“This is our goal as writers, I think; to help others have this sense of--please forgive me--wonder, of seeing things anew, things that can catch us off guard, that break in on our small, bordered worlds. When this happens, everything feels more spacious. Try walking around with a child who's going, "Wow, wow! Look at… Continue reading WRITE. SHARE. GIVE. IT’S SOL TIME.
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.
Write. Share. Give. It’s SOL Time.
“What is the purpose of writing? For me personally, it is really to explain the mystery of life, and the mystery of life includes, of course, the personal, the political, the forces that make us what we are while there's another force from inside battling to make us something else.” ― Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20… Continue reading Write. Share. Give. It’s SOL Time.
Share this:
Share this:
Gifts From the Enemy: Book review and win a copy of this very special book.
“There are those who say that what I’ve lived through never happened. But I’m here to tell you that it did. My name is Alter Wiener and I am an ordinary person with an extraordinary past.” So begins Trudy Ludwig’s remarkable picture book, Gifts from the Enemy, based on Alter Wiener’s true story. That extraordinary… Continue reading Gifts From the Enemy: Book review and win a copy of this very special book.
Share this:
Share this:
Write. Share. Give. It’s SOL time.
“This is our goal as writers, I think; to help others have this sense of--please forgive me--wonder, of seeing things anew, things that can catch us off guard, that break in on our small, bordered worlds. When this happens, everything feels more spacious. Try walking around with a child who's going, "Wow,… Continue reading Write. Share. Give. It’s SOL time.
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. Summer is here at last, and we hope that your days are filled with all the delights of summer: time to be with family and… Continue reading Write, Share, Give: It’s SOL time
Share this:
Share this:
Role reversal: Writing Workshop with Linda Rief at the Boothbay Literacy Retreat
As a writing teacher, I know that I must write - and I do: blog posts, book reviews, a Slice of Life every Tuesday, letters to my students in the reading journals and writer’s notebooks, lesson plan writing, curriculum writing, all kinds of writing. So, why was it that I was making my way to… Continue reading Role reversal: Writing Workshop with Linda Rief at the Boothbay Literacy Retreat
Share this:
Share this:
A Year of “Slice of Life” in the classroom.
It’s finally summer in most school districts, and every teacher I know seems to have closed the classroom door to daily school life...and opened another to summer relaxation, reading, and PD (I am thinking of all my lucky friends at All Write ‘14 right now, and those who will be at Boothbay with me on… Continue reading A Year of “Slice of Life” in the classroom.
Share this:
Share this:
TWT post: Google docs + writing workshop = happy writing teacher (and happy writing students)
When I was asked to pilot Google docs in the last month of our school year, I was enthusiastic... but also a bit blasé. It seemed like a wonderful “new thing”, and although I am all for trying out new things in my classroom, I also knew that I had developed and fine tuned a… Continue reading TWT post: Google docs + writing workshop = happy writing teacher (and happy writing students)
Share this:
Share this:
Book Review: Linda Rief – Read Write Teach
"I must be what I teach: writer, reader,speaker, listener." - Linda Rief Teaching our kids to read and write with commitment and passion is an ever evolving labor of love. There are so many expert educators to read, so many moving pieces to choreograph, so many new ideas to sift through, figure out and put… Continue reading Book Review: Linda Rief – Read Write Teach
Share this:
Share this:
Curating a year of writing: assembling writing portfolios and time for reflection
With two weeks left in our school year, it is at last time to begin putting together our writing portfolios, setting aside some time to time travel through our year of writing workshop, and reflect upon both the progress we've made as writers as well as the goals we'd like to set for the new school… Continue reading Curating a year of writing: assembling writing portfolios and time for reflection
Share this:
Share this:
Technology in Writing Workshop: When Students Take The Lead
We are neck deep in drafting various pieces for our multi genre writing project these days, and I am noticing (and celebrating) two ways in which our workshop has changed, both of which make this project do-able and enjoyable. First, a year of rigorous writing workshop, with carefully adhered to routines and practices, has created… Continue reading Technology in Writing Workshop: When Students Take The Lead
Share this:
Share this:
ICYMI: The TWT Independent Writing Blog Series
In case you missed it...all of last week we've been running a blog series devoted to fostering independent writing across grade levels, across the school year, and even during the summer! Here's what each day in the series looked like: On Monday, Beth wrote a post on Independent Writing in the Early Grades (K-2) : We all strive… Continue reading ICYMI: The TWT Independent Writing Blog Series
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 