Walking ourselves through and rehearsing what we will model for young writers so as to create the desired effect(s) can be extremely helpful. Whatever curriculum we are using, it’s just so important to walk through the big steps of our teaching ahead of time so that we plan for maximum learning impact. But what type of “effects” might be desired?
With very good intentions, we teach kids to do their best to really finish a story before they move on to the next one. However, a little bit of flexibility will go a long way in increasing engagement, volume, and independence in young writers.
As much as I LOVE notebooks, even I have to admit there is a time in every writer’s process when it is time to pop out of the notebook and onto a laptop or lined paper.
When I visit a classroom, one of the first things I often say to kids is, “Today, please don’t erase. I want to see ALL the great work you are doing as a writer. When you erase, your work disappears!” Often, this is what kids are accustomed to and they continue working away. But sometimes, kids stare at me as if I’ve got two heads.
Flash-drafting helps get thoughts down on the page quickly so writers are open to large-scale revisions.
As a district, we have experimented with several ways to get students’ writing out of the notebooks and into a draft. This is one of those ways.
When students move from their notebook to draft, I encourage them to write their best first draft. (Click here to see other posts I’ve written about best first drafts.) Something that I’m always… Continue reading
I’ve had a daily word count for awhile. I’m not sure exactly when it started, but I think it was while writing Day by Day. However, it was while becoming serious about writing… Continue reading
It was one of those days where writing workshop just felt good. Here’s a little recap of the highlights. First thing this morning, I implemented the things I’m learning from Martha Horn from… Continue reading
If you are a regular reader, you know a lot of my thinking lately has been about writing process, and specifically nudging third grade writers into more traditional drafts. Today’s post is a… Continue reading
I’m sorry, I just realized I missed a blog post last Wednesday. Yes, I know it’s been nearly a week, but the truth is I just realized it. Oops. So on to the… Continue reading
Today I found myself understanding the writing process more deeply. Primary writers work through the writing process by layering each phase on a single copy of their writing. They plan a story across… Continue reading
I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I’ve been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or… Continue reading
My oldest daughter is a second grader and a whiz at spelling. Every Friday she brings home a list of “Word Wall” words for the upcoming week and asks me to “quiz” her. She… Continue reading
My students and I agreed to a form that I would use to provide them with feedback on the drafts of their research-based essays. We decided that it was a comprehensive way for… Continue reading
I’ve been thinking a lot about conventions and their importance. Without proper conventions, how can a piece of writing hold its own? All of our young writers need to realize that published writers… Continue reading
Nearly all of my students turned-in the first drafts of their personal essays today so that they could get my feedback. Awesome, right? YEP! The only thing is that they’re huge in length!… Continue reading
In Keith Bollman’s fifth grade class, students are beginning to consider moving into drafts. They’ve envisioned their writing and are moving out of the rehearsal stage and into drafting. Today I taught them how… Continue reading
You asked… we answer! Often when someone posts a question on a post, Ruth or I write back to them individually. However, we’ve received six questions in the past few days whose answers… Continue reading
Poetry is one of my favorite genres to teach. I simply love the way the genre empowers ALL kids to have success with their words. (Quite frankly, I wish I could teach it… Continue reading
