Many say that the mini-lesson is the heart of writer’s workshop. I’ve always felt that reflection is equally important, though. Perhaps more so. Coaching writers to reflect is tough stuff, but I find that when I prompt writers well and provide them the time to do so, they discover very important things about themselves, their needs, and how we can work together to meet them. They also identify their strengths, and this helps me position…
This year marks my twentieth year keeping notebooks with writers. I’ve only been satisfied with the quality of our notebook keeping for about two years though. This is how that happened: Thanks to this pin, elementary writers at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio now divide their notebooks into categories, reserving a specific number of pages for their work within each. It’s making for far more intentional use, and even more importantly, it’s enabling even our…