As I reflect upon my teaching practice, I always have more questions than answers. Here are some of the things that I'm wondering about as a teacher of writing.
Category: kindergarten
Tools and Resources That Support Student Agency in the Kindergarten Writing Workshop: Amping Up Agency Blog Series
You've probably heard a young child say, "I can do it all by myself!" in one breath, and then in the next breath they are asking you for help. As children make sense of the world and learn how to do more things for themselves, they crave structure and support from adults. Providing children with a variety of tools and resources and teaching them how and when to use them, supports students in developing a sense of "big kid-ness" and agency over their own writing.
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Writing and Playing: A Natural Pairing in the Kindergarten Classroom
Writing and playing are not one and the same but there is deep value in forging connections between the two by finding regular opportunities to have children both write while they play, AND play while they write!
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Puppets and Playdates: A Pre-Writing Strategy for Character Development and Writing Engagement in the Kindergarten Classroom
Puppets are powerful vehicles through which kindergarten students can develop characters and experiment with storytelling and play is essential to the way that young children learn. By combining puppets and play, children can begin to do the important pre-writing work necessary to develop rich characters and powerful stories in writing workshop.
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Celebrating Growth When(ever) it Happens
It’s dramatic when the light comes on, when a writer suddenly takes a step they had only recently not yet been ready to take. As a teacher of writers, I can’t wait to pounce on those moments, to facilitate the avalanche of growth on the horizon.
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Cross-Content Connections: Reflections and Shifts As We Move Forward
A topsy turvy year brings with it surprises. Some have been valuable enough to carry forward. I'm looking forward to bringing the best of the year with me and letting the challenges become a memory.
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Five Tips for Parents and Caregivers for Offering Feedback to Writers
How can I be clear about aligning what families hear me teaching with what their children are doing with the feedback both they and I offer kids along the way?
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Joy and Agency: An Origin Story
What are the ways I can let writers know that I SEE them, that I understand and appreciate all that they are bringing to the page and the process? How might my feedback serve as a mirror, reflecting back to writers a clear image of who they are, of what is important to them, of evidence of their growth?
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Deconstructing the Rehearsal
Intentionally putting a focus on rehearsal took me on a deeper exploration of its importance in my remote classroom.
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Horse-Sitting and How-to Writing
A silver lining of teaching remotely has been opportunities, like this one, to elevate authentic reasons to read and write. Kids are curious about how others do things, and they have so much real-world expertise to share. A strategy such as this one gives our youngest writers access to topics that might otherwise exceed their emergent writing skills.
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The Three E’s of Remote K
Janet Ahn and I share our strategies and ideas for teaching the youngest writers in remote settings.
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Meet Writers Where They Are: Making Learning Relevant and Personal
Maya Angelou reminds me that when I know better, I can do better. The more I know about how, where, and why a student is functioning, the better I can teach that student.
