How will you celebrate the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, September 30 - October 6, 2012? Check out the official website.
Best First Draft
When students move from their notebook to draft, I encourage them to write their best first draft. (Click here to see other posts I've written about best first drafts.) Something that I'm always curious about is the way conventions come into play during all parts of the writing process. As I've been teaching kids to… Continue reading Best First Draft
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Topic Choice
So often, we run into students who say, "I don't know what to write about." We work to help them develop topics. We make lists of writing ideas. We encourage them to explore writing territories. They find possible stories. What I've been realizing lately is often my topic choice has more to do with what… Continue reading Topic Choice
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Slice of Life
Woohoo! It's Tuesday...even better, it's Slice-time!
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Scene Changes
I’ve been trying to think through how to explain thinking in scenes to young writers in a way that makes it accessible. It seems they either write two scenes and call it done (when it really isn’t enough) or they write micro-scenes, making about 50 of them when there should only be four. How do… Continue reading Scene Changes
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Shana Tova
Rosh Hashanah, which literally means "head of the year," marks the beginning of a new Jewish year. The year 5773 begins tonight at sundown. Ten days after Rosh Hashanah is Yom Kippur. This day of atonement is a time for Jews to fast and atone for their sins. The days that come in-between the two… Continue reading Shana Tova
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Craft Tables for You — Part III of III
This week I'm sharing the Happy Like Soccer craft table my graduate students created. My students worked in partnerships to flesh out explanations for craft moves they identified in Maribeth Boelts's book on the second day of class. I asked them to create a craft table with a partner for two reasons. First, I… Continue reading Craft Tables for You — Part III of III
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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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Weekly SOLSC
Today is the 11th anniversary of the September 11th Attacks. It's hard to believe it's been over a decade since that horrible day, when everything started out right and ended so catastrophically. Today I plan to honor the memory of those who died by watching the media coverage and observing moments of silence. Later today… Continue reading Weekly SOLSC
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Words that are Speaking to Me
Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Chatting with Leigh Hodgkinson + a Giveaway
Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved books about bears. Therefore, when I picked up Goldilocks and Just One Bear, which feels like the sequel to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," I was giddy. Leigh Hodgkinson's new book helped me to envision what became of some of my favorite fairy tale characters after… Continue reading Chatting with Leigh Hodgkinson + a Giveaway
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Craft Tables for You — Part II of III
This is the second in a series of three posts that include craft tables you can download for use during your conferences or strategy lessons. If you missed last week's post, which talked about what craft tables are and how to create them, then click here to read it now. This week I'm sharing two… Continue reading Craft Tables for You — Part II of III
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 