I love school visits. I spent a good chunk of my life in education, and nothing gives me a rush quite like being in front of a big group of kids again. When I’m presenting, teachers appreciate the chance to sit back, enjoy, and maybe even dream up follow-up activities, instead of constantly scanning the [...]
This morning a friend said she’s pulling her daughter out of her fourth grade reading class. Serena is struggling with reading (according to the teacher), but is working her way through the Harry Potter books at home. It’s her attitude, says the teacher. She’s not motivated, so she’s not learning. My friend’s plan is to [...]
“You start your story at the point of no return — when your character forsakes their old path. ” I write something like that on my friend Meg’s paper. We’re at a workshop, but a few of us are having our own reflection time. She says she’s going to keep it. Asks me to sign [...]
My daughter says she wants to be a model. That’s a foreign language to this former northern Minnesota tomboy, though I did get my ears pierced this year and bought my first high heels. However, I’ve been a huge supporter of modeling for decades. The modeling I’m talking about is writing with your students.
We learn [...]
I’m between kid shifts this morning (the middle school kid off, the younger two about to get up), and I had a plan for a post. That shifted as I got an email from a teacher who heard me present at a librarian conference.
She said…
I attended your morning session. Thank you for presenting and sharing [...]
I’m not one who loves organizing. I know it helps, and I’m actually quite good at it, but it’s painful. So I find shortcuts, develop checklists, use templates, and delegate. I’ll share those as we go, but let’s start right at the beginning.
I can’t tell you how many teachers have talked with me about how [...]
When I was little, I hated black licorice and watermelon. Adults handed them over like they were treats. Could I have ice-cream instead? Nope. So I stared at these “gifts,” picked at them, tried to like them, and grew to hate them even more.
Writing from someone else’s idea is about as appealing to me as [...]
Years ago I heard Jim Trelease say “Reading is input, writing is output.” As one of those teachers who integrated writing into everything (even math exit slips before recess), I was resisting. That year my friend Lynn decided to do her own experiment. Known for having successful first grade writers, she went the reading-first route. [...]
You should’ve seen the faces of my students on their first day of school when I would give them this writing prompt — Why Write? The ones who wrote to please the teacher were the most baffled. How can you get the A if you’re not told how to do it? And the reluctant writers? [...]
A Writing Classroom: Process & Practice
A little dry, huh? That was the name of my master’s project 20 years ago. It had lots of anecdotes from my teaching experiences, student writing samples, quotes by the gurus of those days, and how-to’s for everything from idea generation to publication. I’m revisiting some of those thoughts, but [...]
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