A Teacher’s Plan to Keep Writing Going in the Summer
Find your purpose. Find your crew. Find your sunrise. Write.
Write, Share, Give
Notice stories as they flicker around you. Share them here. It’s SOL Tuesday!
It’s SOL Tuesday
Read some slices, get inspired, write your own! It’s SOL Tuesday.
Writing Victories: Keep Learning Going Throughout the Summer
Not every kid is born with a positive attitude towards writing. Here are six low-stress ways to develop a writer at home (some of which don’t even include putting a pen to paper)!
10th Annual SOLSC Prize Reveal
Don’t let those self-doubting dialogues, “There is no way I can write for 31 days, what am I thinking,” creep into your brain! But, in case you need a prize more tangible than the rewards of writing every day, we’ve sweetened the deal with a prize reveal. You cannot possibly consider turning back now!
Writing Takes Guts: My Writing Backstory
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?
Nurturing Our Writing Lives: 5 Ways to Keep Writing
How can we nurture our own writing lives once the school year begins? 5 ways to help us keep writing.
We Are Writers Here! Starting with What Matters Most
When I think about what I first want my students to know, what matters most to me as a teacher of writing, more than capital letters or topic sentences or punctuation, I want them to believe they have ideas worth sharing and stories worth telling. I want them to know their voice matters and their words can make a difference. I want them to believe they are writers, right now, whatever their reading proficiency, whatever their language background, whatever their home circumstances. WE ARE WRITERS HERE. We all matter, we all belong, we all can and should write.
Where Have All the Narratives Gone?
I’ve been thinking about why young writers struggle with personal narrative and realistic fiction writing.
Writing with All the Feelings by Liz Garton Scanlon
Author Liz Garton Scanlon implores us to let “you be you” in today’s Author Spotlight post.
A Book for Passionate Creators + a Giveaway
Have you lost your muse? Create Now is the kind of book you need to help you transform your creative process and get you inspired to write.
Demonstration Writing: Sometimes They Need To See “Writing Thinking”
Making my writing thinking visible to my students has given them another tool to “get unstuck”…
Writing Workshop Feels Better with Less
Our workshop was feeling forced, unnatural, and just rushed! We struggled to fit it all in and share time (the most valued time) was cut short with only 1 or 2 writers sharing each day. Something had to give. Writers weren’t growing, I wasn’t conferring, and it just didn’t feel calm and productive. I reflected on our workshop, the work of the writers, and the choices I was making, but I couldn’t figure out what was making me feel so unsettled.
Begin the writing workshop year by writing on “Day One”
This year, I’m reaching back into habits of old and carving out time to write during that first day. Here are some things I will keep in mind…
An Eraser-Free Workshop and the Language We Use for Talking About It
When I visit a classroom, one of the first things I often say to kids is, “Today, please don’t erase. I want to see ALL the great work you are doing as a writer. When you erase, your work disappears!” Often, this is what kids are accustomed to and they continue working away. But sometimes, kids stare at me as if I’ve got two heads.
How I Became An Author
Ralph Fletcher, who is a beloved trade and professional book author, steps into our Author Spotlight.
Sustaining a Writing Habit
Do you need help sustaining a writing habit? Take a lesson from Jerry Seinfeld & “don’t break the chain.”
What Will You Write This Summer?
Glue your butt to the chair, every day, or at least once a week, and you will not only become a better writer–you’ll become a better teacher of writing.
From Library Desk to Library Shelf: My 10-Year Path to Publication
We’re delighted to have Augusta Scattergood kicking-off our new Author Spotlight Blog Series.
7 Habits of an Effective Writing Critique Group
I’ve learned a few things about myself as a writer and a group member by being part of a writing critique group for the past nine months.
