April is National Poetry Month! Ready to write? The Academy of American poets shares 30 ideas for doing so here. Scholastic provides a bounty of inspiration and lesson planning support on their site. Up for a poem-a-day challenge? Check out Poetic Asides, find yourself inspired by Bud Hunt’s daily photo prompts, and drop by local poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s blog to congratulate her on writing a poem a day…for an entire year. She weaves some…
Here’s one of the problems with traditional forms of professional development: I’m invited to come in for a handful of days, kick up some dust, get people who are hungry for progress excited about the possibilities, and then…..typically for reasons beyond anyone’s control…… I leave. When I leave? Those possibilities often settle to the floor with all of that dust I was invited to kick up. How does this happen? It happens because the administrator…
Local teachers will tell you that you can tell who the fellows of the WNY Writing Project are by the light in their eyes. If you live in Western New York and you’re visiting me here, chances are you know what I’m talking about. You know who these people are, and you know how substantial and far-reaching that community’s influence is. I’ve spent the better part of my professional life longing to be a part…
Read this book. “Too often, people think the idea of letting students choose their own topic or text comes from the romantic notion that adults shouldn’t interfere with children’s development, that it should be allowed to unfold naturally. Letting kids “do what they want” sometimes strikes observers as quaintly soft and naive. This may be because some teachers express the principle of choice as a negative: ‘In writer’s workshop, you don’t assign the topic. Kids…
Conversations continue to unfold about the CCS all over the web. These opportunities allow you to pursue your own curiosities and needs with others who who can inform your thinking and your work. Perspectives are varied. The processes that others are using to understand the purpose and implications of the CCS, the standards themselves, and meaningful ways to work with them are as well. This is a good thing. One thing I’ve realized: teaching with…
“Some of my former students came back to see me this year,” she said. “They graduated a couple of years ago. When they were here, they really struggled, but they wanted to do well, and they listened to me when I told them I could help them. I helped them read. I helped them write. I gave them strategies that got them through the tests. When they complained, I promised it would be worth it.…
Much of this week has been spent in conversation with teachers and administrators who are beginning to unpack the Common Core Learning Standards and determine entry points into meaningful work with them. For this reason, I was happy to find this invitation in my inbox today. Interested in receiving the newsletters in the mini-series described below? You can sign up here. Conversations about the Common Core will begin unfolding on the Learner Centered Initiatives Ltd.…
“But what about technology?” that little voice at the back of my head was nagging while I was working with Cheektowaga writers last month. “Teach the writer, not the writing,” a different one reminded me. This bit of wisdom from Lucy Calkins continues to transcended time, in my experience. If someone were to ask me, I guess I teach the writer, not the tools. This isn’t to say that the writers I work with stick…
Every winter for the last few years, I’ve been invited to spend some time with about 70 middle school writers at Cheektowaga Central School. These are some of my favorite days of the entire year, and why wouldn’t they be? I easily learn as much as I teach on those days. I’m smiling just remembering it all. Ever have a 13 year old give you feedback on something you’ve created? Talk about a humbling experience.…
Listen. It’s not just about the kids. We don’t get to choose the teachers we work with either. We don’t get to pick the ones who meet our ideal. We are called to serve the educators who walk through our door each day, so they may serve their students well. Want to help them? Watch them. Listen to them. Think about them. Create for them. Let them create for you and for others. We need…