One of the fantastic sessions I attended at NCTE was called "Beyond Classroom Walls: Honoring Voices of Young Readers." It was led by Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers, Katie Keier of Catching Readers, and Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine. Let me start by saying that all three of these women are the… Continue reading Beyond Classroom Walls
Category: reluctant writers
Word Count
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 fiction that my word count became as much a part of my day as brushing my teeth. I think this is true… Continue reading Word Count
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(Writing) Center Time for Older Students
Whenever I used to hear the words "Center Time" I immediately thought about early childhood classrooms. However, that notion changed in 2008 when I created a Poetry Station for my fourth graders. The Poetry Station was created for students to use during the "morning work" period of the school day. It was a choice, not… Continue reading (Writing) Center Time for Older Students
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Self-Efficacy in Writing Workshop
I recently read Michael Putnam's article, "Running the Race to Improve Self-Efficacy," in the Winter 2009 Issue of the Kappa Delta Pi Record. Putnam asserts, "I have complete confidence that you too could run a marathon; but it takes a plan, plenty of hard work and dedication, and a belief in yourself. Running the race… Continue reading Self-Efficacy in Writing Workshop
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Writing Behaviors & the Process
With the action research project I'm about to embark on, I'm trying to get a better hold on the writing behaviors my students, who do not write regularly, possess. I reached for M. Colleen Cruz's New Book from the Workshop Help Desk Series entitled A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers. This book is chock-full… Continue reading Writing Behaviors & the Process
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Our 2008 NCTE Presentation
As promised, here's the presentation, ‘”I HATE WRITING!!!’: A Discussion About Inspiring Reluctant Writers By Writing Alongside Them," we gave today. Ayres & Shubitz 2008 NCTE Convention Presentation
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We’re Headed to NCTE!
In the next 24 hours, Ruth and I will go from being 872 miles apart to being in the same city, San Antonio, which we couldn't be more thrilled about! We're both heading to Texas to present “'I HATE WRITING!!!': A Discussion About Inspiring Reluctant Writers By Writing Alongside Them." We'll likely blog, over the… Continue reading We’re Headed to NCTE!
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Preview: Reluctant Writers’ Self-Reflections
I've been going through some of my former students' end-of-year self-assessments in writing (adapted from Buckner's Book Notebook Know-How) that were completed in June 2007. I'm doing this to find just a couple of good quotes about the way that my reluctant writers transformed, in their own eyes. Here's what the most reluctant of the… Continue reading Preview: Reluctant Writers’ Self-Reflections
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Thoughts About Working with a REALLY Reluctant Writer
Ro asked: I have a student in my class who is on the spectrum and is extremely reluctant to writing. He doesn’t think anything is important or worth writing about. It’s extremely difficult even getting him to write a few sentences because he is so defiant. My next step is getting him to try writing… Continue reading Thoughts About Working with a REALLY Reluctant Writer
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Preview Our NCTE Presentation
Ruth and I are getting ready for our presentation in San Antonio, which is just a couple of months away. We joined the NCTE 2008 Conference NING, where we're posting an abridged version of our presentation, which we'll give on November 22nd. Recently, Ruth suggested that we post the abridged presentation here at TWT. (The… Continue reading Preview Our NCTE Presentation
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Inspiring Words for the Inside of Students’ Writer’s Notebooks
For the past two years I've included "My Writer's Notebook/Diamond Search" by Brod Bagert inside of every student's writer's notebook. However, in addition to Barert's Poem this year, I'm also going to be putting some writerly advice inside of the kids' notebooks. These pieces of "advice," combined with the gift-wrapping of the notebooks, should make… Continue reading Inspiring Words for the Inside of Students’ Writer’s Notebooks
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WE DID IT!!!
TWT on Two Computers at Courthouse Coffee Originally uploaded by teachergal As you know, Ruth and I got together to work on our presentation for NCTE this past week. Now that I'm back home, I'm marveling at the fact that we got SOOOOO much accomplished. We started out at Courthouse Coffee on Wednesday Morning with… Continue reading WE DID IT!!!
