In the past day and a half, I have witnessed three read alouds: kindergarten; grade 3; and grade 5. There is something special about having the outsider's perspective, while at the same time, an insider's understanding of the power of read alouds. Each of the read alouds were given by a different teacher, with different styles… Continue reading Reading Aloud.
Author: Ruth Ayres
Unhurried. Finding the magic in the middle of living. Capturing a life of ridiculous grace + raw stories.
Ruth’s MM: Dinner Conversation.
I remember sitting at the table every night while I lived at home and having dinner conversation. I knew every night I would be asked the same question: What did you do at school today? Followed by: Did you do your best? Then they would ask my brother. Lately I've been a bit concerned about… Continue reading Ruth’s MM: Dinner Conversation.
Share this:
Share this:
fierce wonderings
Fierce wonderings is a term coined by Ralph Fletcher in his book A Writer's Notebook, which if you don't have, you need to go straight to Amazon.com & order it! I've been privileged to be a part of the launch of writer's notebooks in Christi Overman's second grade class. In the above slide show, you'll see… Continue reading fierce wonderings
Share this:
Share this:
The Power of Writing
Today, as students were coming into the building and teachers were greeting them, I witnessed the following interaction in the first grade hallway: A little girl stops in front of her teacher and extends a homemade card. The teacher stoops to the little girl's level and lavishly praises her beautiful card. The little girl remains… Continue reading The Power of Writing
Share this:
Share this:
You’ve Gotta Sign Up!
Thanks to my colleague, Mary Helen Gensch, I know in time this year to sign up for Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Ball State Univeristy's MYVisit Virtual Author Series. On October 7, BSU Virtual Author Series is going to host Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewis of the Click Clack Moo (& other) books. (My kids'… Continue reading You’ve Gotta Sign Up!
Share this:
Share this:
Collecting Ephemera at the Primary Level.
Now here's a cool idea for all of you primary teachers who want to tap into the power of writer's notebooks without each student actually having a writer's notebook. Plus I think it could also be a tool for the rest of us wanting to focus on the ephemera surrounding the daily lives of ourselves… Continue reading Collecting Ephemera at the Primary Level.
Share this:
Share this:
Ruth’s SOLS: Overwhelmed.
Why is it that in the midst of being incredibly overwhelmed, one is unlikely to notice? In the harried state of balancing too many roles and expectations and necessities and changes, life flies by, barely more than a blur? And then, when one finally does manage to surface, the feelings of guilt from the things… Continue reading Ruth’s SOLS: Overwhelmed.
Share this:
Share this:
Poetry Friday: Writer’s Notebook
Here's a poem from Ralph Fletcher's book, A Writing Kind of Day. Writer's Notebooks My brother Tom says he's a hundredaire with two hundred fifty dollars in his bank account. Dad's a thousandaire. I gave baby Julia two pennies so now she's a pennyaire. When I look at Julia her little bald head reminds me… Continue reading Poetry Friday: Writer’s Notebook
Share this:
Share this:
The Big Picture: What’s on your heart?
I used my teaching heart map as an example in the classroom yesterday, which made me go back and look at the past post about it. I was amazed at how thinking about my teaching heart map soothed my soul and realigned my thinking to the big picture. As the Big Picture Series comes to… Continue reading The Big Picture: What’s on your heart?
Share this:
Share this:
Heart Maps: Another Twist.
Sara left the following comment, which I love, first, because it's a comment and, second, because I was planning to blog about this today. What is that they say about minds that think alike? Sarah Brooke commented on A Twist on Heart Maps: I know you posted this months ago, but I’ve recently heard even… Continue reading Heart Maps: Another Twist.
Share this:
Share this:
The Big Picture: What are kids thinkin’ on the first day?
I live with a first grader. Here were her two big concerns prior to the first day of school: One. Will my teacher be nice? Two. Will I have any friends? I think we could ask any student, in any grade, in any school what their top two concerns are prior to starting a new… Continue reading The Big Picture: What are kids thinkin’ on the first day?
Share this:
Share this:
The Big Picture: Our Colleagues.
We've never really done a "series" per say here on Two Writing Teachers, but it seems that this week our posts have the makings of a series about what really matters when it comes to education. So we're making it official, and for the rest of the week you'll see posts around this topic. On… Continue reading The Big Picture: Our Colleagues.
