Adult writers are often judged by their abilities to sell their work to the masses. In most schools, children are taught to pursue high grades. Both groups are conditioned to value the product they create over the processes they pursue, and while one can certainly understand how this reasoning is influenced by reality, it’s also significantly flawed. I’m thinking of two writers that I used to work with closely: one seemed to write at the…
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…
“You observe an effect, then build a theory to fit the observation. It may be faster to memorize facts than to experience them, but I would argue that you don’t really own that fact. ‘Hot’ is a pretty abstract concept until you’ve burned yourself.” Mark Hatch, The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers, and Tinkerers Teaching is all about learning, and learning is all about research. This reality…
Crafting quality writing curricula that provides writers just enough guidance to consistently propel them forward without threatening their autonomy is no simple task. Many teachers consider their vision, standards, the writing process, the elements of writer’s craft, and the production of specific forms as they chart a course for their year and aligned, multi-grade level maps for their buildings and districts. Day after day, year after year, these same teachers put their plans into motion,…
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…