DWP #31: CERTAIN {10.13.17}

These are the things that I am certain about when it comes to teaching writing:

1.  Students need to write -- a lot. Yes, this takes time. No, you should not hover.

2.  Telling students what to write about does not necessarily make them better writers. They need choice.

3.  While writing can be assessed, grading it makes me cringe.

4.  Writing gives us authority. It makes our thinking concrete. It is our way of sharing our ideas with the world. It demonstrates our uniqueness.

5.  The writing process is not circular and orderly. Expecting students to go from prewriting to drafting to editing to revising to publishing in that order is NOT how real writers write. We jump all over the place before we get to the end. Take down the charts and clips.

6. Revision is where the magic happens. Drafting should be quick -- simply getting our ideas down on paper before we lose them.

7.  Students need time to talk to other writers to share their writing and get feedback. Don't skip share time or undervalue writing partners.

8.  Students write best when their teacher is a writer too. You don't have to write a book, a blog, or anything more than simply putting a few words down on the page or computer document regularly.

9. Opportunities for teaching writing can happen in every subject throughout the day. You can teach writing during your read aloud (see my tips here), in math journals, or in science logs. Specials teachers -- there are ways you can have students write too.

10.  Writing for an authentic audience makes all the difference.

Focus on the Good {SOL 4.18.17}

I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about how I approach conferring with my student writers.

As a teacher, I think I am sometimes unconsciously hardwired to want to fix things, to make them better.

I see something that is "wrong" and instantly try to make it right by breaking out my red pen.

The result is often a piece of student writing that is full of red ink, circled words, and comments that are not as helpful as I would hope. The ownership of the writing has left the hands of the student writer.

       Does this ever happen to you too?

Sometimes, we get so focused on fixing that we overlook what is already going well.

Sometimes, our continued helpfulness even makes the student lose their enthusiasm for writing altogether. Because....who wants to be told what they are doing wrong all the time? (I don't!)

So as I sit with my student writers, I try to keep this in mind. I try to be more aware of the words I use to talk with them about what I see in their writing. I try to always, always, always lead our conferences out with what I see them doing well.

       "I noticed you used the Power of Three...."

       "This part is very easy to visualize..."

       "Your paragraphing makes your article easy to follow....."

       "The FANBOY you used gives you nice sentence variety...."

Sometimes, I will leave it at that -- a few minutes together, talking about all the goodness I see in their writing. I offer no unwarranted suggestions before I send them back to work. The result always leaves the student writer feeling good.

Some days, when I am feeling the desire to push them a little further or that "fixer mindset" washes over me,  I will I ask them..."How can I help you with this piece of writing today?"

I don't tell them what I want them to fix. I leave it up to them.

And the funny thing is, about eight times out of ten, they ask for help on the exact thing that I noticed needed help.

But then it was THEIR idea, not mine.

THEY remain in control.

THEY retain complete ownership of their writing.

     And best yet --

THEY still walk away from the conference feeling empowered to make their own writing choices.


So while we do spend time in class talking about the importance of correct spelling and conventions (those things that bring on the wrath of red ink), I try not to focus on it in our writing conferences.

I want my students to know that there is more to good writing than just proper comma placement and capital letters.

Compliment conferences focus on the good in writing and can help turn a disengaged writer into one that takes ownership and interest in writing again.

So as you go about your conferring with your student writers, I challenge you to spend a day just giving compliments (and only compliments!) on the goodness in their writing and see what happens. You might be surprised how this simple act changes the students -- and changes you!

Looking for more ideas for teaching writing? Visit my Teach Write site for lots of other ideas and to sign up for our newsletter.

On Becoming a Writer

I am lucky.

My history as a writer is a pretty good one.

When I was in elementary school, I had the same teacher for three straight years. This teacher LOVED to write. She made sure "Creative Writing" (that's what they called it back then) was on our schedule every day.

I don't remember getting my writing back with red marks on it. Actually, I don't remember there being any marks on my writing papers at all because my teacher talked to us about our writing.

My writing life began pretty well.

          {I know not everyone is that lucky.}

As an adult, my writing identity continues to grow and I am excited when I think of how far I've come.  There are a few experiences I credit for making this so.

The NWP's Summer Institute at UW-Milwaukee: This is where I got serious as a writer and a writing teacher. I learned why it is so important for teachers to be writers, developed my adult writing habit, and learned how powerful feedback was when it was given in a thoughtful, supportive way.

Blogging: I have had a few blogs in recent years, most recently this one you are reading right now where I share personal stories and now a professional blog at Teach Write where I share ideas for the writing classroom. These blogs are the forum for me to make my writing public.

Community: As a result of blogging, I have connected with so many wonderful teachers and writers from around the country (YOU!). I am blessed that some of these connections have turned into friendships even. The support I receive from all of you helps me continue to grow as a writer and teacher every day.

Teach Write: Because of my passions for writing and teaching, I have begun a new consulting business that I will pursue full-time after this school year. Teach Write is where I will continue to develop as a writer and teacher and help other educators do the same.

What experiences have shaped your writing identity? Good or bad, we all have come from somewhere. 

{PS: This post was inspired by the Literacy Lenses blog who asked its readers to think and write about the experiences that have made us the writers we are today. You are welcome to add your own writing story to their post too.}

Getting Ready for #SOL17

March will be here before we know it, and with the turning of the calendar page also comes the start of the monthlong Slice of Life challenge.

Blogging for 31 days in a row can be a struggle, especially if I can't think of something to write about every day.

To help prepare and prevent that blank stare at the computer screen while I try to think of a topic, I wrote up a list of 31+ prompts to consider when I can't consider anything else. Often times, a prompt will get me thinking in a certain way about my day and lead me to the perfect slice!

My prompts may be helpful to you too, so I thought I'd share:

1.  Currently
2.  Power of no
3.  Before/after
4.  Haiku
5.  Can't live without
6.  Fears
7.  Noticings
8.  Where have you gone?
9.  Write from a picture
10. Dreams
11. Collections
12. Overheard
13. Least favorites
14. Mindset
15. Coming "home"
16. Pick a word
17. Touchstones
18. If I could...
19. Finish
20. It's a small world
21. Old habits
22. Gifts
23. This is not about...
24. Things I know without asking
25. Sometimes I forget
26. Writing dates
27. In the distance
28. My space
29. Handmade
30. Before I wrote today
31. Change of POV
* Before I start
* What makes me happy
* Did you hear that?
* Forward
* At eye level
* Home

There you go!  One prompt for every day of the month plus a few extras because we all like to have options.

Most of these ideas came from my own head, but a few were inspired by some of my favorite writing books:

I hope to see you in March at the #SOL17 challenge!

What's In Between {SOL 5-24-16}

I love it when an idea pops into my mind at the perfect time, completely unsought, but needed nonetheless.

Yesterday, I decided to spend our read aloud time reading some of the picture books I haven't gotten to yet this year.  I pulled out one my son gave me for Christmas, One Day, The End by Rebecca Kai Dotlich.

I loved the very first page:

When I finished reading, I turned back to this first page and we talked about how it's what is in between the beginning and the ending that matters.

Then the idea hit me....

Being as this is the end of the school year, I thought we would all write our own "One day I started 4th grade/Then it ended. The End" stories. We would fill our in betweens with our favorite memories of our year.

I had not planned on this writing activity, but it sure was a good one.

Today, we are  going to share our stories in circle time and relive some of our favorite memories from the past nine months.

As this year draws to a close, I want my students to remember not just the beginning and the ending, but the good stuff in between that matters most.

Every Student an Author {Celebrate This Week 4.16.16}

This past week we celebrated every student as an author with our Cartonera Celebration.  It is one of my favorite weeks at school.

What is a cartonera?

It is, quite literally, a cardboard book.

To make their cartonera, each student went into their writing "treasure chest" (folder) and decided upon one of their favorite pieces of writing from this year.

We rewrote them on lined paper and illustrated them.

Our amazing art teacher worked with the students to create their covers.  Last year, we used actual cardboard.  This year, we used cardboard card stock because we were short on manpower to cut 800 pieces of cardboard. (Next year, our plan is to go back to cardboard, but to start cutting it much earlier in the year.)

We put the writing together with the covers, hole punched them, and tied them with yarn.

Each day, a different grade level had their books on display in the hallway during the PTO Book Fair and Special Person Lunch for families and the community to read.  

At the very back of each book was a "Raves from Readers" page.  Classes would visit the cartoneras each day, read them, and leave kind comments.

The students were all so proud of their cartonera books and were excited to read the raves that other students had left.  (One student came up and hugged me during recess to thank me for reading her cartonera and leaving a comment.)

As a school, I celebrate seeing us all unite to celebrate writing. We have been working hard to build our level of writing and celebrating is an important part of that. Sharing our writing with others gives us an authentic audience and builds a sense of pride in our writing. 

As a teacher, I celebrate being to read the work of students in other grade levels. It gave me a good feeling for what students were able to do at each grade level. 

For my students, it was good for them to read what other students wrote.  Many of them commented to me that they had learned something from another student's cartonera (many students' writing was non-fiction) or they saw how important good spelling (or neat handwriting) was in delivering your written message. Many students were impressed with the level of writing from students who were much younger than them. As they read, I would often hear giggles as they encountered something funny or see them recommend a just-read cartonera for another student to read.

Writing was alive and breathing at my school this week!

Celebrating every student as an author -- what could be better than that?

Writing Warm Ups {#SOL16 Day 25}

I needed to switch things up a bit in my writing workshop.  With the year stretching into the spring, our routine was becoming a little stale.  Add to that, it was the week before spring break so energy levels for doing any kind of school work were at an all-time low.

At the beginning of writing time, I asked everyone to get out their notebooks.  I announced that we were going to do a 10 minute writing warm up.  I would write a prompt on the board and we all (me included) would write for 10 minutes.  

No talking.  No stopping.  No getting up.  No sharpening pencils. No trips to the water fountain.  No searching our desk for something we must have right now.

Just writing.

Monday's topic was a line of dialogue:  "I told you this wasn't a good idea."

Tuesday's was dialogue again:  "I think I broke it."

Wednesday's was a word:  Imagine

Thursday's was a bit trickier:  Write a paragraph about spring break.  Every sentence must begin with a word that starts with the letter "S" and you can't repeat words.

When we did this on Monday, writing for 10 straight minutes was a bit rough for some kids.  There were trips to the water fountain, staring off into space, and the rummaging through desks.  However, by Thursday, everyone had found their groove.  We all wrote for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, we gathered into a circle and shared our writing (with the option to pass).  There were some truly fun writing pieces that could be the spark for a longer pieces.  

Here's what I learned from this activity:

1.  As the week went on, many of my writers tried writing in genres they were reluctant to write in before -- poetry, plays, etc.

2.  Even my most reluctant writers could handle 10 minutes.

3.  We haven't been doing enough sharing of our writing this year.  The circle time was incredibly valuable.

4.  Because I wrote and shared too, the students saw me as a writer, not just as a writing teacher.

5.  I could interject the "Stop and reread" lesson which reinforced the importance of stopping and rereading what you've written on a regular basis.

6.  It was fun!

7.  It is a quick way to plump up our writing notebooks with new ideas.

8.  The prompt needed to be very open ended, with lots of room for interpretation.  Canned prompts such as "Write about your plans for spring break" are boring, boring, boring.

When we return from break, I plan to continue writing warm-ups.  It will give me lots of new writing material to work on over the summer.

Writing Treasures {#SOL16 Day 15}

We are getting ready for our schoolwide writing celebration in April.  Every student in our school will pick a favorite piece of their writing, revise it, and publish it as a cartonera, or cardboard book.  The books will be on display in our main hallway during Special Person Lunch/Scholastic Book Fair Week the week of April 10th.

These are the cartoneras my class published last year

On Monday, we pulled out our writing treasure chests and I gave the students time to read through their past writing pieces to choose the one they wanted to revise, publish and share.

There were lots of "Oh, I remember this!" and "My mystery!"  But there were also some "Wow, this is really terrible.  I didn't use any punctuation" and "Did I even proofread this?  It doesn't make any sense."

As a writing teacher, I was happy to see my students' excitement at revisiting some of their earlier writing pieces.  It was a buzz I wish I could have captured in a bottle. It shows that writing has taken a priority in our classroom and my students see themselves as writers.

But I also couldn't help but smile and the "Wow, this is terrible!" comments too. They showed me how much my students have grown as writers since September.  

At the time that they completed those pieces of writing over the past six months, they thought they were pretty terrific.  They did the best they could with where they were at.  Now, with six more months of writing under their belts, they can look on past writing and recognize what they couldn't see before.

This is growth.  This is progress.

After selecting their cartonera piece, my kids got busy revising.  Post-its were splashed across pages.  Peer conferences were happening in corners around they room as the students helped each other revise their original piece.  My writers talked about adding plot twists, replacing their "tells" with "shows", and developing characters with dialogue. Some of those who chose an informational piece began revising with text structure and topic sentences in mind.

I can hardly wait for April so our writers can share their books with their loved ones and our school community!  It makes this writing teacher's heart happy.

2015: Here I Come! {OLW & Nerdlution)

On the eve of this new year, I am looking forward to the experiences, challenges, and opportunities that are ahead.  2014 was a wonderful year -- my best yet! -- and I know 2015 will be even more amazing!

I used to be one for making lots of new year's resolutions...lose weight, watch less TV, be kinder, blah, blah, blah....You know how that goes.  Come January 15, I have completely forgotten (or chosen to ignore) my resolutions and I'm back to my old ways.

Then last year, I discovered the power of adopting just one word to guide my entire year, instead of making a million resolutions.  This one word is so powerful, so easy to follow, and it took me to amazing places last year.

For 2015, I have a new word:

If you'd like to use my button for your own OLW, here it is.  Feel free to copy it and use it.

Now, while I no longer make resolutions, I cannot resist being a part of #Nerdlution2015, thanks to Colby Sharp and the amazing people at the Nerdy Book Club.

I'll admit it, this past year one of my most exciting discoveries was that I, indeed, was a nerd.  Nerds have over-the-top passion and excitement for something.  For me, that turned out to be books and teaching my 4th graders. (I am not alone though...I am finding many "nerd friends" that have been hiding out at my school, just waiting to share their nerdiness with others.  :)

As part of #Nerdlution2015, I pledge to write every day for the next 50 days.  This may be working on a story, writing in my journal, or blogging, but I will produce some kind of writing every day.

There.

I've said it.

What will you be nerdy about in 2015?  Join the #Nerdlution!