I ama puzzler, a worder,a counter of things(though I can’timagine anyonesurprisedto knowthat’s mentioned in myanswer key) I ama planner,a thinker,a system worker-outer(because I gave youtwo guessesand the first onedidn’t count) I am a watcher,a wonder-er,a looker at skies(and I admit that’s the “C”of myall-of-the-above) I started this post thinking it was going to be aContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 9: Letting the Nerd Flag Fly”
Tag Archives: writing workshop
Slice of Life Day 7: Planning and Plotting
Today, I took advantage of a rare day of light classes and meetings to work with a fellow colleague (co-conspirator?) to develop poetry units for a couple of grade levels. Sure, we knew we needed to use the Common Core Standards as the basis for content, but c’mon. It’s POETRY. We want our units centeredContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 7: Planning and Plotting”
Slice of Life Day 6: A Story of Our Own
Earlier today, I posted an article to Two Wring Teachers on “crowdsourcing” as a tool for story building and revision. When I read the post to my fourth grade students (the subject of my article) I could see their nods and smiles as confirmation that, together, we did a GREAT THING. Even my most ruggedContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 6: A Story of Our Own”
Slice of Life Day 5: Testing the Waters
I don’t enjoy writing fiction.
THERE. I said it.
There are times, though, that I do need to pull something together, especially when I’m demonstrating a process with my students.
My students are crafting stories in the style of Leo Lionni. Below is my work-in-progress. I thought I’d share it with you here. Who knows? I may even end up finishing it at some point. If so, you bet I’ll post again!
Slice of Life Day 3: 5-4-3-2-1
Lilahdog and Winnie (also known as Pooh Bear) Thanks to Britt for today’s inspiration. Come for the cool post, stay for the insightful thoughts! This post in 5-4-3-2-1 5 things that made me smile today* My dog Winnie (who was afraid of our other dog Lilah upon first meeting her) nudging her sister outside to run aroundContinue reading “Slice of Life Day 3: 5-4-3-2-1”
Slice of Life Day 1: Here We Go!
I love the Slice of Life challenge. Writing and sharing for a full month takes a bravery and persistence I’m never quite sure I have when I pull up to my keyboard each March. Certainly, I have reasons to pass up the opportunity. Yet here I am, back at it. What keeps me going?
Rambling Autobiography, Vol. 2
A little while ago, I started a teacher writing circle at school.
We decided we wanted a prompt, and I happened upon an idea I’d done before. It’s a series of sentence starters that reveal an autobiography of sorts. Here goes!
Slice of Life Tuesday: Give it a Go
This week on the Two Writing Teachers site, I posted about a strategy I tried with my students: Give it a Go.
I introduced the idea today, so I thought I’d share what I wrote alongside them. Here’s my (admittedly autobiographical) contribution…
Slice of Life Tuesday: Sharing the Wealth
I’m on a mission. I believe that kids really aren’t going to care about essay structure, or grammar, or spelling, or mechanics, or writer’s craft, if they don’t see a point to writing. Because I believe that if kids don’t think they have something to say, or that nobody is going to listen, there reallyContinue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: Sharing the Wealth”
Slice of Life Day 10: Challenge Accepted!
There I was yesterday, cruising around and commenting on some great blogs during the Slice of Life Challenge, when I came across GirlGriot’s musings about the noises she was hearing from under a grate by her apartment building. I thought…now THIS is a great story prompt, and I told her so. Before I knew it,Continue reading “Slice of Life Day 10: Challenge Accepted!”
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 