Last night, Stacey & I put together our first digital story. Although it is quite rough, a bit cheesy, and borderline ridiculous -- the benefits far outweigh the potential embarrassing consequences of posting it. Between then and now, I've thought about the process that we engaged in while creating our digital story, as well as… Continue reading Reflecting on Digi-Storytelling
Category: writing workshop
day one.
Today I began teaching "English 9 A." As we squeezed into a skinny oblong ring, I could already sense a community being formed. The simple act of sharing names and bits about ourselves molded a community. The simple act of reading aloud molded a community. The simple act of asking and trusting molded a community.… Continue reading day one.
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More Penny Inspiration.
I've been wanting to write a "Where I'm From" poem for many years now. Originally inspired by George Ella Lyon's poem, shared in a workshop by Georgia Heard, then by Stacey, and most recently by Penny Kittle. I finally bit the bullet, because I want to share it with my high school class next week… Continue reading More Penny Inspiration.
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Answering Questions About Writing Workshop
I received a bunch of questions from a regular reader of TWT yesterday. Her questions seemed like ones that other folks might want the answers to, so I asked her if I could answer them on TWT without mentioning her name. She said yes. Q. My kids constantly tell me, "my mother conferred with me… Continue reading Answering Questions About Writing Workshop
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Check these out!
My friend and colleague, Karla Hayden, shared the following. Lookybook.com -- Check out the hundreds of titles that are read aloud! (This is great for SmartBoards.) Storyline Online (Screen Actors Guild) -- There's only about 20 titles, but the read alouds I have viewed are excellently performed.
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Am I making it too hard?
I've been wondering lately, am I making this -- writing workshop, reading workshop, teaching -- too hard? With my quest to zero in on good instruction, wise conferring, and powerful shares have I lost the magic? As I strive to take advantage of every moment, have I become too controlling? Too contriving? Too sequential? I am… Continue reading Am I making it too hard?
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Share Talk
Deb has a great post that contains some prompts, from Corgill's Book Of Primary Importance, to help kids when they're sharing. Click here to read the list of prompts, which I know I'm going to give my kids to scaffold them when they're presenting what we discussed in front of their peers.
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Fixing Up and Fancying Up
Tonight I asked my first grade daughter, "What did you do in writing workshop today?" She beamed -- literally beamed up at me with her toothless grin and said, "Oh Mom, it was great -- I learned how to fix up and fancy up my writing! A celebration is coming!" And here you have it… Continue reading Fixing Up and Fancying Up
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Old Photos
After yesterday's writing, I was reminded of something I read in Ralph Fletcher's A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. (Since this is the second reference for this book in less than a week -- Stacey's post is here -- you may want to consider buying it! Wink . . . Wink!) He writes:… Continue reading Old Photos
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Memoir Monday: How things used to be.
From my writer's notebook yesterday: Today I came across an old mini-golf score card from when I beat Andy. (This doesn't happen very often, so I stuck it in my very first writer's notebook in order to remember.) Like a whoosh from opening a bottle of pop, I was flooded with feelings of how things… Continue reading Memoir Monday: How things used to be.
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Thank You!
Little did I know what I was in for when I asked for response. Thank you! Thank you! I cannot even begin to tell you how your response has stretched me as a writer and gave me insight as a teacher. What a neat little community we have here of teachers and writers together. Thank… Continue reading Thank You!
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Take off the Top of Your Head!
After all of the writer's notebook work and the storyboard work and the oral storytelling, it sometimes seems as though students don't realize how they then need to craft their draft. I've found that explicit teaching of this idea is important. Today I did just that with some third graders. I showed them my storyboard… Continue reading Take off the Top of Your Head!
