It's the first Tuesday of June--what a perfect opportunity to write and share a slice of life story!
Author: Amy Ellerman
Treat Yourself to a Summer of Writing
If you’ve determined that carving out space for your own writing life is important this summer, here are a few tips for making it happen.
Mentor Texts as Springboards for Writing
I'm always on the hunt for books that capture a universal experience in a way that opens possibilities for writing in response (or in conversation). Mentor texts that invite writers to riff off their brilliance while creating something entirely new. April Pulley Sayre’s latest picture book, In Between, is exactly that kind of book (Beach Lane Books, 2023).
And Then. . . IT IS MAGIC
I believe in communities like this one, where teachers of writers come together to learn and to share, where we do the writing work we are asking kids to do.
DAY 18 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL23
It's a beautiful day to write a slice of life story! We hope you'll join us!
DAY 17 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL23
Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's the perfect day to write a slice of life story and share it with the community!
DAY 16 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL23
It's Day 16, which means we're officially crossing the Continental Divide of this challenge! It's all downhill from here, right?
Micro Mentor Texts: A Review and Giveaway
This book is the absolute GIFT of thinking alongside Penny Kittle while she makes the thinking work necessary to choose and use mentor texts visible.
DAY 15 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL23
It's Wednesday, it's March 15, and we're almost halfway through the March Slice of Life Story Challenge! Let's write!
Engagement and the Writing Workshop
I had the opportunity to hear Cornelius Minor speak at the CCIRA Conference earlier in February, and I cannot stop thinking about it. He defined engagement in a way that is both conceptual and precise. I may have stopped breathing as my brain short circuited in response.
Five Read Aloud Books for an Agency Study: Amping up Agency Blog Series
I’ve put together a text set of newer picture books to explore the concept of agency with kids. Imagine how it might look across a week to read these books aloud, co-creating an anchor chart with similarities between the actions of the main characters. What might we anticipate writers noticing? What connections might kids make to writing workshop? How might these characters serve as mentors as we collectively build our writing workshop, ensuring it is a place where each writer is encouraged and challenged to make decisions, to initiate the action they need to move their writing work forward?
Crafting Feedback Together
An effective PLC team is where good teaching becomes great. This is especially true for teachers of writers, since teaching writers is so challenging and complex. We genuinely need each other to continue getting better at what we do.