Awhile ago I was a 7th grade language arts teacher. My last year in the classroom I had one of the coolest classes that may have ever been compiled. It was the last block of the day. There were 22 of them, and they all came from very different walks of life. Outside of the… Continue reading Wow. Just Wow.
Category: community
Voiceless Visitors
I came across "Ode to the voiceless visitor" during last week's Slice of Life Story Challenge. Riss Leung posted it over at L.I.T. Ladies. It resonated with me since I often wonder why some of the things I write receive a lot of hits, but very few comments. Ruth and I have talked about this… Continue reading Voiceless Visitors
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Mr. Stowlkey and Mr. Smith
Mr. Stowlkey and Mr. Smith were the teachers in one of the kindergarten writing workshops I was in today. They are incredible teachers. They are both six. (Normally I don't refer to students as Mr. or Miss...but since they were acting as teachers today, they wanted to go with this form of their names. I'll… Continue reading Mr. Stowlkey and Mr. Smith
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Are we having fun yet?
Slicing is supposed to be fun. Sure it's a challenge. Not just the challenge of writing every single day for a month, but also the challenge of the technology. Unique URL? Commenting? Where do I link? If I miss a day can I still share my link? There are questions that abound. Most of these… Continue reading Are we having fun yet?
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New Slicers Only: Who Is Motivating You as a Writer?
Last month, I ran a post announcing the prizes for this year's Slice of Life Story Challenge. I promised four prizes would be given away during the month of March. I hinted that the prizes would be given away based on commenting and writing streaks. Well, today is the first of three prize giveaways and… Continue reading New Slicers Only: Who Is Motivating You as a Writer?
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Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
Yesterday in Mr. Gause's third grade class, some incredible thinking was happening. This week we launched into reviews. Earlier in the week, he asked students to test different toy cars and then select the one they thought was the best. Then they met as a group and talked about their choice. Yesterday, during the minilesson,… Continue reading Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
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SOLSC & Building Community
I had the pleasure of meeting several Slicers, not just the ones I blogged about last Friday, when I was in Chicago for NCTE. I had breakfast with Bonnie (and Tuvia) and Sarah who slices with us every March. I ran into Elisa at a session. I also saw folks who Slice with us at… Continue reading SOLSC & Building Community
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Stories are essential to our lives.
Yesterday afternoon I attended the Elementary Section Get-Together at the Chicago Hilton. The get-togethers are always fun to attend since they provide me with the opportunity to catch up with people like Karen Caine, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Franki Sibberson who I only get to see in-person at NCTE. In addition, attending the get-together gives… Continue reading Stories are essential to our lives.
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Going “Back to School”
Some teachers have been back to school since August 1st, while others head back after Labor Day. By looking through our site stats I've noticed a lot of people are searching for terms that relate to the beginning of the school year. Therefore, I thought I'd take a few minutes to point you to some… Continue reading Going “Back to School”
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Empowering Independence
One of the things I think most about this time of year is how can I empower students to be (more) independent in writing workshop. What do I mean be independent? This is a crucial vision for us to develop as we head into a new school year. For a moment let's suspend reality. Let's… Continue reading Empowering Independence
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Building Community Through the Slice of Life Story Challenge
It's always a pleasure to meet other Slicers in person. On July 1st, I had coffee with two other slicers, one of whom (Kelly) I met last year at the Writing Institute and one of whom I had the pleasure of meeting (Tisha) this year. (Do check out her new blog, Middle Minds.) When I… Continue reading Building Community Through the Slice of Life Story Challenge
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Literacy Drive
The official start of summer is just a few days away. This summer, LitWorld, a non-profit organization led by Pam Allyn, supports the development of literacy worldwide. LitWorld is putting together a summer book and school supplies drive to benefit children in Harlem and in Kenya. Please take a look at the items on the… Continue reading Literacy Drive
