tcrwp · Writing Institute · writing workshop

Learning from the Summer Institute via #tcrwp

Tara Smith

I was not able to attend the Writing Institute at TC this week, but I was able to live and learn vicariously through a steady stream of Tweets and blog posts – teachers are nothing if not generous with their learning.  At times, sitting on my porch, I felt exactly as my friend Fran McVeigh did sitting in a classroom up there on Morningside Heights:

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So, on this last Saturday in June, as I settle into the summer teacher routine of read-write-think-plan-relax, here are some of the Tweets that made me sit up straight and made me think…

1.

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This was Tweeted out on the first day from Mary Ehrenworth’s keynote. This made me think: it is so important to project a vision for our kids – this is what learning looks like, this is what thinking looks like, this is what the endeavor of meaningful writing and reading looks like.  Watching us role play allows our kids to envision themselves taking steps towards realizing their own identities as writers and readers, and this is the work of our conferences.  When we meet with our students over a piece of writing or to discuss a book they are reading, we need to have a vision of where they can travel and who they can be.  If we, their teacher, convey this vision day after teaching day and conference after conference, we can lead them to formulate that vision for themselves. If we show the way, they will become.

2.

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 6.59.54 PM I loved this Tweet.  For most of our students, revision is something to dread – it is a testament to the fact that they didn’t get the writing “right” in the first instance, it means going back and rewriting until the teacher says the magic words: publish!  What is lost in this dreary process is what lies at the very heart of why writers revise: to get to the heart of their message, and to make sure that every word and passage points the reader in the direction the writer intends.  I will share Georgia Heard’s quote with my students to begin discussing revision – this made me think that it will change their ideas about the process of revision, it will empower them to invest their best efforts to match their writing to what’s in their hearts.

3.

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Sometimes, I think that we fail to teach our kids the big picture work of reading and writing.  I loved Mary Ehrenworth’s question, for it asks our kids to think BIG.  It lends their writing a sense of greater purpose, it focuses their thinking towards taking a  stance and a making a personal investment.  Whenever we moved towards this kind of thinking in my classroom, my kids dove into their writing with passion – this made me think that I need to find authentic ways in which to  gear my kids to ask this question before they begin they begin to write.

4.

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This work blew me away.  Writing is such a complicated process, and we often fail to allow our students to appreciate how hard writers work towards crafting narratives.  Even though I wasn’t in Shana Franzin’s session, these charts gave me so many ideas about how to incorporate text structure maps in writing workshop.   This made me think that I needed to  allow my kids an insight into craft moves writers make in ways that were visible, and therefore transferable. Mentor text work like this allows our students choice in plotting out their own writing and creating their own narrative arcs.

5.

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I ruminated over this for a while. Truth to tell, sometimes I feel that I dwell on those technical aspects (grammar, mechanics, spelling) at the expense of the response.  This made me think that I need to remind myself to pull back and hear my student’s voice during our conferences, her unique way of phrasing and conveying thought, feeling, and information, before I attend to those technical aspects.   Put the substance of the writing, the “heart” part,  before the rest.

6.

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This made me think that my writerly life, however faltering it may be, was essential to my writing teacher life.  Unless we live the writing life, we cannot know what it is like to face the blank pages of a notebook with the injunction to write, we cannot know the struggle to say what we mean or what we dream.

7.

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For many of us, unwrapping the Units of Study feels the answer to teaching prayers.  But, time and again, I’ve run into colleagues who take the Units of Study as scripts  to be strictly adhered to, and that is an impossible task. This made me think that we need to create many more opportunities to meet with colleagues and discuss the ideas within the Units as we plan and while we teach.  We need to  how they apply to our particular students, and how these ideas might be unveiled in our individual classrooms, and we need to feel free to make the teaching ideas within the units our own .  After all, which teacher wants to stay confined in a scripted box?

8.

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Well, what else is there to add? This made me think that what I love about teaching is this aspect of forever evolving – the more we learn about our craft, the more grateful we are that this is our vocation.

  1. Reading Fran McVeigh’s day-by-day summary here:https://franmcveigh.wordpress.com/

This made me think about gratitude. Who else spends all day learning, taking copious notes and Tweeting out gems of information…and then writes detailed posts? That would be Fran, and I am grateful!

10.

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This made me think that the Institute ended in the best possible way – with Nye’s rich, soaring words to inspire us to trust in ourselves, and each other: a tribe of believers and energizers.

Published by Tara Smith

I teach Writing Workshop, Language Arts and Social Studies to sixth graders at a middle school in suburban New Jersey. This blog is my attempt to capture all the "stuff" that goes into my teaching life - the planning, the dreaming, the reading, the preparing, the hoping and (above all) the kids. Please note that the content of this blog is my own. It does not reflect the opinions of my employer.

23 thoughts on “Learning from the Summer Institute via #tcrwp”

  1. Thanks for taking the time to share all of these plus your own comments. This brought up several points that I hadn’t thought of before. There are so many suggestions here that I will definitely be refreshing myself on.

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  3. I was so engrossed in finishing my book last week that I missed nearly all of the #TCRWP tweets. Thanks for highlighting some of the best ones you saw. I’m looking forward to attending August Writing. I’ll be sure to do some tweeting too!

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  4. Tara, this is a fantastic post that I plan to re-read as the school year approaches. What blog posts would you recommend I check out to get more details/ideas from #tcrwp? Thanks.

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  5. Taking these powerful words and thinking about them matters. We must process them, for our students. The Units of Study offer many tools, and should be used as necessary and needed. That takes reflection and study.

    I too was particularly struck by Carl Anderson’s call to consider our response to children’s writing. Writing is personal. When we pay attention to writers on a personal level, it makes a deep impression.

    Being at the Institute is a privilege. Not only because of the tools and thinking, but to be in the company of others who share our vision: those who are sitting next to us and those connecting via Twitter!
    Julieanne

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    1. Yes – I think that through talking about and processing these ideas, we can be so much more effective in their implementation with our students. Thanks, as always, for sharing what you learn – safe trip home, my friend.

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  6. Did one of the graphics get mixed up? The Georgia Heard reference is the same as writerly life one. This didn’t seem to make sense to me.

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  7. This made me think that I am not alone. I have a community of teachers who are passionate and thinking people. Thanks for this amazing summary of great thinking.

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  8. The way that you’ve shared your thinking about the tweets and posts throughout the week is so helpful! I’ve been following on twitter as well, and it’s so fast paced, so many great ideas. You’ve inspired me to find a way to organize it for myself and think on it a bit more, and in turn find ways to help the teachers I work with to process all this great online stuff!

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    1. Thanks, Beth. It’s interesting to follow along on Twitter, isn’t it? many voices and perspectives on the same learning. I felt that I was a part of the week, in my own small way – which eased the envy somewhat 🙂

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  9. You stated so well much of what I was thinking all week long as I stole time to follow #tcrwp on twitter. And how lucky I feel to have received an email on Thursday to attend the July Reading Institute off the waitlist. So I am scrambling to get to NYC despite car troubles because it is such an honor to learn amongst this tribe. And I’ll be sharing ALL I learn because it is my chance to pay back all I have received from generous teachers like you and Fran!

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  10. Tara,
    Thanks for sharing what stuck with you. The week literally raced through the TC halls as we listened, read, talked, wrote and thought together. The collaborative nature of our learning led us to even deeper discoveries and allowed us to untangle some worries and fears along the way. My brain is still on fire with the excitement and enchantment of this great learning opportunity.

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  11. Thank you for this post Tara! I was following the tweets from #TCRWP as best I could since school ended for me just this Thursday. The quote about becoming a better teacher being a forever thing resonated and reminded me of what I just read in Colleen Cruz’s Unstoppable Teacher. Colleen writes about the sand mandalas and how they are built and then swept out to sea. The process of learning and growing is what matters but it is never done as new ways/ methods are always evolving. This was a bit of an “aha” for me as I think in the back of my mind I always believed I would reach a place where everything was just so- my conferring notes, my classroom library, my mentor texts, etc. Of course I can grow and improve but I will never be done growing and improving. Interesting thought. Thanks again!

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  12. Tara, thanks for this beautiful wrap-up. I had to decline my June Writing acceptance (first time in eight years I won’t be there for R or W) due to foot surgery, so I lived it through the very same tweets. It was ingenious of you to gather your favorites and turn it into a reflection piece, but you always do that in your posts. Like you, I was blown away by Shana’s section. I went to her Saturday reunion on Storytelling, where she gave us a glimpse into her summer work, so I knew those teachers were in for a treat. Thanks again for sharing such an informative post. Fellow NJ teacher/coach

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    1. Hooray for NJ teachers! I am going to think about all the learning shared in Shana’s section – it is going to transform my teaching in important ways for both reading and writing workshop. Looking forward to more Twitter learning in this week’s Reading Institute!

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