I am uneasy referring to myself as an author. I have writers I admire and I know there’s a vast divide between us, but I write. I enjoy writing; I write to improve my voice and my craft all in an effort to teach my students what it means to be a writer. As an educator I know all my students ARE writers. I don’t qualify who is and who is not a writer by the quality of their writing. I am working to give myself this same level of acceptance as a writer.
Month: August 2015
Why We Gather: The Importance of a Classroom Meeting Area
You might be so completely used to your classroom arrangement that it seems normal to you -- but it maybe could be better.
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A Place for Quiet
How do you structure your workshop to work for all personalities?
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Five Resources To Charge Up Your Writing Conferences
Knowing what to teach is just as important as knowing how to teach. Here are five resources that will help with the what. Bonus: some are free!
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Put poetry into your writing tool kit all year!
Naturally, April seems to be the month to introduce poetry units of study as either part of writing or reading workshop, and that is a lovely celebration to look forward to. But, why wait until April? Why not bring the power of poetry into our workshops from the very beginning of the school year?
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Moving from Partnerships to Peer Conferring
I attended Kathleen Tolan's "Once You Have Taught Workshops for Years, How Do You Go from Good to Great? Tap the Power of Peer Conferring and Supporting Student Independence and Goal-Setting." Workshop at the TCRWP Writing Institute. Kathleen's session made me realize that once we've been doing this work (i.e., writing workshop) for awhile, it's… Continue reading Moving from Partnerships to Peer Conferring
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Slice of Life Tuesday
Write. Share. Give.
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Give Heart Maps a Rest! Try Writing Territory Maps
The heart map is a great tool for helping students find personally meaningful topics, but used year after year, it might feel a little stale. Writing territory maps is another option!
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Time Spent Writing
Let’s remember that the real work of writing workshop is writing.
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Setting the Stage for Choice in Writing Workshop
Choice Brings Agency and Focus The multitude of choices open to learners today has brought more authenticity and agency to our classroom. These opportunities have refocused how we plan, write, learn, and our roles as student and teacher. Student choice is encouraged not only in the way we learn but also in how and what we… Continue reading Setting the Stage for Choice in Writing Workshop
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Enticing Kids to Revise, Revise, Revise
One of the biggest challenges you might face in writing workshop is this: getting kids to see the power and purpose of revision. Here are a few tips for helping kids understand how important and rewarding revision can be, organized by writing process phases.
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Writing Camp
I hosted a writing camp this summer! It gave students some inspiration and gave me a little warm-up on getting back in the school groove.
