How do you build a community of writers at the start of the year who can trust each other with their stories? And how can you do that in a hybrid or distance learning model?
Category: risk-taking
4 Tips for Modeling with Your Own Writing
For many of us who work to live as writers and teachers who write, we likely do so in order to appreciate the challenge, the complexity, and the thrill that writing can provide for our lives. It is living through the process that matters. But what about turning some of our writing into teaching tools for our writing workshops? Here are four tips...
More Than Tinkering: Looking Back and Moving Forward
Revision is a process. It is also a frequently misunderstood endeavor. As a teacher, I have often revised my beliefs to re-see my goals and purpose when it comes to teaching my writers the best revision strategies.
Today is a Great Day to Learn Something New
So, as I enter the start of my school year, I am proud to identify as a lifelong learner in every sense of the word. I am a professional who continuously strives to grow in my craft. I surround myself with people that inspire me to be the best I can be and I actively seek out opportunities to do so as well. I modify and implement what I learn to better my teaching. I learn from my mistakes, take in the advice of others and adjust accordingly. Additionally, I am a curious minded individual who seeks out new experiences, new people, new places and is willing to take risks to better myself. I am leading by example to my students as I follow the mantra hanging in the front of my classroom- “Today is a great day to learn something new!”
Risk-taking in the Writer’s Notebook
We learn when we experiment and take risks. The writer's notebook could be a place worth considering as a place to do some risk-taking!
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.
An Inspiring Mentor Text, an Interview, and a Giveaway
I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E Ralph Tells A Story (Amazon Children’s Publishing, 2012), which is a story about a boy, Ralph, who has trepidation about writing. (It’s already become a book I suggest to teachers when I speak about mentor texts!) Ralph is that kid in your writing workshop who claims he doesn’t have anything to… Continue reading An Inspiring Mentor Text, an Interview, and a Giveaway
The Un-Perfect Classroom
I was one of three new kids in my bunk at camp in 1989. The rest of the girls who were in my bunk had been together for a few years and were known for getting perfect tens on daily bunk inspections. That summer, I was the kid who made my bunk get nines, rather… Continue reading The Un-Perfect Classroom