Ruth and I joined up this morning for two workshops: "Where has all the Real Choice Gone? Revisiting an Essential Element in Writing Instruction" and also for "Where Social Justice and School Meet." We're going to chat this evening over coffee and cupcakes to talk about the issues that were presented in those sessions, as… Continue reading More from NCTE
Category: writing workshop
big week.
Tomorrow starts a four day workshop that I'm leading. It's a basic introduction to writing workshop with practical tips on how to get started. It's filled pastthe brim with 31 teachers and has a 12 person waiting list. (And this happened within a week of the workshop being posted.) Woah! So, needless to say, I… Continue reading big week.
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Blogger Challenge
I've started a BLOGGER CHALLENGE over at DonorsChoose.org in order to get some funding for writing into other teachers' classrooms. As you know, our motto is "Write: It's Good For You!" Therefore, we hope you will consider funding these proposals that OTHER teachers (not us) in high-need/high-poverty schools have submitted on DonorsChoose. THANKS, in advance,… Continue reading Blogger Challenge
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A Must-Read for All WW Teachers
An article published this past summer in Education Next came across my desk today. "The Lucy Calkins project: parsing a self-proclaimed literacy guru" disturbed me for two reasons: 1. Lucy was my professor for four courses when I was a graduate student at Teachers College. She taught me how to be a better teacher of… Continue reading A Must-Read for All WW Teachers
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Thinking Critically About the Writing Workshop: Reflecting on the Way I Teach Writing
I wanted to reflect on some questions my former professor, Stephanie Jones, presents at the end of chapter 11 in her book Girls, Social Class, and Literacy. She asks readers to consider some questions about the Writing Workshop that they teach. Here are her questions and my answers: 1. How are students positioned in Writing… Continue reading Thinking Critically About the Writing Workshop: Reflecting on the Way I Teach Writing
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i flopped.
Big Time. Seriously. It wasn't pretty. But it was a good experience. Here's the scenario -- A classroom of first graders + Exploding folders filled with stories + Each story is written across pages + NO staples + A weak focus lesson = Monster Chaos The teacher took a photo & I must say a… Continue reading i flopped.
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Here’s what’s going inside of the memory box I’ll create tomorrow with my students…
1. Golf Glove purchased on Kiawah Island in the late 1990's. Used twice. Maybe three times. Stories from my golf lesson abound. (I think this is what I'll model with during my Minilesson Demo since I have very few memories of using this item. But the ones I do have are pretty funny, albeit embarrassing.… Continue reading Here’s what’s going inside of the memory box I’ll create tomorrow with my students…
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Memory Boxes
We're creating Memory Boxes in Writing Workshop tomorrow. (Then on Tuesday they'll start writing entries based-off of the items in their box.) Problem: It's 10:03 p.m. and I haven't figured out what to put in my box yet. ARGH!!! I've started looking around my desk and have come up with items that I'm unsure of...… Continue reading Memory Boxes
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Gimmicks
I've been known to use lots of gimmicky things to get kids to write in their notebooks. For instance, I'll create mini-charts (aka: cheat sheets) of the large strategy charts I have hanging in the classroom. Then, I'll have the kids tape them into their writer's notebook to help them get started or to assist… Continue reading Gimmicks
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Gearing up for tomorrow’s Workshop
Here's my chart for tomorrow's LOOKING AT YOUR PLACE Activity. I've been contemplating modeling for them, but I'm leaning more towards a guided practice where I take them through the entire exercise step-by-step, revealing each new step every couple of minutes just like George Ella Lyon did for us at the WLU Conference.
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Join the Reading and Writing Teachers Book Club on Goodreads
Feel free to join the Reading and Writing Teachers Book Club!
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Writing Center
My Classroom's Writing Center Originally uploaded by teachergal In the six-plus hours that I spent in my classroom today, I spent at least an hour tweaking the way the Writing Center looked. I think I finally got it right (and yes, I realize the kids will touch it and it won't look like this forever… Continue reading Writing Center
