Welcome to The Writing Diner!

What in the world is The Writing Diner? Simply put, it is a new resource to teach writing that combines great thinking and ideas from established experts in the field of teaching writing along with new thinking by Diner creator, Tim Hargis. The overall goal of The Writing Diner is to create active thinkers in the writing classroom so that students, when they are writing independently, will be confident, knowledgeable, and successful writers.

Many writing books and writing resources give great ideas that students are able to hang onto and use on the day the lesson is presented but then often forget a day or two later. The Writing Diner aims to change that. Realizing that writing is learned over time, The Writing Diner focuses on building a cumulative effect of writing knowledge and then zeroes in on helping student writers develop the ability to actively think while they are writing, knowing when to pull from their knowledge of writing and use that knowledge effectively in their work.

Inside The Writing Diner teachers will find a series of minilessons, logically organized and easy to follow. Each minilesson will have a piece of writing that clearly illustrates the focus of that minilesson. Teachers may use that piece of writing, write their own piece of writing, or do a combination of both, to teach the focus of each minilesson. The lessons also come with a colorful mini-poster that teachers use to build a writing menu throughout the year. This writing menu aids student writing and, more importantly, student thinking while they are writing. The Writing Diner also includes writing prompts where students can try out their new thinking.

Parents and Teachers see the results:

“Tim Hargis and his gourmet writing lessons contained in The Writing Diner are every teacher’s gift to a successful writing program. This program has been kid tested and approved with my third grade students for two years. What I have found to be helpful, where other programs lack, is the age appropriated language and deeply kid interesting writing examples. The children have quickly digested terms such as “lively lead” and “snapshot.” I hear the children talk in these Diner words daily because they have a ‘just right feel.’ My strongest reasoning for using Tim’s lessons is simple: They have given my children the ability to improve and self monitor their own writing for real life purposes….No doubt these same lessons will improve your students’ writing, too.”
-Wendy McLenithan, 3rd Grade Teacher, Explorer Elementary

“My son is a strong reader who had tremendous difficulty writing. He would sit there during writing time without writing a single thing on his paper. When he did write, he would write with as few words as possible. Tim began introducing The Writing Diner to (my son’s) class two years ago. First of all, (my son) was so excited about the lesson; he still clearly remembers it today! He began coming home excited about one word leads and onomatopoeia. He now feels that writing is doable! He has the tools to break the huge task of writing down into doable pieces. I am so happy to read his work and see interesting sentences and clear thoughts! Thanks to The Writing Diner, he is no longer scared of the writing task!”
-Christine Clifford, Parent, Glenwood Elementary