authors · big picture · character development · collecting · narrative · writing process

Flailing and Feedback In Writing Process As Critical: KidLit Authors Share Why

Slowing down the brainstorming part of the writing process and recognizing the emotionality of feedback has big rewards for two published authors, in addition to our young classroom writers.

collecting · COVID-19 · EAL · growth mindset · Literacy for All

A Writer’s Purpose.

I remember the day I ran over to my partner teacher’s classroom. If my memory serves me well, I may have darted over to her classroom, flailing a single sheet in front of her and excitedly showed her the work. It was the work of one of my students. He, a student who could be… Continue reading A Writer’s Purpose.

classroom environment · collecting · community · COVID-19 · engagement · flexible seating · independent writing · motivation

Three Ways to Find Joy & Keep Writing

We are now entering week seven in our school district. At the start of the year, there was much to think about and much to worry about.  There were many questions to be answered and all of them seemed continuously uncertain. “We don’t know that yet” or “I’m not sure” were phrases that often seemed… Continue reading Three Ways to Find Joy & Keep Writing

academic choice · authentic assessment · celebration · collecting · lessons learned from students · writing workshop

Drilling Down into the Writing

Of the many ways I gain an understanding of my writers, my favorite and most valuable is gathering up all the writing and diving into reading ALL the students’ work.

collecting · graphic organizer · plan · primary grades · process

Planning Idea

I'm super fortunate to be working with a couple of third grade teachers (Hi Sandy & Dan!) who are interested in helping their writers to naturally develop more sophisticated writing processes. Their students are coming off of heavy illustration study in their previous writing experience (in grades k-2), so we are trying to find a… Continue reading Planning Idea

collecting · conferring · slice of life · strategy lesson · writer's notebook · writing · writing workshop

Peek In!

Peek into two a strategy lesson and a conference I had during today's Writing Workshop. 1. Strategy Lesson With Ruth's Blessing, I printed out her the Slice of Life Story (SOLS) she wrote about Sam's Nighttime Secret. I gathered four of my students together on the small rug of my classroom and handed them a… Continue reading Peek In!

aimee buckner · collecting · strategies · writing · writing workshop

Sharing a Notebook Lesson

Aimee Buckner's Book, Notebook Know-How, is an excellent resource for providing kids with strategies for generating notebook writing. Since many folks who took our poll asserted that they wanted more info on units of study, I figured I'd post a minilesson of mine that is based off of Buckner's Best and Worst Life Events Strategy.… Continue reading Sharing a Notebook Lesson

art · blogging · collecting · inspiration · reflections · the persona of a writer · writer's notebook

Writer’s Notebooks, Art Journals, Scrapbooking, Blogs???

Liza Lee Miller said:  Okay . . . here’s a question for you. As a teacher, as a writer, as an artist . . . what is the difference between a Writer’s Workbook and an Art Journal. My mother and sister keep art journals and ephemera is a huge part of that for them. I… Continue reading Writer’s Notebooks, Art Journals, Scrapbooking, Blogs???

art · collecting · heart maps · Nancie Atwell · writing · writing workshop

Heart Mapping & Writing Territories

I've been having my students map their hearts, to help them generate ideas for writing, when they're stuck, for as long as I've been teaching. However, last week when I was at the TCRWP's Summer Institute for the Teaching of Writing, the words "writing territories" seemed to be mentioned everywhere. I was familiar with this… Continue reading Heart Mapping & Writing Territories

collecting · memoir · writing · writing workshop

Trusting Me With the “Stuff” of Their Lives

I was out due to the extreme amount of neck pain I had yesterday. Therefore, when I returned to school this morning, I found the students' work trays brimming with papers waiting to be checked. I sorted them into my file tote folders and started making my way through them about two hours ago. I… Continue reading Trusting Me With the “Stuff” of Their Lives

collecting · literary essay · organization

Literary Essays

I started thinking about the next unit of study, Literary Essays, that I'm going to teach in March (even though my students are only half-way through their fiction unit of study). Therefore, I spent some time creating my students' collection folders yesterday. Here's a peek at what they look like: Materials I needed to create… Continue reading Literary Essays