My apologies for the late post today. Teachers returned yesterday at my school district. We had huge thunderstorms and lost power. Can you imagine no copy machines on the day before opening day? The Internet was still down today. Not to mention that on the home front my second grader and kindergartener started school today… Continue reading Are you out there Slicers?
Author: Ruth Ayres
Unhurried. Finding the magic in the middle of living. Capturing a life of ridiculous grace + raw stories.
What book will you read aloud on the first day of school?
When I was a middle school teacher, and now in most workshops that I lead, my favorite first read aloud is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss (with some help from Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith). This book is not only perfect in its message, but a rich source for a mentor text. It… Continue reading What book will you read aloud on the first day of school?
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Greater Expectations
Greater Expectations by Robin Turner is an excellent resource for secondary Writing Workshop teachers. As a high school teacher, he shares real life experiences, authentic teaching points, superb advice, and high quality rubrics and units. The subtitle of the book is Teaching Academic Literacy to Underrepresented Students. He offers practical, wise advice for preparing this… Continue reading Greater Expectations
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Mentor Text Thursday: Editorials.
This week I thought it would be fun to focus on some mentors of editorials. This genre, which is typical for middle and high school writers, is among my favorite to teach. The primary reason it is my favorite? Because of these outstanding editorialists! (Note: I try to pull articles that represent both sides of… Continue reading Mentor Text Thursday: Editorials.
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Welcome Slicers!
Need some inspiration? Check out this post and the comments from the weekend! Thanks everyone for participating in Living Like a Writer. If you participated and haven't left a comment, it's not too late -- the comments are still open! 🙂 Tracy even made a video! Make sure to check it out!
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Living Like Writers: Collecting Stories.
Earlier this week, I posted about finding meaning in the everyday stories of our lives. I ended the post with this line: So here’s to collecting the stories of our lives, finding the real meaning behind them, and helping students to do the same. Then Terri asked this question (thanks for the comment): Terri Quesinberry… Continue reading Living Like Writers: Collecting Stories.
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Mentor Text Thursday: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
Are you familiar with Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas' bookMuncha! Muncha! Muncha!? This fun, upbeat book has been a favorite of mine (and my kids) for many years. Not only is it a pleasure to read, but it is filled with potential minilessons. Here is the synopsis on the book from Candace's website: Tippy,… Continue reading Mentor Text Thursday: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
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Finding Meaning.
I've been thinking a lot about the everyday stories of life. There is so much power in the ordinary, routine, and daily living that we do. Yet so often, this living just passes through us like the air we breathe. Suddenly the week is over. Suddenly it's the weekend. Suddenly summer is over. Suddenly the… Continue reading Finding Meaning.
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Hello Slicers.
My slice of life involves painters arriving at 8:00 am + four rooms and a hallway. I was up until after 1:30 am removing wallpaper glue and back at it at 5:30 am this morning. Suddenly I remembered I'm responsible for hosting Slice of Life Story Challenge. So here it is . . .
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Memoir Monday
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Living Like Writers: Storytelling.
Stacey and I decided to use Fridays throughout the summer to share inspiration for living like writers. Since storytelling is on my mind (and many of yours -- thanks for the comments!), I thought I'd offer this challenge: Tell a story this weekend. While you're at it, why not tell it a couple of different… Continue reading Living Like Writers: Storytelling.
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Mentor Text Thursday: The Trucker
We went to the library yesterday, and my son checked out the same book that he has been checking out on a regular basis for two years. (That's over half of his life!) The Trucker by Brenda and Mark Weatherby is a hit in our house -- the girls have given it a thumbs up… Continue reading Mentor Text Thursday: The Trucker
