Overview and Sign Up for the Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge: Now in March!

Click here to sign up for the classroom challenge! (Note: This is the same for you filled out for the adult challenge. The Classroom portion is at the bottom. Feel free to submit the form again if you’e decided to sign up your class).

This year’s Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge will run differently than it has in previous years. Young writers will slice during March this year alongside the rest of our slicing community. Leah Thomas and Melanie Meehan will host Sundays; each Sunday, we will invite teachers with participating students to share classroom involvement as a separate comment. Therefore, when you sign up for the SOLSC as an adult participant, you can also sign up your students. 

There are many ways that students can participate, and we welcome all of the ways, including ones we haven’t thought of. If your students are writing, it works for us! In the past, classes have successfully used Padlets, and that would be an easy link to share in your Sunday comment. Leah’s class writes in notebooks, and she photographs and uploads journal entries to share. Another teacher in Melanie’s district has students write in notebooks, and the students in the classroom leave notes and comments for each other on the notebook pages every Friday. While their entries stay within the walls of the classroom, the spirit of the Challenge is thriving in her room, and we celebrate her and the students! 

Worried about making time? Yes, the Classroom Challenge takes a degree of commitment. Most participants…

• Offer time for students to write each day. Consider incorporating this daily time into your:
  • Homework assignments
  • Morning meetings
  • Daily exit tickets
  • Writing workshop
  • Arrival work
• Share student work (in some capacity) every Sunday with the SOLSC community.

The level of commitment is up to you, your students, and what you can accomplish for the month. Spring instruction can overwhelm teachers, but the Classroom Challenge doesn’t have to.

Students who participate should be 18 and under, and they need an adult sponsor who can link to that writer’s blog on their behalf. Make sure you get permission from their caregivers first. The challenge can work for ANY group of students. Leah has even participated with Kindergarteners!

How to Share: If you are supporting student slicers, please start your Sunday comment with “CLASSROOM CHALLENGE” in capital letters so others can find slicing students among all of the adult comments. We hope that Sundays will be days where our community can really highlight and celebrate the younger slicers. And, if you forget, don’t worry! We’ll remind you each week! 

We look forward to hearing what your students have to say! Check out the helpful links below for more guidance.

• A simple explanation of the challenge for students and families
• Family letter about the challenge
• Tracking Grid
• Padlet full of links to inspire students when the challenge gets tough!

Questions about the 2025 Classroom Challenge?

• If your last name begins with the letters A -L, please email questions to Leah Thomas at Leah.koch7[at]gmail.com.
• If your last name begins with the letters M – Z, please email questions to Melanie Meehan at meehanmelanie[at]gmail.com.