As we move forward this season, near concluding a challenging 2021, I aim to respect the messy writing process for myself. We will share with our students over and over that getting your ideas out doesn’t have to look one way; that they can move forward and backward and around again. They can toss out ideas and start anew. And while I do that, I’ll hold Jasmine and Olugbemisola’s thoughts close: as educators, let’s not stifle by virtue of supposed tos. There’s no wrong way. The final product need not look the way we initially imagined.
Tag: writing workshop
Steering the Craft: Review + Giveaway
Need a writing resource that has something for all ages, yourself included? Look no further than Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
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Storytelling Starter Pack: Making the Leap
If you’re trying to reach reluctant writers with “nothing to write,” pushing students to use craft and voice in writing, or just hoping to make the writing process creative and fun, storytelling may be your answer. Taking the leap is easier than you think!
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When Writing Feels Right: Exalting Choice and Purpose in Workshop
When writers feel empowered to write for their own personal catharsis, it matters. When writers know they will have the opportunity to strengthen their writing alongside peers, it matters. When writers have greater degrees of choice around topic and genre, it matters. And when, at times, there’s a wider audience for writing, beyond classroom walls or the teacher’s eyes alone, there is often deeper motivation.
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Rituals and Transitions: Reaching Your Writers
When writing workshop rituals become woven into the daily grooves of the writing community, cohesive safe zones develop. The consistency of rituals in a classroom helps students transition within the workshop environment smoothly... Well-established rituals create the space for students to concern themselves less with movement and more with the work of a writing.
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Shaking Up Personal Narrative
Ever since I read this post by Katie Kraushaar, I've been thinking about personal narrative and wondering why it is that students, particularly in middle elementary grades and beyond, are sometimes less than enthusiastic about this genre. Like Katie, I have felt the mood change in a classroom the moment the teacher mentions the words "personal narrative."… Continue reading Shaking Up Personal Narrative
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The Heart Work of Persuasive Writing
How can we help writers develop solid ideas before delving too far into the work of persuasive writing?
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Straight From Students: Why Teachers Should Write: Part Of #TWTBLOG’S Throwback Week
Melanie asked the students, "What makes you feel like a writer?" Read the voices from the classroom. YOUR writing matters to YOUR students.
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Authentic Audiences for Students
Contests and publication opportunities for young writers have potential to motivate and inspire.
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The Six Week Check-in
Many of us are fast approaching the sixth week of school. Many of us consider that the first of countless milestones in our school year. Six weeks in, routines are beginning to solidify, and we see signs of a coalescing community in our classrooms. Six weeks in, we are building rapport and connections with our… Continue reading The Six Week Check-in
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Ideas for planning Small Group Instruction
Small group instruction is a powerful way to reach and teach more students in your classroom!
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Getting to Know Writers
You can learn a lot about students when you give them a chance to tell you want they know!
