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
Category: Reflective Practice
Procedures
Traditionally we think about writing workshop procedures at the beginning of the school year. We set the routines, organize the procedures, and launch writing workshop. I'm thinking, though, around this time of year, it might be a good idea to evaluate procedures. By this point in the school year, the writers in our classrooms have… Continue reading Procedures
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Reflection
On Friday afternoon, I spent some time reading and commenting on other writers' SOL stories. As I made my way through various blogs, I noticed a couple of people (e.g., Zsofi from Grown Ups & Downs and Paul from Birds and Trees of the Mind) whose reflected on the writing they'd done during the Challenge,… Continue reading Reflection
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On the tough days…
I've been thinking about teachers on the tough days. You know those days. The days when you can barely lift your hand to high five kids on the way out (which may be a good thing because you don't really want to give them high fives anyway). When you're not sure you can make it… Continue reading On the tough days…
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Celebrating Versus Publishing
I've been percolating some ideas for the Celebrating Writers book Christi Overman and I are working on and expect to have out later this year with Stenhouse. We pretty much had it drafted, but then, looking back after letting it settle realized (due to the insight of our editor) that it just wasn't quite right.… Continue reading Celebrating Versus Publishing
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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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REVIEW Unit Launch
This week I launched a REVIEW UNIT in several third grade classrooms. On the first day I asked, "Have you ever heard of a review?" Heads shook. "Okay, then, let me show you some," I said. We spent time looking at some reviews I pulled up via the internet on the SmartBoard. We read reviews… Continue reading REVIEW Unit Launch
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Ruth’s OLW: Reflection 2011 + Word 2012.
First a little reflection on OLW '11... I chose this word because I felt like it encompassed everything in my life. The list of words in the tape along the bottom of the image, shows the connections I was interested in making. I was surprised to find the online connections I make just as integral… Continue reading Ruth’s OLW: Reflection 2011 + Word 2012.
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Writing Groups + Classrooms
My writing group is an important part of my life as a writer. It's more than just accountability, but feedback and camaraderie and, well, if I'm super honest, fun. When I was a classroom teacher, I didn't do a very good job of establishing writing groups, or crit partners, for my students. I see now they were… Continue reading Writing Groups + Classrooms
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A Blogging Secret
I have a little secret about blogging. Sometimes I don't feel like blogging. Sometimes I want to avoid the little post box. Sometimes, like right now, I'm so far behind on my email that I wonder if I will be eaten alive when I do open my inbox. But I blog anyway. I've realized I… Continue reading A Blogging Secret
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QR Codes
My kids are junkies when it comes to QR Codes. They love spotting them. They are addicted to the thrill of scanning. They like the possibility of where the QR Code might take them. Today in the Tech Workshop (which should be renamed to Taking Time to Tackle Technology), we talked a little about QR… Continue reading QR Codes
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What are you writing?
Short post since my internet is slow at best, although nonexistent is more accurate. My school was canceled today. I spent a lot of my day writing. I've been revising my query letter and my first novel. So far the first 38 pages have been revised into 18. It's hard work. Hard. Hard. Work. Not to mention… Continue reading What are you writing?
