The creative lives we maintain outside of writing fill us up as humans with stories to tell. When we bring this life into the writing workshop, it builds community, and it lays the foundation for lifelong writers who have strategies for sustaining their own writing lives.
Tag: writer’s notebook
Teaching Writing, Learning Writing
As I get ready for the March SOLSC, I'm thinking about ways to support writers when ideas, energy and inspiration waver.
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Notebooks: Starting with What Matters Most
Before summer began, we at Two Writing Teachers planned this blog series, and I blithely volunteered to write a post about the value of notebooks in writing workshop. Notebooks. What was I thinking?! So much has been written about them. I started rereading, and ran out of time...A single post, I realized, would barely scratch… Continue reading Notebooks: Starting with What Matters Most
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Summer Writing: A Confession and a Goal
All of us at Two Writing Teachers are thinking about and planning for summer writing. Summer writing inspiration for our students and summer writing goals for ourselves. Kathleen wrote this fabulous post about using QR codes to support students' summer notebook writing. Beth shared inspiration in her recent Summer Writing Bucket List post. And Melanie reflected on… Continue reading Summer Writing: A Confession and a Goal
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Building a culture of bravery in writing workshop
In these early days of writing workshop, we work on being brave...
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Creating Classroom Environments: Paper Choices
Kids do need room to grow. Not only do they outgrow clothes in the blink of an eye, they also grow as readers and writers. This is why we need classroom libraries stocked with a wide range of levels, and it's why we need writing centers stocked with paper choices.
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Reflecting on Reading Like a Writer
So I took some time to create a video about the system I created in order to track and reflect on my summer reading. Because I pushed myself to reflect in a new medium, I feel like I dug deeper into the work I've done with reading like a writer. (I hope it's not too… Continue reading Reflecting on Reading Like a Writer
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I {Heart} Writer’s Notebooks.
I just said good bye to a former student (who is now a friend) and her fiance after they had dinner with us. She loves to write and is planning to become a teacher, primarily because of her experience as a student in Writing Workshop (which could be a post all on it's own!). Tonight… Continue reading I {Heart} Writer’s Notebooks.
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Ruth’s Memoir Monday: Getting Laney.
Earlier this week I wrote a quick write in my writer's notebook about getting my cabbage patch kid. (Last week for Memoir Monday, I toyed with the So What? of writing about Laney.) I thought I'd get it scanned and then posted in that format, yet, it just hasn't happened. So, because it's nearly Poetry Friday… Continue reading Ruth’s Memoir Monday: Getting Laney.
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Storyboards.
This summer I heard Penny Kittle speak about using storyboards. This week I've tried them out in classrooms. They aren't all that different from one of the ways I talk to kids about planning. I encourage them to think in scenes & then sketch in their notebook a flow chart of sorts, using pictures and… Continue reading Storyboards.
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Yo-Ho-Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me!
Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (link takes you to Wikipedia; here is the official site). Next to Christmas, this may just be my favorite! 🙂 A little known secret is that I'm an avid pirate-lover. I love all things Pirate (except for the baseball team)! Today my little family of five is celebrating. … Continue reading Yo-Ho-Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me!
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Poetry Friday: An Original Acrostic.
With the start of the year, I've noticed several teachers having students use their names to make acrostic poems. I was reminded of a post Stacey wrote * about encouraging meaning in acrostic poetry. So, on my drive to work this morning, I composed one. I had to dig my notebook out of my bag and… Continue reading Poetry Friday: An Original Acrostic.
