It's been several months since I've written for Two Writing Teachers. In December my son was born, and I was on maternity leave until a few weeks ago. Then, in March I pushed aside all excuses and did the Slice of Life Story Challenge. Every day in the month of March I recruited my four year old daughter to tell… Continue reading A Mini-Crash-Course on Oral Storytelling
Category: lucy calkins
In Your Own Words
First drafts usually contain the words anybody can write. Revision is the key to crafting writing that sounds just like you.
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New Units of Study
I purchased the original Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grades 3 - 5 when they were published in 2006. In the early days, those books were like a Bible to me. I used them to help me plan the scope and sequence of many of the units of study I taught. When I moved… Continue reading New Units of Study
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Your Dreams Matter. Your Teaching Matters.
A couple of weeks ago I was re-reading the chapter about genre studies in The Art of Teaching Writing, New Edition (Heinemann, 1994) by Lucy Calkins. Once I was finished, I flipped to the final chapter of Lucy's book, which is entitled "Do I Dare to Care So Much?" I was looking for inspiration. (In… Continue reading Your Dreams Matter. Your Teaching Matters.
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What do you think of this minilesson?
I've been working on a few sample minilessons to give my grad students next month when I start teaching "Children's Literature in Teaching Writing." I've been making tweaks to the traditional minilesson structure I've used in the past based on Lucy Calkins's session, "In the Complicated World of Today, What's Changed and What's Stayed the… Continue reading What do you think of this minilesson?
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Pathways to the Common Core + a Giveaway
I’ve been working hard to prepare lectures for my graduate students that address the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, with regard to the teaching of writing. While I have read through the writing standards many times, I wanted to delve deeper into the CCSS so I could help my students understand the implications of… Continue reading Pathways to the Common Core + a Giveaway
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First Attempt at Poetry
Yesterday Lori Hickman and I launched a poetry unit of study in her kindergarten classroom. Since we wanted to see what they already knew about writing poetry, we decided to have them write a poem. This made me a little nervous. What if they just stared at the paper or chaos ensued because they had… Continue reading First Attempt at Poetry
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Say What You Mean: Part One
One September, I was creating a chart with my students about the things good writers do. They said things like "good writers write long and strong" and "they add details." I was initially impressed. These kids seemed to know some of the things it took to be a strong writer. But then, I conferred with… Continue reading Say What You Mean: Part One
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A Good Enough Gift
"A pen is better than glasses as a tool for seeing." --Lucy Calkins, Keynote Address, July Writing Institute, 6/27/11 I walked into the Levien Gymnasium yesterday morning and was greeted warmly by Tisha, of the Thinking Aloud Blog, who I had never met in person 'til yesterday. We chatted for a few minutes prior to… Continue reading A Good Enough Gift
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Best Practices and Tests CAN Go Together
This week's guest blog post is written by Lynnelle Snowbarger who is in her tenth year of teaching fifth grade in the Jenks Public Schools. A frequent participant in the Slice of Life Story Challenge, Lynelle also documents her journey with her students at the Bohemian Teacher Blog. Teachers don’t join the profession because of… Continue reading Best Practices and Tests CAN Go Together
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Imagining Possibilities: A Guest Blog Post by Ryan Scala
Ryan Scala has been teaching 4th grade (both as a general educator and a co-teacher working alongside a special education teacher in an inclusive setting) for the past nine years in Springs School, a small K-8 school located on the eastern end of Long Island in New York. He has worked as a teacher consultant… Continue reading Imagining Possibilities: A Guest Blog Post by Ryan Scala
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Using One Book for Many Purposes
When I started teaching I owned a handful of picture and chapter books. I came armed with this handful and my love for Judy Blume. I knew I liked to write, but really had no idea how to help a child become a stronger writer. Over time, with a lot of guidance and professional development,… Continue reading Using One Book for Many Purposes
