My litmus test for the work we do in the classroom pivots on an understanding that collecting one’s own ideas and practicing ways to communicate them will serve students outside classroom walls. And it is with that framing in mind – with children reflecting on their journeys, in carefully selecting the language I use, and in sharing feedback on growth as opposed to the final alone- that I hope to continually communicate the importance of process over product.
In those quick moments between minilesson and work time, as writers are settling in (or not), I pay attention to what is—the current reality. I seek leverage points to both know writers better and to support writers in continuing to grow. Over time, I notice as more and more writers find the processes and strategies that work for them.
Who students are and what their past experiences have been impact them as writers, and those impacts should have implications on instruction. Therefore, it’s worth the time and energy to have systems and structures for learning about students as writers in your classroom.
Recording for revision, encouraging translanguaging, and repetition are useful strategies to exalt and empower multilingual writers. As teachers of multilingual students, encouraging translanguaging and recording as revision is akin to telling students: every aspect of you is valued. Every aspect of you is important.
If I can teach students not only to recognize their learning styles and resources that benefit them, but also how to ask for or find those resources, then I increase the potential of having an impact on their learning long after I’m physically or digitally present in their lives.
With a personal writing calendar, each kid can see what is going to happen in the unit of study, and has the power to adjust it.
Identifying barriers and teaching into ways through, around, or over them will help writers not only with their immediate process, but also with their future endeavors.
For every writer, the writing process is a little bit different. As teacher writers, we all struggle at different points and our students are no different. Today I offer a few tools for supporting writers at different points of the writing process . . .
As schools begin to restart, I have been thinking a lot about ways to begin building community within our new COVID reality. Specifically, I have been thinking about ways we as teachers might harness the structure of writing partnerships as a means by which to help create meaningful, supportive connections between writers. Here are a few ideas . . .
Some great and reflective conversations could happen if students consider both their current writing processes and how to change them in order to become more productive.
Writing has been a struggle for several weeks now. Today I take you through my process to get where I am now and the journey I intend to continue.
What do you find most challenging when it comes to the writing process? Have you considered a writer’s process as personal and unique or a step-by-step path rarely disrupted?
During the revision phase of the writing process, I find that many writers will often ‘tinker’ rather than really revise for meaning. Perhaps you’ve see similar behaviors in your middle school writers? Read on to learn a few tips for spicing up revision!
At the heart of all great writing is meaning. Writers select details carefully and deliberately, depending on the message we wish to convey to readers. How can we let meaning guide revision? Read here about a few ways…
To put it simply, the writing process can be excruciating for our perfectionists. If we aren’t careful, we can unintentionally curb the enthusiasm of a writer who leans toward perfection.
Do you make time for your writers to reread? Rereading is one of those pieces of the workshop we might be assuming our writers are doing but direction is needed to really make it a habit. Here are five tips to give rereading a place in your writing workshop this year.
Reflection can help foster both a writerly identity and act as a discovery process for possible future goals. This is likely true for any endeavor, whether it be coaching soccer or writing. This week, we as co-authors have been doing some thinking about the power of self-reflection. One possible lens for reflection is the writing process itself…
The writing process is not always linear, it is not a circle of steps, it is not something that needs to be done the same way twice. The writing process might be different everytime a writer sits down to start. It might be different for someone writing a poem one day and an essay a week later. The writing process is as unique as the writer. Embrace the process and its endless possibilities as students move forward.
I made many mistakes during my first year of teaching. I’m too embarrassed to blog about most of them since I cringe when I look back on my first year of teaching. … Continue Reading Doing the Same Work as Our Students
The realization of this moment gave me chills and led me to share my writing backstory with Dana. Dana listened and encouraged me to open my presentation with this story. I was hesitant, the experience had halted my inner writer for years. What if sharing it again had the same result?
