Organization Wishes and Happy Writing Dreams
Shhh! Come here. A little closer. Can I be honest?
The school year is winding down and I’m sadly recognizing the gap between the writing teacher I want to be and the reality of the writing teacher I currently am. The more I read and discover, the more I see I need to tweak, shift, or overhaul completely. I can give you a whole laundry list of reasons why it’s hard to implement this work (truly- there are many reasons!) but in the end, I want to do better and dwelling on all the obstacles doesn’t get me any closer.
My OLW for 2018 is “Do.” It’s about action and taking the small step toward improvement instead of lamenting about the way things are. So here are some of my “organization wishes” and “happy writing dreams” (Channeling Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams”) for moving forward towards my goal of improvement:
- Create separate conferring toolkits for every genre I teach. I currently have one toolkit but I can fall behind on switching out the materials when we change genres. Having all my anchor chart samples, mentor texts, and materials at the ready will help me be better prepared for conferring. Helpful resources on this topic: Conferring Toolkits Blog Series, A Writing Teacher’s Summer Project, and ICYMI: The EdCollab Gathering.
- Update my anchor chart interactive notebook which I can use for minilessons and strategy lessons. Have this tool all set to go for next year. Helpful resources on this topic:Posts by Melanie Meehan (especially A Peek Into My Evolving Chart Notebook) and DIY Literacy videos with Kate and Maggie Roberts
- Organize my mentor texts and reread Craft Moves by Stacey Shubitz to be more intentional about how I share mentor texts and craft moves in different units of study. Helpful resources on this topic: Mining Mentor Texts for Craft Moves, How to Choose and Mine Mentor Texts for Craft Moves, 10 Topic Choice Mentor Texts , and Curating Mentor Text Collections.
- Create an easily accessible writing center- organized and fully-stocked with materials students need to feel inspired to write. My current center can use a makeover. Helpful resources on this topic: Back to Basics: Writing Centers, Writing Centers to Organize All Your Materials, and Creating Classroom Environments: Paper Choices.
- Do a better job of facilitating writing partnerships and writing groups. Helpful resources on this topic: Writing Partners: Authentic Purposes for Writing, Intentional Talk with Writing Partners, Setting Up Writing Partnerships, Setting Up Writing Partnerships for Success, and Top Five Lessons to Teach to Writing Partners Right Now.
- Communicate more effectively and consistently with parents about the writing we are working on in school and how they can support their child at home. Helpful resources on this topic: Helping Parents Understand Writing Workshop, Helping Parents See Progress Through the Process, Ways to Involve Caregivers: Homework and the Writing Workshop, and Reflecting and Raising Clarity: Parent Communication.
- Keep a list of running questions about students I struggle to teach: How can I help students who write in ways that isn’t grammatically correct? How can I help students who consistently avoid correct capitalization? While I never want my first words to them about their writing to be about conventions, I worry that they are not fixing these mistakes as they continue writing during the year. How do I help kids internalize these rules? Helpful resources on this topic: Patterns of Power: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language, Conventions and Presentation: Solving Predictable Problems, Micro-Workshop: Making Time for Conventions and Grammar, and Five Grammar Lessons.
It’s a little embarrassing to share this list with you. I would love for you to think I have it all together, with perfectly planned minilessons, artfully prepped in my chart notebook, the just-right mentor text at the ready at any given moment, my conferring notes full of rich description, wise observations and insightful next steps. Alas, the truth is I’m not yet close to the writing teacher of my dreams. But I’m among friends, right? And we’ve got to keep it real. Knowing where I fall short is half the battle! Knowing how I need to improve and the resources that will help me is the crucial first step to improving as a teacher of writing. On social media, we sometimes show our best selves but the truth is teaching is very challenging and difficult work. We do the best we can, and when we know better, we do better. I know better and I’m going to put energy and effort into improving!
What are some of your “organization wishes and happy writing dreams?”
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TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
What an amazing list. You’ve created a summer of professional development for so many of us. I have been thinking about my writing coaching and with the help of so many of our writing colleagues have books on my summer stack to think about this too. Looking forward to considering, trying, and writing together about this.
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Oh yes, yes to all of this. I could make the same list just as long or longer. There are so many things I dream of having all working together as a symphony of sound when really things just aren’t always in tune. Always working for the dream and having it in my mind’s eye, that’s the ticket. I love the realness of this post. You are certainly someone I am always inspired by as a teacher of many things. Thanks for the wishes and dreams. 🙂
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Life is messy. Teaching is messy. Writing is messy … yet at one point today, I was thinking how having good organizational skills may outweigh talent! I find your words here to be deeply encouraging and inspiring – because it’s something we ALL struggle with.
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Thanks so much Fran! You are right- life, teaching, and writing are all messy but worthwhile endeavors! I’m so glad you found my words to be encouraging and inspiring!
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I think it’s important to keep it real, Kathleen. Your reflections show evidence of a teacher who is constantly evolving and striving for me. How lucky your students are to have a teacher who wants to work on these things so as to be the best she can be.
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Thank you Stacey! Grateful for the opportunity to reflect and share my teaching life here at TWT. Being surrounded by such passionate and thoughtful educators on the team and in this community pushes me forward as a teacher and a person.
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This post totally speaks to the internal conversations I’ve been having with myself over the past few days. The end of the year is absolutely when my dreams collide messily with my reality. Partnerships, more DIY Literacy-inspired demonstration pages, seamlessly weaving reflection time into every class, exploring alternative public displays of writing… in my dreams, it’s all no big deal. Thank you for sharing, thank you for keeping it real, and THANK YOU for the resources. This will fuel me through the end of the school year. ❤️
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I’m so glad I’m not alone! Thank you for your comment and sharing here.
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Funny, most of the stuff on your list is on mine, too! Thanks for curating the resources! My biggest goals are to create genre specific writing toolkits and work on my anchor chart notebook. We can DO this! 😊
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Yes, you are definitely among friends! And you are so right — when we know better, we do better. I am thankful to be among teachers like you who are in constant reflection and searching for new ways to grow. Thank you for being brave and honest here, Kathleen!
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Thank you so much for these resources. Looking forward to getting my act together this summer for a smoother year next year.
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Oh, gosh, Kathleen, we are in similar boats! One of my stresses is that I really do not have a good idea of what next year’s school has in place in terms of a writing scope and sequence/curriculum. I also want to improve my small group/strategy teaching. Your lists of resources for each wish are so helpful- I HATE being without so many of my key resources I the summer (and it is compounded by moving this summer, so I will not see many of my resources until after I find/move into a new place, which will be right when the new year is starting). I need to choose a few key resources that will travel in my suitcase- now which ones!?!
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Thanks for sharing so honestly and for also sharing the resources you’ve identified to help yourself. I can relate to so many of your wishes and dreams! I’m going to print out these lines and keep them somewhere that I can see them daily: “I can give you a whole laundry list of reasons why it’s hard to implement this work (truly- there are many reasons!) but in the end, I want to do better and dwelling on all the obstacles doesn’t get me any closer.
My OLW for 2018 is “Do.” It’s about action and taking the small step toward improvement instead of lamenting about the way things are. ” Powerful words! Great post!!!
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