Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language And Other Cornerstones For Writers by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts

Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language And Other Cornerstones For Writers 

by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts

Published May, 2026

Corwin 

232 Pages

Paperback

Professional Learning Text

I am a bit of a professional book addict. I love reading professional texts to deepen and broaden my own knowledge and skills so that I can be the best teacher for my students. While I always learn something, not every professional text is as helpful as I hope it will be. Every now and then, a professional text comes along that is a game-changer--one that has the potential to impact the practice of everyone who reads it. Foundational Skills for Writing is one of those books. 

It is an understatement to say that Melanie and Maggie have done their homework. They have done a deep dive into how executive functioning, oral language, large and small motor skills, handwriting, spelling, syntax, and sentence construction all play important roles in writing development. They provide predictable progressions of developmental skills, which will help educators determine next steps for students. Each chapter is grounded in classroom practice by presenting a student scenario. Then the student is revisited at the end of the chapter, and the authors give an update on how the students have progressed using the information and strategies presented in the chapter. 

Most importantly, the authors provide replicable instructional strategies to address each foundational skill in a section called "Leveraging Literacy". These strategies are accompanied by sequential steps, visuals, and even direct links to resources. I got some new ideas that I will share later in this post. A section called Researchers to Know, includes a list of prominent researchers in the field presented in the chapter, including a brief description of their contributions. Each chapter ends with Conversations With a Colleague, where a practitioner in the field shares their experience, expertise, and advice. 

The mark of a good professional text is in how it will impact the practice of an educator who reads it. Books like this one make me wish I were back in the classroom so that I could use what I have learned with my classroom writers. But now I read professional texts through a library lens. Below are the strategies and activities I will implement (or continue to implement) in my library program to support foundational writing development after reading and processing Foundational Skills for Writing.

Executive Functioning

• Allow extra think time
• Leverage quick-writes
• Use sketchnoting with students
• Incorporate more oral storytelling

Oral Language

• Turn & talks (pairing similar "talkers" together
• Asking students to share what they heard rather than what they said. 
• Verbal rehearsal before writing
• Incorporate visuals like sketches as options
• Incorporate the use of sentence frames during discussions
• Ask questions to think deeper about characters from read-alouds, such as What would be the character's least favorite food? 
• Have students orally tell the story of wordless picture books

Large Motor Skills

• Utilize large motor movements before read-aloud
• Encourage students to read books on their bellies propped up on their arms
• Incorporate yoga poses in the library

Small Motor/Handwriting/Spelling Skills

• Offer a variety of writing utensils 
• Have a variety of paper choices on hand
• Offer Jigsaw puzzles
• Incorporate STEAM activities such as Legos 
• Bookmaking activities
• Incorporate the use of sticky notes and mini notebooks throughout the library and during play activities
• Keep letter-sound charts and high-frequency word lists available during writing activities
• Do high-frequency word hunts in books
• Orthographically map tricky words 
• Incorporate Interactive Writing 
• Label the library
• Use magnetic letters for choice activities

Syntax & Sentence Construction

• Mentor sentence activities
• Sort a sentence
• Collaborative sentence construction
• Sentence scrambles 
• Magnetic poetry

I would strongly encourage any educator to get a copy of Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language, and Other Cornerstones for Writers by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts.  

The Power of Quick and Frequent Practice: Joyful Small Moves with Big Impacts on Elementary Literacy by Tammy Mulligan

The Power of Quick and Frequent Practice 

by Tammy Mulligan

Published Dec. 2024

Routledge 

166 Pages

Paperback

Professional Book-Literacy Instruction

Description from Publisher

What can students really accomplish when they practice something for just a few minutes a day? Quite a lot, as Tammy Mulligan illustrates in The Power of Quick and Frequent Practice: Joyful Small Moves with Big Impacts on Elementary Literacy.
Come along as we follow classroom teacher Tammy Mulligan’s journey to plan and facilitate small but powerful moments of practice that help students grow as readers, writers, and community members. Chapter by chapter, Mulligan explores how to bring different categories of quick and frequent practice to life in the classroom including:

● Quick and Frequent Phonics Moves
● Quick and Frequent Fluency Moves
● Quick and Frequent Comprehension Moves
● Quick and Frequent Moves To Help Readers Lead
● Quick and Frequent Moves to Connect with Families

Written with the practical lens of a teacher, The Power of Quick and Frequent Practice outlines how to make these practice moves a part of daily and weekly instructional routines, utilize simple tools you already have in your classroom, and weave moments of student leadership throughout the practice times to help children celebrate their growth. Mulligan shares strategies, routines, and tips for planning, managing, and implementing the kind of engaging and meaningful literacy practice that learners need.

The Power of Quick and Frequent Practice illustrates that small moves can have a big impact on children's literacy learning!

My Thoughts

Tammy Mulligan is a seasoned educator with decades of experience as a literacy consultant and classroom teacher with a deep understanding of literacy development and the cycle of assessment-driven research-based instruction. In this book she demonstrates how she uses formal and informal assessment to identify specific needs, set goals, plan and deliver brief, but frequent interventions for striving readers and writers. She walks readers through one school year and how she used powerful, yet straightforward, approaches to help her students to develop literacy skills and to see themselves as capable learners. 

As educators, we all struggle with finding enough time to help all of our students. Tammy shows exactly how we can find and use small moments throughout our days to give students some brief instruction and practice. Then she provides the instructional approaches she uses and how she enlists and organizes the help of colleagues and volunteers to help. 

All educators will get ideas from this book whether you are a classroom teacher, special educator, or interventionalist. It is full of schedules, checklists, student work, and resource ideas, including specific texts, and websites. I found myself rereading the section about how she prepares students to have student-led discussions and thinking about how I could modify my discussion work in the library. The section focusing on reader's theater includes specific texts and websites that she uses to find engaging reader's theater resources for her students. I found myself thinking about how I could incorporate this powerful instructional strategy into my library work. 

One thing that sets Quick and Frequent Practice apart from other texts about intervention are the chapters about finding ways to Help Readers Lead and Connect with Families. Her whole-child approach allows students to learn about themselves, to see the results of their consistent work, and to help them feel confident in their abilities. 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? April 22, 2019

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

I have not posted an IMWAYR post in ages. 

Here are some books I have read recently. 

Currently Reading

#CyberPD2017 Week Two

     This summer I am participating in my second #CyberPD session. This virtual book club is organized and facilitated by educators, Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Michelle Nero. This summer, we are reading and discussing Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading by the incomparable Vicki Vinton. 

This week we read chapters 5 and 6 in section two of Vinton's book. Both chapters gave a glimpse into how a problem-based reading session might unfold. Although, both chapters were thought-provoking, chapter 5 spoke to me a bit more.

File Under Duh, Why Didn't I think of That?
Right from the beginning, Vinton was blowing my teacher mind by suggesting things that, until now, seemed counterintuitive. She suggests instead of activating background knowledge or preteaching tricky vocabulary in a text, have the students read the text and underline the words they DO know instead of those they do not know. This, she says, "...builds their confidence, sense of agency and identity as readers." (58). 

I Do This, But I Didn't Know I Did This
Feedback strategy: Noticing and naming. As I read this section (pgs 73-74) I was pleased to find that this might be something I actually do, but didn't realize I was doing it and didn't have a name for it. Now I have filed it away to definitely have available in my questioning/feedback toolbox. The idea is simple, notice what students are doing to attempt to solve problems and name what they did. There is a nice list on page 74. 

Quote Worthy
"While the ability to argue with evidence is certainly an important skill, we might better serve our students as readers if we think of that as a by-product, not the real purpose of reading." Unfortunately text-dependent questions and "proving" accuracy by quoting the text has become the goal in may classrooms thanks to the Common Core's emphasis on it. 

Steer the Ship
I absolutely LOVE the "Steering the Ship" charts where Vinton summarizes the essence of the chapter. I have each one marked with a sticky flag and feel like they would be great to revisit for reminders and inspiration. 

Confession
I-we-you has been a hallmark of my instruction for some time. I love it when my thinking is "disrupted" to coin a phrase from Beers and Probst. Why not let them grapple first and then decide if/when/how to help?

#CyberPD2017 Post Week 1-Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading

     This summer I am participating in my second #CyberPD session. This virtual book club is organized and facilitated by educators, Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Michelle Nero.  This group started in 2011 and has grown every year. This summer, we are reading and discussing Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading by the incomparable Vicki Vinton. 

This week we read chapters 1-4 and boy were they chocked FULL of ideas! My head is swimming! 

Reflection

As I thumb through my book, now covered in highlights and sticky notes, I will attempt to reflect on my reading. Rather than summarize or reflect on each chapter, I will reflect on a few quotes that really spoke to me.  

"Too often though, what passes as productive struggle in reading is asking students to persevere through an exceedingly hard text to find a particular answer or to give the teacher what she-or the program she is using-is looking for, which only captures on piece, not the more complex whole, of what's meant by productive struggle." (13)

"It [Common Core] does not suggest that teachers should choose a different text, only that they should continue to scaffold until a students get it. This means that too often teachers are doing the heavy lifting, nudging and prodding students toward whatever it is that they are supposed to get-and if that fails, simply telling them." (19)

Both of these quotes are centered around using too much scaffolding. Vinton discusses how Common Core and commercial programs are pressuring us to scaffold like crazy to "get through" a text, even though it may be far too difficult. She suggests, rather than slogging through a text that is too difficult, finding a more accessible text to help the student apply problem-solving skills to be able to read more independently. Seems like a no-brainer, but I think teachers often feel tied to the texts in a program and feel that they are helping students by nudging (or dragging) them through a tough text in the name of "rigor". 

Questions I am Pondering:

How much (if any) scaffolding is beneficial?

How can I make sure my students are exposed to the right types of texts to help them problem solve and become more independent?

Am I doing all the heavy lifting?

"...in our rush to get answers or have students make claims, we rarely give them enough time to truly engage in critical thinking." (32)

"What's important is how deeply they come to understand and consider what the author might be trying to show them-in other words, what they think the text means at the literal, figurative and thematic levels. Of course the question then becomes how to achieve this outcome without all those prescribed steps and scaffolding. I believe the answer is to bring that complex mix of creative and critical thinking into classrooms by setting students up to wonder, generate questions and form hypotheses, then to test out these hypotheses using reasoning and logic, to arrive at a final judgement or claim." (37) 

"Close reading is a noun, while reading closely is a verb; one's a thing and the other's and action." (39)

This set of quotes involve critical thinking and reading closely. Vinton points out that "close reading" is one of those educational terms that can mean different things to different people. To many, close reading is a scaffolded procedure meant to guide students in digging deeper into the reading with multiple readings for different purposes. I really like Vinton's suggestion that close reading should be an outcome, not a procedure. She, and Harvard's, "How to Do a Close Reading" suggest having students read the text first for, "anything that strikes you as surprising, or significant, or that raises questions". Then they reflect and interpret which will likely lead to them back to the text. This seems a more natural way to look at reading closely where the student decides what work is required as the transact with the text. 

Questions I am Pondering:

What might critical thinking and reading closely look like at different grade levels? 

How can we ensure that students get ample time to think critically about texts?

I am eager to read the next section where Vinton shows us what her approach might look like in the classroom. 

As a last thought, I'll just leave these little nuggets of wisdom.

"The thing that really matters in feedback is the relationship between the student and the teacher."

(Dylan Williams, 2014) pg. 52

"...rigor doesn't have to be the opposite of pleasure." (pg. 51)

"..there is, in fact, no teaching without learning". 

(44, quote from Paulo Freire, 1998) pg. 44

Summer #CyberPD Reflection Weeks 2 and 3

This summer I am participating in my first #CyberPD session. This virtual book club is organized and facilitated by educators, Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Michelle Nero.  This group started in 2011 and has grown every year. This summer, we are reading and discussing DIY Literacy: Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence. 

This post serves as my reflection for weeks 2 and 3 since I never got to it last week. 

Reflection 

For me, chapters 3-5 were the really the "heart" of the book for me. It hit upon all of the reasons I need to use these tools:

*To help students remember what I have taught them.

*To help motivate students.

*To tailor my teaching to meet the needs of all of my students. 

Of all of these reasons, helping my students remember what I have taught them is probably one of my biggest issues in the classroom. On page 38 Kate and Maggie list all of the things our students must try to learn and attend to on a given day. No wonder our students can't remember what we teach them. 

I really love the idea of using anchor and repertoire charts and bookmarks for this purpose. I also like the list on page 42 of the ways to keep charts alive. I am very guilty of creating a chart and expecting the students to remember to refer to it. These tips such as interrupting the students' reading or writing during workshop to remind them to check a chart for a certain strategy for example are excellent ways to help students remember to use the tools. 

A Couple of Takeaways

*Just because I taught it, doesn't mean they learned it. It they actually learned something, they would remember it. So I already knew this but it is always a good reminder. 

*Tools can motivate students and give them confidence by providing them with a place to turn when they need help. It also helps with independence because the teacher can always refer the student to the tool before intervening.  

Now I Wonder...

*How can I let go of the fact that my handwriting looks like I wrote while riding a roller coaster? I know Kate and Maggie said it's ok, but I still hate my charts. 

*How can I share what I have learned with other staff members?

*Will I really be able to organize all the tools effectively? 

I have enjoyed participating in this #CyberPD summer session. I hope we can all continue to extend our learning as we apply what we have learned in the classroom. 

A BIG Thank you to Cathy, Laura and Michelle for hosting! 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? July 11, 2016

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here are some of the books I have read over the last 2 weeks. Click on the book covers to learn more about the books.

Picture Books

Cute story of a unique friendship. Good for grades K-2. 

Reviewed this one last week. Click here to read my review. 

Middle Grade

Really enjoyed this book from the 2016-17 MSBA list. 

This book hit closer to home than I expected. Very powerful without being too focused on the "message". Upper middle grades.

I love Jennifer Nielsen's books and this was an excellent sequel to Mark of the Thief. 

 I have not read many historical fiction set during the Civil War. I really enjoyed this one. For YA readers.

An engaging audio book for YA readers. 

Currently Reading

I am reading this one very slowly because it is jammed packed with great ideas!

Also...

I am excited to be participating in my first ever #CyberPD this summer. We are reading DIY Literacy. Click here to read my first reflection. 

What are YOU reading friends?

Summer #CyberPD Week One

This summer I am participating in my first #CyberPD session. This virtual book club is organized and facilitated by educators, Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Michelle Nero.  This group started in 2011 and has grown every year. This summer, we are reading and discussing DIY Literacy: Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence. 

I was fortunate to participate in a mini online book club using this book in late spring. However, I am excited to read it a second time when I am not so busy with school and I have more mental energy to process it. 

The focus of DIY Literacy is on how tools can be created and used with students in the classroom allowing them to access, remember and extend their learning. This week we read chapters 1, 2 and the "Bonus chapter". 

Reflection 

These first chapters are very exciting. They lay the foundation of how, when and why to use four "tools" in the classroom. Using repertoire/process charts, demonstration notebooks, micro-progressions and bookmarks can help solve a variety of problems teachers face in the classroom. 

I enjoyed the section on page 5 about making our teaching clear and the fact that, oftentimes, we teach too many strategies completely made sense to me. I feel like I need to narrow things down for my students and help them to really learn and use fewer strategies more effectively. 

The Tools

Is it too geeky that the tools look super-fun to make? Even though it is summer, I wanted to grab a rainbow of sharpies, colored stickies and start going to town with drafts in my notebook. 

Kate and Maggie present the tools in such a way that makes me think, "Yeah, I could do that!" I was familiar with charts and demo notebooks to some degree, but using micro progressions and bookmarks to help students monitor, remember and extend learning were new strategies for me. 

The whole time I was reading chapters 1 and 2, I was thinking about where I might find strategies for the tools. Then came the "bonus" chapter. I like the ideas for places to go to find strategies (books, colleagues, online). I also added too many new professional texts to my TBR list after looking at the appendix. 

My Big BIG Aha

I reread the section on "Making Learning Stick" several times. This is one of the most difficult things for me personally. I teach fourth grade and they need repetition, repetition, repetition and then even more. I feel that these tools can help me to give them something visual and concrete to use if they forget a strategy or concept and give them a better chance of actually owning the skill. 

Little "Nuggets" I want to post around my school.

"True learning happens when students get the instruction that fits their needs, have the agency and motivation to work hard, and remember and recycle what they've learned." DIY Literacy pg. 2

"...often we get trapped in the hamster wheel of breadth--of being sure we have gotten to everything--rather than centering our work on depth." DIY Literacy pg. 3

"One key to joy is working hard and seeing that hard work pay off." DIY Literacy pg. 9

"We want to tether our skills and strategies to a strong sense of purpose. This helps students (and ourselves) buy into the work, know when to do the work, and see the bigger meaning of the work." DIY Literacy pg. 32

Now I Wonder...
~Will I really have time to make all the tools I want/need to make? 
~How can I make sure students will use the tools? 
~Will I be able to find strategies to help with particular problems?
~Is there a place where others are posting examples of tools they have developed? 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? January 11, 2016

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here are the books I read last week. 

Click on the covers to learn more about each book. 

Great series for grades 2-3

Oh my word! Wordless perfection!

Finished...

Loved this middle grade historical fiction novel. Review to come. 

A good read for teacher writers.

At ALA I read a bunch of picture books! I don't have time to include them now, but will next week. 

 What are YOU reading friends? 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading-September 14, 2015

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

I am hosting a no-strings giveaway of a copy of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Songs:A Celebration of Seasons. Enter here. 

Click on the book covers to learn more about each book. 

A far fetched story from a very guilty looking narrator. 

Grades K-2. 

I plan to use to start a conversation about courage this week with my 4th graders. 

Big love for this middle grade gem. 

Still working my way through...

Not because it isn't amazing (because it is) but just swamped right now. 

Recent posts:
Nonfiction Picture Book Wed. Trombone Shorty
Are you a Maine educator? See my Maine Student Book Award Round Up #1 and #2. 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? August 24, 2015

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

It was a good reading week for me. I will miss having lots of time to read as we head back to school.
Click on the book covers to read more about them.

A cute story to share about strengths and expectations.

I enjoyed this adorable story about how a boy loves his special book at the library. 

A sweet story of how a person can change their beliefs after a chance encounter. 

This book is a twist on the "telephone game" as James' words are changed through retellings resulting in hurt feelings and misunderstanding. 

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Review to come. 

Finished

This book had been on my TBR list for a while. I am so glad I finally was able to read it!

Currently Reading

What are you reading friends?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? April 27, 2015

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Here are the books I read this week. Click on the covers to learn more about them.

Great message in this book. Review soon. 

Very fun read!

Visit on Tuesday for a review of the final 

book in the Amelia's Notebook series. 

Gorgeous book!

Will share more on Nonfiction Wednesday this week. 

A humorous way to see how a child can view 

the arrival of a new sibling. 

Review soon. 

Almost done listening to

Rereading (slowly)

What Are YOU Reading Friends?