blogging

#TWTBlog 3.0

Stacey Shubitz

 

Nearly two years after I relaunched this blog with five co-authors, we’ve expanded our team!  It’s my pleasure to announce the names of the two classroom teachers who will start blogging with us in August.

  1. Deb Frazier
  2. Kathleen Sokolowski

Here’s a bit about each of these incredible educators:

Deb Frazier
Deb Frazier

Deb is currently learning alongside first graders who love learning as much as she does in the Hilliard City Schools where she’s been teaching for 23 years. Prior to Deb’s current position, she taught kindergarten, second grade and students with special needs in a fourth and fifth-grade resource room. She is certified as an early childhood educator (K-3). Deb graduated from Ohio Dominican Univeristy with a bachelor’s in the education of handicapped K-12 and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.

She resides in central Ohio with her husband, Tim, who she’s been married to for 32 years.  Deb has two daughters, one is a senior in college and the other will begin her freshman year in college this fall. In her spare time, Deb enjoys going to the beach, visiting big cities, eating out, shopping, reading and playing with tech gadgets!

Deb allows her young writers to make choices about their process as a writer, the tools they use and how (or if) they will share their writing builds ownership in writing.  She believes ownership in writing creates writers who write not for teachers, not for schools, but for themselves.

Deb blogs about teaching at Primary Perspective and tweets @Deb_Frazier. Deb and her students find digital tools have become their hands into the world. They blog at Behind The Scenes in First Grade and tweet @Frazier1st.

 

Kathleen Sokolowski
Kathleen Sokolowski

Kathleen is is living her dream of being a teacher.  She is a third-grade teacher at Saltzman East Memorial Elementary School in Farmingdale, NY.  Kathleen has experience in general and special education, previously working with sixth grade and kindergarten. She is certified in elementary education, special education, and literacy studies. Kathleen holds a B.S. in psychology from Molly College and a M.S. in Literacy Studies from Hofstra University. A teacher-consultant for the Long Island Writing Project, Kathleen has facilitated the Summer Institute, book clubs, workshops, and writing retreats for teachers.

2009 was a year of excitement as Kathleen got married and became a homeowner to a house with built-in bookshelves! Kathleen has two young children. She loves taking family adventures to the farm, the beach, the playground, the park, the library and the children’s museum.  Kathleen and her family reside in Wantagh, NY.

C.S. Lewis said, “We read to know that we are not alone.” Kathleen believes that about writing: we write to connect, share our stories, and to not be so alone with our thoughts and feelings.  Kathleen loves teaching her young writers that their stories are worth telling and sharing with the world. She is just thrilled to be joining the conversation at Two Writing Teachers.

Kathleen shares stories from the classroom and life at her blog, Courage Doesn’t Always Roar and tweets @MrsSokolowski.

* * * * *

There may be eight, not two, of us now, but you can still expect many things to stay the same here at TWT:

  • You’ll still be able to locate this blog by pointing your browser to https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com.
  • The Slice of Life Story Challenge will continue to be hosted here every Tuesday year-round and for all 31 days of March.
  • The Writing Teachers will continue to be a place:
    • For teachers to be fueled with a passion for teaching, writing, and living.
    • For teachers to see the latest in research and ways to apply it in their classrooms.
    • For us to “practice what we preach” by sharing our own writing.
    • To bring writing teachers together to share ideas and stretch each other’s thinking.
    • To reflect on our teaching — celebrating when it goes well and working it out when it doesn’t.

Please leave a comment to give Deb Frazier and Kathleen Sokolowski a warm welcome.

Published by Stacey Shubitz

I am a literacy consultant who focuses on writing workshop. I've been working with K-6 teachers and students since 2009. Prior to that, I was a fourth and fifth-grade teacher in New York City and Rhode Island. I'm the author of Craft Moves (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016) and the co-author of Jump Into Writing (Zaner-Bloser, 2021), Welcome to Writing Workshop (Stenhouse Publishers, 2019), and Day By Day (Stenhouse, 2010). I live in Central Pennsylvania with my husband and children. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, doing Pilates, cooking, baking, making ice cream, and reading novels.

33 thoughts on “#TWTBlog 3.0”

  1. Congrats, Deb, Kathleen and the entire Two Writing Teachers Team! Not just bigger, but better! I’m looking forward to continuing learning with you

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  2. TWT is in wonderful hands and I am excited for the next part of this blog’s journey. We are so fortunate to have amazing educators who are willing to share their expertise here. Congratulations to Deb and Kathleen.

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  8. Awesome news! I love that TWT is not only a great resources and inspiration, but a community of encouragement. Kathleen and Deb – welcome to your new roles within this grand community.

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  11. No surprise that the TWT community has been so kind, welcoming, and encouraging to Deb and myself as we take on this new role. Thank you so very much. Being a teacher has always been my dream, but I realize now that I have been longing for connections to other teachers since I began teaching in 2001. Back then, I used to frequent websites like “The Virtual Vine” and later “jmeacham’s site” where generous and talented teachers would share their unit plans and ideas. I longed to create my own website but had no idea how to do that. I can’t believe I never visited this community until this past February when thankfully I heard something about a “Slice of Life” challenge. I didn’t even have my own blog until I realized I needed one to participate! In just 4 months, this community has become my home in my online journeys. I think the strength of this community is in the stories we share with each other as we also share strategies and insights into improving our writing and our teaching. The posts and comments equally inspire new ideas and inspiration. I am grateful for all of you and your generosity, thoughtfulness, and for the connections here which make being a teacher far less lonely!

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    1. Funny you say that! I am always inspired by Katherine Sokolowski, no relation! A few months ago I wrote a post on The Nerdy Book Club and there was much Sokolowski confusion. Katherine and I are often mixed up when one of us posts things- often the other Sokolowski gets the credit. It’s kind of an on-going joke now! I’ve never met Katherine, but her voice is one of the ones I most treasure reading. The stories of her students and teaching always leave me wanting to know more about the magic she creates.

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  13. Wow! I am really excited to see that Kathleen has been selected to be part of the TWT team. She is one of the few people I know who is really passionate about teaching, writing and learning. I look forward to her contributions which I know will be wonderful. Congrats also to Deb whom I don’t know but look forward to getting to know through her work with TWT.
    Barbara Suter

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    1. Thank you Barbara! Your support and encouragement has meant so much to me, along with your editing help for my Kidblog post. Thrilled for this opportunity. Looking forward to seeing you in person at next week’s Summer Invitational with the LIWP.

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  18. Congratulations, ladies! Thanks for being the voice of the classroom teacher. Your work each and every day with your students will definitely translate to great learning for all of us on this blog!

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      1. Thank you! So often, in other places, classroom teachers are the last people who get to make decisions or are asked to share their experiences. I believe so much that the classroom teacher has a powerful first-hand story to share about the learning that is occurring. I am so happy to be able to share the joys and challenges that we face as we teach students that what they write matters- that THEY matter!

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  22. Great news for #TWTBlog. Congrats to Deb& Kathleen. You will both be a great addition to this team. Looking forward to the conversations and reflection with you both.

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