Teaching is an art, and sometimes tweaks don't work as we hope or envision. However, I hope that these three ideas do increase the clarity of instruction in ways that help all students learn to be independent confident writers.
Category: process
Celebrating the Unsung Hero of Writing: The Process
Instead of a typical publishing party, fifth-grade teacher Christina Nosek and her students held a writing process celebration.
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When to Pop Out of the Notebook
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.
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The Freedom That Comes With Constriction: Flash Fiction
Writing flash fiction can be liberating, exhilarating, and great writing process practice.
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An Eraser-Free Workshop and the Language We Use for Talking About It
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.
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Q&A with the Author of “Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?” + a Giveaway
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell is an expertly crafted biography that can be used to teach students a variety of craft moves during a biography writing unit of study.
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Behind the Scenes of I Haiku You + a Giveaway
Betsy Snyder shares a behind-the-scenes process for writing and illustrating I Haiku You, her newest picture book published by Random House. Read through her post and then leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this book.
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Independent Writers
I used to dream of reaching a point in my writing workshop instruction where kids were all working as writers, but they weren't all doing the exact same thing. This isn't an easy point to reach. Today I witnessed it in Shelley Kunkle's 7th grade writing workshops. She is in the midst of a research… Continue reading Independent Writers
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Author Visit
Maribeth Boelts gave an engaging and thought-provoking talk to my students and I last week. She talked about so much more than just her books and her process -- though she did that too. She talked a lot about writers and writing, which inspired me to pull out the manuscript I finished in November and… Continue reading Author Visit
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It’s Late…
One of my professional goals this summer is to get ahead on my blog posts. So far I'm failing miserably at this. We've been out of internet since 6:17 am. It's back (but slow) and I'm blogging, hoping I start accomplishing my blog-ahead goal soon. So for tonight's post you get a little collection of… Continue reading It’s Late…
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Talking Poetry with Lee Bennett Hopkins
I've hiked alongside a black bear, who was fishing for salmon in a stream, in Alaska. Maybe it was because I was with a group of people, but the bear didn't scare me. Put me in the same room as an insect and I am no longer fearless. In fact, if my husband is near… Continue reading Talking Poetry with Lee Bennett Hopkins
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I’ve been studying sentence structure…
I was watching or listening or reading something this week --- I don't remember what -- but the message was: You can't be a writer if you're not a reader. True. (And probably the reason I don't remember who said it since this little tid-bit is fairly common knowledge.) The person went on to say:… Continue reading I’ve been studying sentence structure…
