Tomorrow night I've been invited to talk with parents and host a mini-writing workshop for families. You must know, about a week ago, our youngest, Sam (a first grader), gave two slips of paper to each family member, along with a pen, and said, "Write two titles or story ideas on these slips. I'll be… Continue reading Word Play (a writing night for families)
Category: writing workshop
Honoring Experiences
A long time ago I shifted my language from talking about "low" or "weak" writers to inexperienced writers. The shift in language is significant. It's not about kids being good enough or capable of writing, but rather it is about gaining experience and becoming stronger writers. At the same time, it's about honoring the experiences… Continue reading Honoring Experiences
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Where am I?
Look who I spent the evening listening to... Yes, that is Maggie Stiefvater, YA novelist and one of my personal mentors when it comes to crafting a story. Later I'll share some of the cool things she says. Tonight, though, check out the latest addition to my notebook... I'm going to fall asleep thinking about… Continue reading Where am I?
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The Magic of Workshop
Today I was working with a group of primary teachers (Hello North Webster Elementary School!) and we were talking about the silly things kids share during writing workshop. Sometimes their stories are outrageous and they laugh about the strangest things, like a character turning into a Booger Head, as one teacher shared. I laughed and… Continue reading The Magic of Workshop
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Facing Discouragement
I hesitate to write this blog post. Yet it needs written. Maybe for you or for the teacher next door. Definitely for me. This week I've had too many conversations with teachers who are feeling discouraged. They do not have gender, teaching experience, grade level, or administration in common. They don't even come from the… Continue reading Facing Discouragement
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Structure + Choice
Here's what I've been thinking about lately: How do we provide both structure and choice in writing workshop? Both are essential to empowering young writers. Structure is necessary to lift the level of every writer in the classroom. Choice is crucial for writers to learn to write with energy and strength. Yet they sometimes seem… Continue reading Structure + Choice
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Hearing the Sound of Opinion Writing
Right now is the perfect time to begin sharing book reviews. Readers across the globe are making plans as they begin a new school year. Teachers are book talking. Kids are book talking. We begin lists in notebooks of favorite books, books we want to read, books we have read. Common core demands we take… Continue reading Hearing the Sound of Opinion Writing
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If I Didn’t Write Myself I Wouldn’t Know…
Here's a little list that is swirling in my mind... If I didn't write myself I wouldn't know how critical positive feedback is to the life of a writer. This weekend I received emails from three different people in response to a couple of different writing projects. One was from an editor who pushed me… Continue reading If I Didn’t Write Myself I Wouldn’t Know…
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Writers use narrative, informative, and opinion modes of writing across genres.
Along with this slide, I said these words in the section of my key note called, "Using narrative, informative, and persuasion to tell your Story." One of the things unsettling to me is the segregation of the text types. Even though the text types appear to be separate, segregated into nice neat boxes, divided… Continue reading Writers use narrative, informative, and opinion modes of writing across genres.
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Starting Slowly
One of the things I realized about myself when I went to the Choice Literacy writing retreat is how quickly I speed through the day. I like to pay attention to the world around me, but sometimes I'm moving too quickly. For the past few weeks I've been trying to slow down my pace. It's… Continue reading Starting Slowly
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Words that are Speaking to Me
Always and forever at the start of a new school year... If you want to teach me to write, first you must love me. ---Avi
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When I’m not here…
Why is it so much harder to blog in the summer than during the school year? It's like when my to-do list decreases to 20 million things instead of 50 million things, I have a harder time remembering to blog. It's insane. Tonight Christy Rush-Levine is partially to blame. She invited my family to visit… Continue reading When I’m not here…
