Thinking Ahead to April and the Classroom SOLSC
The Classroom SOLSC is in April this year and it gives me an extra month to reflect, plan and prepare! How are you helping students to get ready for this challenge?
2 Comments
Participant Information Form #sol19
Attention first-year and returning Slicers: Please fill out this year’s participant information form. Filling out the form takes less than five minutes and helps us stay organized during the Challenge.
Three Ways to Be A Better Colleague
Three ways YOU can be a kinder, more generous, better person to work with.
Growing a Classroom Environment Where Writers are Seen and Inspired
A place to make meaning of ourselves and the world around us, writing is a powerful tool for self-discovery. However, when idea-collection tools and drafts are stored in folders, we miss a valuable opportunity to make the diverse lives and experiences of our communities visible. Instead, we can rely on classroom as a tool for making children, their identities, and experiences seen.
SOL Tuesday #sol19
Before you leave the link to your slice of life story today, please take a moment to read the announcements and enjoy a quote about writing.
SOLSC 2019 Prize Reveal
And so — TA-DA — here is the list of prizes for the 12th Annual SOLSC, all donated by generous publishers and individuals.
Be a Writing Coach.
Would you like to help your striving writers so they can be more independent? Try a coaching conference to move them forward!
Time to Write
Donald Murray, author of the seminal text A Writer Teaches Writing (Houghton Mifflin, 1985), teaches us that one of the most important things to a writer is time, time to write. But with the many time constraints faced by teachers, how can we be thinking about time in ways that make a difference for our students?
Eyes Wide Open
I want to see others first and I want to see everyone for who they are and how they want to be seen.
SOL Tuesday
Before you leave the link to your slice of life story today, PLEASE read the announcement about the Participant Information Form at the top of today’s announcements.
ICYMI: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
We hope you enjoyed our February Blog Series!
A School Can Be The Change: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
Pictures tell the story of a NYC public school that integrates social comprehension with literacy. At P.S. 59, identity, student voice, and activism are a part of school culture, and I’m honored to share it!
Respecting Student Creativity: Teaching Writing With A Social Justice Lens
Whether students choose to express themselves in the form of writing prose, poetry or creating a video, the choice belongs to the writer.
Honoring Student Voice: Teaching Writing With a Social Justice Lens
“Did he read it yet?” Anxiously, I stared into my mother’s eyes as she stepped inside the house, closing the front door behind her. After a day of teaching elementary school, my mom… Continue reading
Writing Speeches to Inspire Change: Teaching Writing With a Social Justice Lens
Persuasive speech writing is a powerful way to show students their voices matter, to use the mandated curriculum as that springboard for thinking critically. But before my students begin to write speeches, there is work to be done.
Mentor Texts to Increase Empathy: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
Today I continue our conversation with mentor texts when teaching writing through a social justice lens. Empathy is the first step toward building understandings beyond ourselves. It takes imagination and compassion.
Inclusive Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
We can have a positive impact on children’s reading lives when we attempt to make sure every child’s life is reflected in books AND that every child can understand the experiences of other people by reading books. By doing this, we not only positively impact our students, but we improve our society as a whole.
Write. Share. Give.
January is almost over but it’s not too late to start a writing habit! Join us today for #SOL19.
Language Awareness In Classrooms: Teaching Writing with a Social Justice Lens
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways that each of us use language each day that intentionally or unintentionally limits some of our students capacity to learn from us. Here are just a few.
Thinking About Implicit Bias: Teaching Writing With a Social Justice Lens
As we think about our implicit biases, maybe the most important thing is that we increase our awareness and act from a place of humility and reflection– with a willingness to take a look at parts of our belief systems and behaviors that are uncomfortable, at best. When we know better, we do better. And isn’t that the goal?