community · EAL

Widening the Classroom Community to Include Families

In the last two months, our world has required us to live in the space of continuous new experiences. All of us, but especially the world of education, have taken a hard and immediate shift. It would be blind denial to say it has been easy, but this past week has taken me by surprise.

slice of life · Slice of Life Story Challenge · SOLSC Classroom Challenge · SOLSC Classroom Challenge · writing workshop

Classroom SOLSC: Closing In On the End – Week 5

2020 Classroom Slice of Life Challenge Twenty-five days of student writing are now behind us, and we are closing in on the end of the 2020 Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge. Students have worked hard to write stories each day. There have been stories that have filled pages and stories that seemed to barely… Continue reading Classroom SOLSC: Closing In On the End – Week 5

bulletin boards · classroom environment · COVID-19 · independence · small group · writing workshop

Bringing Virtual Classrooms to Life

Is it possible to duplicate the live, in-person experiences? Of course not, but maybe some of you could feel the authenticity of a high-five or hug I'm sending your way. So let’s think about some ways to bring virtual classrooms to life, maybe thinking of it as duplicating some of the processes of your classroom in a virtual world.

community · sharing

Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud Right Now

Maya Angelou said, "Prepare yourself, so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud." I'm working on it. I hope you'll join me.

COVID-19 · independent writing projects

A Mini-Series for Families: Writing is for Everyone, Everywhere, All the Time

Rasha Hamid and Kelsey Sorum present three videos to guide families with writing anywhere, anytime, with anything they have.

SOLSC

SOL Tuesday

Today is Tuesday! Time for the Slice of Life Community to come together. Come write, share, give...

classroom environment · community · COVID-19

Building a New Community

How are you finding ways to connect and bring a community of learners together?

narrative · SOLSC Classroom Challenge · SOLSC Classroom Challenge

Classroom SOLSC: The Stories Continue – Week 4

Students have inspired us with the craft of story, building themselves into stronger writers each day. What a beautiful way to have students feel so close when they are so far from us.

choice · COVID-19 · craft · demonstration · dialgoue · SOLSC Classroom Challenge · writing workshop

All Aboard! Virtual Field Trips and Writing Experiences

In these days where we are home so much, take your class on a virtual field trip or two and allow them choices of what they will write about! This post includes 6 trips all ready to go with writing menus for each trip. Many thanks to Clare Landrigan and Pernille Ripp who both inspired what I am sharing here with you today.

choice · COVID-19

Passion Projects During COVID-19

During the Teachers College Virtual Teaching Institute a few weeks ago, staff developer Natalie Friday introduced an idea for learning during the current global pandemic: Passion Projects.  With schools now closed, several of them for the remainder of the academic year, some students (and teachers!) may feel like they are actually living the movie, "Groundhog Day."  So with this gift of time (if we can see our way to interpreting it that way), why not encourage students to pursue a passion they have or would like to grow?

COVID-19 · reluctant writers · remote learning · writer's notebook

Engage Striving Writers by Keeping a Notebook During the COVID-19 School Closures

Brevity, choice, and routine matter when you’re trying to encourage a reluctant writer to put words on the page when you’re engaging in remote schooling.

SOLSC

SOL Tuesday

Today is Tuesday! Time for the Slice of Life Community to come together. Come write, share, give...