“Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Author: Tara Smith
I teach Writing Workshop, Language Arts and Social Studies to sixth graders at a middle school in suburban New Jersey. This blog is my attempt to capture all the "stuff" that goes into my teaching life - the planning, the dreaming, the reading, the preparing, the hoping and (above all) the kids.
Please note that the content of this blog is my own. It does not reflect the opinions of my employer.
Writing through the visual arts: an “in between” unit of study
We are in that in-between stage right now in writing workshop, having just completed our Personal Narrative unit, and pausing briefly before we begin our unit on memoir. These in-between stages are often perfect for experimenting with something new. My kids have been working hard for the past month, and I wanted a “cool factor”… Continue reading Writing through the visual arts: an “in between” unit of study
Share this:
Share this:
WRITE, SHARE, GIVE: IT’S SOL TIME
WRITE a slice of life story on your own blog. SHARE a link to your post in the comments section. GIVE comments to at least three other SOLSC bloggers. "It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers are ordinary people… Continue reading WRITE, SHARE, GIVE: IT’S SOL TIME
Share this:
Share this:
Student Self-Assessment: Introducing the Writing Checklist
Ever since I first received my copy of the middle school Units of Study in Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing , this book has been in my book bag and on my desk, read and re-read, marked up and festooned with post it notes for quick reference : Why? Because once our writing year begins… Continue reading Student Self-Assessment: Introducing the Writing Checklist
Share this:
Share this:
Write, Share, Give: It’s SOL Time
“There is, of course, always the personal satisfaction of writing down one's experiences so they may be saved, caught and pinned under glass, hoarded against the winter of forgetfulness. Time has been cheated a little, at least in one's own life, and a personal, trivial immortality of an old self assured. And there is another… Continue reading Write, Share, Give: It’s SOL Time
Share this:
Share this:
Some Notes from the September 22nd, 2014 TCRWP Conference
Some notes from the September 22nd. TCRWP one-day conference, Units of Study: Implementing Rigorous, Coherent Writing Curriculum for Grades 6-8 presented by Mary Ehrenworth. Something worth charting - a visual for how workshop goes: is it clear to us? is it clear to our students? This graphic comes from the notebook of my colleague Rosemarie, who… Continue reading Some Notes from the September 22nd, 2014 TCRWP Conference
Share this:
Share this:
Starting the year with Slice of Life writing.
As I mentioned in my post last week, my students’ first day of school writing surveys revealed a strong aversion to writing and a sense of “I have nothing to really write about.” So, we have spent most of our writing workshop time collecting writing ideas and storytelling; my sixth graders have learned, much to… Continue reading Starting the year with Slice of Life writing.
Share this:
Share this:
Sometimes we don’t write in writing workshop
On our first full day of sixth grade, I hand each of my students a reading and writing survey and ask them to tell me a little bit about themselves as readers and writers. Their answers, as they slowly filter in over the course of the week, allow me valuable insights. I learn about how… Continue reading Sometimes we don’t write in writing workshop
Share this:
Share this:
So, what does it take to be a great writing teacher? Students’ point of view.
For the past many years, writing workshop in our middle school ended in sixth grade. They would, of course, continue to write in seventh grade, but that every other day of writing workshop ritual - the writer’s notebook, the sketching and exploring of their writers’ identities through different genres of writing - would now be… Continue reading So, what does it take to be a great writing teacher? Students’ point of view.
Share this:
Share this:
Setting up the reading journal for a year of writing about reading
Ever since I began teaching, my students’ reading journals have been as much “the gateway to all the work we will be doing from September to June” (to borrow a phrase from a post I wrote about writing notebooks) in reading workshop, as their writing journals are in writing workshop. On the first day of… Continue reading Setting up the reading journal for a year of writing about reading
Share this:
Share this:
Sharpen Your Workshop Routines: Setting up the Writer’s Notebook for a Year of Writing
Welcome back, readers! We have returned from our July break refreshed and ready for a new school year of sharing ideas, resources, and teaching practices here at Two Writing Teachers. For many of us, the first day of school is right around the corner, and we are turning our attention to preparing our lesson… Continue reading Sharpen Your Workshop Routines: Setting up the Writer’s Notebook for a Year of Writing
Share this:
Share this:
WRITE. SHARE. GIVE. IT’S SOL TIME.
“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ― Mary Oliver
