Please link your Slice of Life Story to us here by clicking on the Mr. Linky Widget below. To learn more about this Challenge, please visit our Slice of Life Challenge Page. Also, please tag your posts with the words SLICE OF LIFE STORY CHALLENGE.
Author: Stacey Shubitz
Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her new book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.
Thinking Critically About Writing Workshop
I wanted to reflect on some questions Stephanie Jones, one of my former T.C. professors and author of Engaged Intellectuals, presents at the end of chapter 11 in her book Girls, Social Class, and Literacy. She asks readers to consider some questions about the Writing Workshop they teach. Here are her questions and my answers:… Continue reading Thinking Critically About Writing Workshop
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Short Fiction Rubric
I finally sat down and created a short fiction rubric for the picture books my students are going to "publish" this-coming week. If you're in the market for a rubric that provides space for students to self-assess their performance, then click here.
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Slice of Life Story Challenge: Day 1
It's 12:05 a.m. on March 1st, which means it's time for me to post the widget for Day 1 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge. Please link your Slice of Life Story to us here by clicking on the Mr. Linky Widget below. To learn more about this Challenge, please visit our Slice of… Continue reading Slice of Life Story Challenge: Day 1
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Poetry Friday: Leap Year
I'm sure I won't be the only person posting this poem today: The Original Leap Year Poem by Anonymous Thirty days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, And that has twenty-eight days clear And twenty-nine in each leap year. I've decided to hand out this poem as… Continue reading Poetry Friday: Leap Year
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Tracking Chart
I created the Slice of Life Story Challenge Tracker and posted it above my desk, which is oddly located in my classroom's meeting area, this afternoon. I cannot wait to see how many of my students partake in it this-coming Monday!!!
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SOLSC: Student Tracker Spreadsheet
Need a quick record-keeping form to use to track your students' Slice of Life Stories in March? If so, click here for a spreadsheet I created and published as a Google Document for that purpose. All you need to do is plug-in your students' names.
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Slice of Life Student Challenge Announcement
My fourth grade colleague is going to be doing the Slice of Life Story Challenge with her class as well. Therefore, I made this flier to go home with the students tomorrow. It's pretty text-heavy (so I split it into two pages for my kiddies), but I figured I'd post it like this in case… Continue reading Slice of Life Student Challenge Announcement
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Revision: Dialogue
The active engagement of today's minilesson ran a little longer than usual since my students felt as though they needed to help me revise my dialogue after studying the way another author used powerful dialogue in another text. I think that their suggestions helped me write something more believable that just needs to be folded… Continue reading Revision: Dialogue
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Writing Space
Over the mid-winter recess I asked my students to sketch out their at-home writing space. Further, if they didn't have an at-home writing space, I asked them to create one. They came back from vacation with sketches of what they created, which was fascinating. However, the most fascinating was one of the boys in my… Continue reading Writing Space
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I don’t have words to describe what I created, so it’s my Wordless Wednesday Submission!
Ceramics Made in Feb 2008 Originally uploaded by teachergal
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Ideas for Creating a 3-D Character from Today’s M.L. Active Engagement
First, I have to say that today's lesson I taught, which was adapted from Session 11 of Calkins & Cruz's Book on Fiction Writing in Grades 3 - 5 is AWESOME. It's all about revising with different lenses. My students read my story yesterday and commented on it, which was helpful to me. One thing… Continue reading Ideas for Creating a 3-D Character from Today’s M.L. Active Engagement
