Building on “Rallying a Community of Writers”: A February Support System

Estimated reading time: 542 words. 3 minutes

Target Audience: Teachers, coachers, administrators

The Context

In my recent conversation with Stacey for the Two Writing Teachers Podcast, we discussed the shift that can occur when writing teachers move from teaching writing to practicing it themselves. Last year, fifteen colleagues took that leap with me, and through ups and downs, we all embraced the invitation to do something scary.

It’s vulnerable to write for oneself.

It’s unnerving to write about things that may surprise us.

It’s risky to know someone might read your words.

Public writing asks us to be brave.

How do our students do it every single day?

All of my fifteen colleagues opened their blogs. Some chose to engage with the SOL community and share their slices with strangers; others chose to slice in private and shared only with our small community, harvesting a writing habit through baby steps. Some wrote every single day in March, others wrote fewer days, but every one of them showed up.

What’s Happening

So far, eighteen teachers have decided to join this year’s challenge. Some will be slicing for the first time; others are returning for their second, third, or even fourth year, bringing new goals and a lot of joy. Some may even move from private to public slicing. Last year, they discovered their writing identities; now it’s a matter of growing them.

In her post, Jessica declared February the time to begin rallying a writing community. Now that my community is on board, it’s time to develop strategies to support them throughout the process.

The Details

While speaking with Stacey about this, I mentioned a Google Doc I used last year to organize information and support for those new to the challenge. From starting a blog to learning how to engage with the daily call for slices, I wanted my fellow writers to have everything at their fingertips.

This is what I add to that document:

• Tasks to complete before March (opening a blog, signing up, subscribing to TWT, etc.)
• What to do during March (write, post, read, comment, engage!)
• Blog links from members of our school community participating in the challenge
• My two cents on how to make the most of the challenge while slicing privately
• Links to video tutorials on how to post your blog’s permalink to the daily call for slicers
• A calendar to use as a writing tracker (this year, I’ll gift them orange stickers!)
• A “What if…?” section with tips for common mental blocks (like I don’t know what to comment!)
• Links to slices we’ve enjoyed in the past that can serve as mentors or writing prompts
• Dates for Zoom hangouts where we could meet to brainstorm ideas

What’s Next

Echoing Jessica’s words once again, February is a prime time to set ourselves up for success. Each person who joins starts from a different place. Perhaps you’re ready to experience what your students feel during Writing Workshop. Maybe you’re interested in taking your writing practice to the next level. Wherever you are, what matters most is taking that first step and trekking the path together.

If you’d like to offer your community a similar Google Doc, here’s a template you can copy and adapt. I hope this helps and that we can meet each other in the comments section this March.