This spring, I had the opportunity to work with teachers from southern Erie and Cattaraugus Counties. Our initial sessions challenged teachers to define writers’ craft, the process, and the values and habits of masterful writers. Then, we considered how the progression of these skills and dispositions builds and evolves as experience is gained. Teachers returned to their classrooms with new ideas to consider and test. As I prepared to see them again last week, I hoped that…
It’s important for young writers to share their work with audiences who are truly interested in receiving it, yet time for exhibition is often tight, and when it comes time to let something go, it’s this phase of the process that often falls by the wayside. During my conversations with middle school teachers this spring, someone asked if I could recommend a quick but fabulous approach for organizing a writing celebration. I can, and I’m…
Gone are the days when WNY Young Writer’s Studio writers celebrated their accomplishments by participating in readings or showcasing their anthology submissions. We celebrate our published writers to be sure, but our most rewarding events are those that bring family, friends, and other teachers and writers from outside of our community together to learn from one another. Each spring, we host an unconference where writers of all ages facilitate conversations about strategies that work for…
Celebration is a cornerstone of traditional writing workshop models. Here, writers share their work with eager audiences, typically in their local school communities. Exhibition differs celebration in important ways. Here, learners are encouraged to share works in process instead of completed products. Rather than rewarding writers for their work, we invite them to reflect aloud on their process, the challenges they faced and met, and how they would continue to improve the work, if given…