Last week I talked with a group of intermediate teachers about writers' notebooks. We discussed the importance of writers' notebooks to the life of a writer, as well as how to get them going in classrooms. The teachers returned to their classrooms and launched writers' notebooks. Yesterday, a week later, we came back together for… Continue reading A Scavenger Hunt
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Conference Roles
I like to think of a writing conference as a conversation. Just like many common conversations, there is a predictable structure to the writing conference. I think it's important for us to teach students about their role and our role in a conference. Tomorrow I have plan to do this in second grade (as I… Continue reading Conference Roles
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How to Write
This past week I've had several conversations with young writers about how to write something. Not the logistics of making letters or spelling words, but how to craft their writing in order to make the reader feel or know something. With our youngest writers this conversation has centered around illustrations. With intermediate writers it has… Continue reading How to Write
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And the winner is…
Grireland, who left the twentieth comment (which corresponds the #20 picked by the random number generator I used) is the winner of the $100 DonorsChoose Gift Card from Intel. Congratulations! Please send me your complete mailing address by clicking here.
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Martha Horn!
Martha Horn is coming to NE Indiana on October 14, hosted by the All-Write Consortium. I'm super excited to hear her thoughts about teaching our youngest writers. If you are interested in attending, just click here for registration information. Do you know her book, Talking, Drawing, and Writing? She wrote it along with Mary Ellen… Continue reading Martha Horn!
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Beginning the Journey
Today I worked with 17 teachers who attended the All-Write Primary Beginning Writing Workshop. Basically it's a training for teachers who want to learn the basics of writing workshop and get it going in their classrooms. Although I've led this training many times, this is the first time it has been focused on primary grades.… Continue reading Beginning the Journey
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Reflections on September 11th
Ten years have passed since September 11th, 2001. In 2001, I lived in Manhattan when the planes hit the Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA. Today I live in Central Pennsylvania where the Susquehanna River has crested and has flooded the streets displacing many people from their homes. While natural disasters are… Continue reading Reflections on September 11th
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Recap of our Summer 2011 Guest Blogger Series
Labor Day came and went this past Monday. Nearly every teacher and child I know is back in school. Therefore, our summer guest blogger series has come to an end. Next Friday Ruth and I will be blogging on alternating Fridays. However, I wanted to take a moment to recap all of the guest blog… Continue reading Recap of our Summer 2011 Guest Blogger Series
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Watch a Video & Then Enter to Win a Gift Card
Longtime readers of this site know that I'm a big proponent of DonorsChoose. During my years as a classroom teacher I had over 65 proposals funded on DonorsChoose thanks to the generosity of citizen philanthropists and corporations who chose to fund my proposals I wrote for classroom supplies, books, writer's notebooks, field trips, and special… Continue reading Watch a Video & Then Enter to Win a Gift Card
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Teach the Writer
I wish we could change the world by creating powerful writers forever instead of indifferent writers for school. ---Mem Fox I just want to take a deep breath and read those words again. Exactly. "Powerful writers forever instead of indifferent writers for school." Sigh. This is why I'm thankful for writing workshop. It helps us… Continue reading Teach the Writer
