montessori and Waldorf Steiner teachers, Literacy Coaches, and Literacy Tutors have to work very hard to make resources work for their unique settings. I can help.
Thinking, writing and reading are connected. They are the three tasks of idea-creation. The development of writing skills should be sequential, recursive, and interleaved. Writing is not a "subject" - it is a tool for learning. It helps us to make sense of, and communicate our thoughts about the amazing world that has gone before us, surrounds us now, and leads us into the future. Writing is about self-expression. This community of educators is informed and inspired by the groundbreaking work of scholars who have gone before us. This community is about taking the best of what is out there, and putting it into practice.
The Members
The authors of the many books about literacy instruction and writing in particular, all try to break down the component skills of writing and elaborate on the ways in which these skills are best taught. The books are a fabulous introduction to teaching writing, however they are dense with content and detail, and this makes them somewhat unwieldy when it comes to implementation. The most common complaint I have heard from the adults I support is that the theory is solid but the practice is tricky. How do I take all of this information and USE it in a way that is meaningful and effective for MY child, or MY students?
In a nutshell everyone who teaches written expression will benefit from understanding the ideas explored in our community. Think Write Read is all about support for those who want to teach literacy using a Writing-First Approach.
Our members are
- Home Educators
- Montessori and Waldorf-Steiner Educators
- Classroom Literacy Teachers
- Literacy Tutors
- University Lecturers
- School Literacy Coaches
who want to do a better job of teaching writing in their unique settings. If you have ever wished for a personal instructional coach to hold your hand as you implement a new approach, this is where you are going to find one.
You don't need to arrive here knowing anything about teaching writing, in order to find something useful in this space. Together, we explore the best of what is out there for writing instruction, and how to put it into practice right away.
The content shared in this community is not offered in the official trainings of The Writing Revolution, WVCEd, Montessori or any other training organisation, and this community not affiliated with any organisation in an official capacity. It is a view into how writing skills can be taught in an integrated, explicit and responsive way to novice and developing student writers.
Membership Details
Your first year: $100 USD
Your second year: $75 USD
Your third year: $50 USD
Your fourth year: $25 USD
Your fifth year and beyond: free lifetime membership after four continuous years of membership. Your loyalty, support and participation are greatly appreciated and warmly rewarded.
The Inspiration
The Writing Revolution
The Writing Revolution is an approach to writing instruction devised by Judith C Hochman. Originally known as The Hochman Method, The Writing Revolution is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There's no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt the TWR strategies and activities to their current curriculum and weave them into their content instruction. The method takes the mystery out of learning to write well. It breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.
Structured Word Inquiry
A term coined by Dr Pete Bowers as a result of his PhD studies on how students can learn to be literate through scholarly investigation into the English orthographic system. This work not only teaches students to understand the orthography of English, it also teaches them the skills of scientific investigation: developing an hypothesis, searching for evidence that either proves or falsifies their ideas, and critically evaluating the connections between words and how they are used.
Writing Matters
Written and shared by the late William Van Cleave, an incredible mentor to teachers around the globe (I am fortunate to count myself among them) and an inspiring guide, Writing Matters is a research-based approach to teaching the building blocks of writing. It is a sensible, practical how-to guide and a valuable source of information about how the English language works. His comprehensive guide to grammar and sentence structure should be on every teacher's reference shelf.
The Montessori Method
Whilst originally conceived as a vehicle for social change by Dr Maria Montessori, the Montessori Method has become world-renowned for its extraordinary results in teaching very young children to be literate and numerate to an astonishing degree. As a Montessori teacher for over two decades, and a Montessori teacher trainer in Australia and USA, I am inspired by this child-led, interest-based, humanistic approach that facilitates the realisation of the child's potential for learning.
Self-Regulated Strategy Development
A cognitive strategy instructional approach developed by Karen Harris and Steve Graham. Students are taught task-specific strategies along with more general strategies for regulating their thinking processes, self-management strategies and the learning process. This research has been developed for over 40 years and is solid. Sentence writing skills are not enough on their own. Students need a way to plan, outline, write and evaluate their writing independently of their teacher. Self-Regulated Strategy Development gives them the skills to do this.
About Meg
I believe that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
This means
- learning for mastery
- hands on learning for real life skills
- knowing where your strengths lie
- celebrating each small step in the journey towards success
I have
been homeschooling my own children for 15 years, one of whom has a specific learning disorder in reading (dyslexia) and writing (dysgraphia). I am a Montessori teacher educator, and I lecture for The Montessori Institute in Australia, and the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in the USA. My university education, with educational psychology as its focus, drives my work as an academic therapist, supporting children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities to overcome their difficulties with achieving functional literacy and numeracy skills. I am a knowledgable, engaging and passionate speaker who strives to share applicable tools which Montessori educators, homeschooling parents and literacy tutors can put in their teaching toolboxes and use straight away.
My approach is about helping children to experience success, and to grow their self-belief and autonomy.
In my work with children, I use
- a concrete, hands-on approach
- multi-sensory teaching and learning
- evidence based memory activation and retrieval practices
- explicit, direct instruction
- inquiry learning where appropriate
- CRA methodology (concrete - representational - abstract)
- current brain-based research
To help children to learn
- self-management skills (how to organise, prioritise and plan for success)
- metacognitive skills (how to reflect upon their understanding, and know how to ask for help)
- personalised learning skills (how to find out which learning tools work FOR THEM, and how to use them)
- executive function skills (how to make the most of their brain chemistry, and how to 'train' their brains)