Over the years, my chartbook has evolved. Here are some of the latest pages.
Category: writing workshop
Resetting Student Ownership and Student Responsibility
We realized our students needed to revisit why they are reading and writing in reflection to their current needs as readers and writers. Our work has shifted from the skills of learning to decode, spell, and use conventions to inferring, synthesizing, identifying and applying craft techniques, using voice, and then sharing our synthesized thoughts and stories with others.
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Pausing to Reflect: Personal Essays
My third graders are wrapping up their unit on personal essay. While some have grasped the structure and have articulated reasons and examples to support their argument, others have struggled to understand the concept of an essay. I want to take some time to think about what went right when teaching this unit and where the breakdowns occurred.
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Three Ways to Teach Empathy Inside Writing Workshop
This video, narrated by Brene Brown, has been viewed over 7,000,000 times. Empathy is more complicated than its twin sister, sympathy. Empathy is a challenge for a lot of people--not just kids. The great poet Nikki Giovanni has said, "Let me clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems.… Continue reading Three Ways to Teach Empathy Inside Writing Workshop
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Setting Goals With Students
Once we teach students about goals and the importance of them in our lives, we can use the accompanying language in all aspects of their, and our own, learning.
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The Power of Silence in Conferring
I took a deep breath and paused a long pregnant pause. My next words needed to be just right.
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Watch. Look. Listen: AUTHENTIC PURPOSES FOR WRITING
Writing is a stalwart act. Through writing, we express ourselves, uncover feelings, tell our stories, organize our schedules, share our beliefs, and change our world. To some students (and even adults) writing can seem like a monumental task and writing may feel cumbersome. But when you think of the necessity of writing in our lives, writing is unavoidable.
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Writing for Audience: Authentic Purposes for Writing
Sometimes we write to clarify our thinking or record a moment so it won’t be lost in our memories. Other times we write to entertain, inform, or instruct. Recently, many of us have found writing to be an avenue for us to express opinions, voice our beliefs and persuade others to join us in our… Continue reading Writing for Audience: Authentic Purposes for Writing
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Carving Out Time: Authentic Purposes for Writing
I believe in writing. I believe that the more you write, the more you discover your own thoughts and ideas. Your voice grows stronger. You become more fluent. Writing becomes a part of who you are, how you see the world, how you process your thoughts, how you communicate effectively with others. It is not enough for students to just write during writing workshop. Writing needs to be woven into the fabric of the day, across subject areas, in ways that are meaningful and authentic for students.
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Writing Partners: Authentic Purposes for Writing
Someone once told me: You can't write well about something you don't care about. One day, I listened in on two first grade partners, Jennifer and Marco, sharing their pieces of writing. I stood ten steps away, just observing. Jennifer had written a piece about her brother. I watched as Marco and Jennifer scooted their seats… Continue reading Writing Partners: Authentic Purposes for Writing
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Creating Change: Authentic Purposes for Writing
It's often difficult for children to see themselves as change-makers. Writing and processing small or big ideas can help children see that their voices can be powerful guides for change, even if the change is simply making someone's day.
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Exploring Feelings Through Writing: Authentic Purposes for Writing
This week, my TWT colleagues and I are writing about the importance of authentic purpose to writers. We all agree that our students will benefit from having strong voices, clear messages, and wide audiences in our quickly changing world. Sometimes, we sit down to write, and we know exactly what we want to say, and… Continue reading Exploring Feelings Through Writing: Authentic Purposes for Writing
