This is my final post for this week's Big Picture Series on Genuine Writing. Therefore, I wanted to leave you with a draft of a handout I'm planning to hand out when I present at the 2008 NEATE Fall Conference next week-end. The conference's theme is “Who Is Responsible? Literacy and Education for All.” This… Continue reading Getting Motivated
Category: big picture
Quick Jots
I've come to believe that real writers always need a place to physically write. However, real writers also live real lives. Sometimes it's not always possible to fit an entire writer's notebook (no matter how sleek it is) into a bag when you're going out at night or into the back pocket. (For instance, the… Continue reading Quick Jots
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Writing That Matters
Yesterday I worked with three students, from different classes, who were writing about the death of a parent. That's rough. My first thought is sometimes: Who's encouraging topic choice? No thank you! I didn't sign up for this. Anyone who knows me, knows that's not what I really believe. First, I'm the one encouraging topic choice. … Continue reading Writing That Matters
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Become Your Students’ Writing Mentor
Every writer needs a real writer to look up to. Why not allow your students' favorite author be, well, YOU!??! By building up an arsenal of texts you created, with and without your students in-mind, you will have lots of writing to pull-from when you identify a trouble-spot in their writing. I did just that… Continue reading Become Your Students’ Writing Mentor
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Sharing (at Morning Meeting)
I spent the first few weeks of school modeling how to share during "Share Time" at Morning Meeting. I did this so that my students would have a greater sense of how I expect sharing to look. Every Wednesday, the share theme revolves around the Writer's Notebook. Every now and then I stick in an… Continue reading Sharing (at Morning Meeting)
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Be a GENUINE Writer.
What is the one thing that will make the biggest, lasting impact in our writing workshops? Being a writer ourselves. Now I'm not talking about writing in order to be an example or a model to our students (although this is a positive side-effect). No, the kind I'm talking about is writing for a purpose greater than… Continue reading Be a GENUINE Writer.
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My M.M. Post
I woke up from my nap as the car turned into the cemetery yesterday morning. It was a crisp, sunny fall morning, not much different than the morning we laid my Grandmother to rest last year. My father navigated the car through the twists and turns of the cemetery, not stopping at the Administration Office.… Continue reading My M.M. Post
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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
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Balance
End of the 1st Day Back Originally uploaded by teachergal Ali Edwards recently invited readers to think about their One Little Word for 2008 again. Mine is balance. I haven't really mastered it up 'til this point in the year, but I'm trying. There are a few things I am going to do this year… Continue reading Balance
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Recap of T.B.P.S.
Some of the quotes/highlights from our posts, which you can locate at any time by typing "Big Picture Series" into the SEARCH BOX on the top right corner of this blog. “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is… Continue reading Recap of T.B.P.S.
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The Big Picture: Happy Mail!!!
This is the final post of The Big Picture Series. (Ruth stated hers was the last, but after I received some mail from her today, I decided we needed to have just one more post in this Series.) I returned home from running errands about 30 minutes ago and found a thick, manila envelope in… Continue reading The Big Picture: Happy Mail!!!
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The Big Picture: Honesty
“I'd rather be able to face myself in the bathroom mirror than be rich and famous.” --Ani DiFranco I created a handbook of classroom regulations and procedures for my fifth graders during my second and third years of teaching in New York. Here's an excerpt from it: Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, copying, plagiarizing) will not… Continue reading The Big Picture: Honesty
