I've been a writing coach for four years now. My arm was gently twisted at the end of the school year when I was planning on looping my seventh graders into eighth grade. After the painstaking art of decision making I decided to venture out of the classroom to see what life was like for… Continue reading a special space.
Author: Ruth Ayres
Unhurried. Finding the magic in the middle of living. Capturing a life of ridiculous grace + raw stories.
ruth’s wn entry: finally home.
I must say, this photo led to an unexpected place & I'm quite tempted not to post, because it's personal. However, I don't have time to write another one . . . so here it is -- a look deep into my heart. Finally home. Finally together. After more than two weeks of missing Dad, he… Continue reading ruth’s wn entry: finally home.
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It’s Coming . . .
How about a little challenge for WNW? Let's find a meaningful photo & write off of it. Stacey shared this strategy earlier in the week here. Check it out & then find that special photo. Share your reponses when we post WNW & Mr. Linky tomorrow.
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check out this!
On learner.org you can watch video courses on different topics. It's all FREE and they're great resources. You can limit your search to subject area and grade level. I just watched a session by Linda Reif. Isn't technology great?
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i flopped.
Big Time. Seriously. It wasn't pretty. But it was a good experience. Here's the scenario -- A classroom of first graders + Exploding folders filled with stories + Each story is written across pages + NO staples + A weak focus lesson = Monster Chaos The teacher took a photo & I must say a… Continue reading i flopped.
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troubleshooting.
On Monday I worked in a first grade classroom and the teacher commented, I feel like when you come all you do is troubleshoot. I've been thinking about her comment because really her workshop is running quite nicely -- especially considering that she is teaching language arts for the first time in her entire life. I've… Continue reading troubleshooting.
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ruth’s wn entry: people.
Awhile back I made a list with a class called THINGS WE JUST WALK BY (or something to that effect). One student listed people. Although my list was titled INSIGNIFICANT STUFF, I went ahead and added people to my list too. I found this interesting and now what to explore it a bit more. People. Unfortunately… Continue reading ruth’s wn entry: people.
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lingering in drafts.
In our hurry-up-and-get-it-done-society, sometimes it's tough to get our students to slow down and realize their unique writing processes. Sometimes it's tough for us, as their teachers, to slow things down and give them time to truly live as writers. However, after notebooks have been launched, our writing prompt genre studies completed, and the (Indiana) state… Continue reading lingering in drafts.
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Q & A: A Writer’s Identity?
Sarah Amick left the following comment -- Hey, do you guys have any information on developing a writer’s identity? I have a kiddo that doesn’t think that his words matter. Do you have any mini lessons that I can teach or a good book to go along with that? First, check out Sarah's post about… Continue reading Q & A: A Writer’s Identity?
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ruth’s wn entry: fantasy story character & magic & setting.
Here are a couple of pages from my writer's notebook. I put them on transparencies and used them to teach a focus lesson about doing some "deep thinking" about a story before actually drafting. I encouraged students to begin with their character and to then explore other elements of their story. (I also explained that… Continue reading ruth’s wn entry: fantasy story character & magic & setting.
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fantasy writing.
I'm working in a fifth grade classroom this week who studied Chris Van Allsburg and are now working on their own fantasy stories. I must admit I was a bit skeptical about the teacher's decision to begin the year with fantasy writing, but after a few days in the classroom, I think it's a brilliant… Continue reading fantasy writing.
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playing with technology.
I started a wiki a few weeks ago and have been playing with this form of sharing . When you go there, you will see it's a work in progress. I'm still in the midst of determining the purpose. (Kind of like a lot of other stuff in my life, like my original blog.) Today I… Continue reading playing with technology.
