This was one of the first provocations that emerged from our morning conversations at the Loris Malaguzzi Center on that very first day in Reggio Emilia: How might we help learners create compositions that depend less on the hand and more on the power of conceptual understanding? Composition: The word and how they used it struck me. Like so many others, it assumed a richer and far more complex meaning in that space. I know…
Thanks to the immediacy of the web, learners of all ages and experience levels have access to audiences that print-only spaces have previously denied them. Digital publishing dominates all industries, and today’s learners need an entirely different skill set in order to be influential there. This creates new opportunities and challenges for every teacher and the learners they support. It’s not enough to master today’s content or design solutions for today’s problems. Learners must be…
Two weeks ago, Laurie Schultz invited me to coach in her kindergarten writing workshop at John T. Waugh Elementary School in Lake Shore. I’m always grateful to work with Laurie. Her energy is incredible, and she sustains her compassion for even the most challenging kids in her care. She also maintains a high bar for her students, regardless of any label that’s been imposed on them. My Rationale: When we met to discuss the mini-unit…
Last week, I had the great fortune to coach research and information writing in Melanie Jones’s kindergarten class at John T. Waugh Elementary School in Lake Shore, New York. We were most interested in taking the Next Generation English Language Arts Standards for a drive by diving into play-based learning and exploring the effect that it had on rigor. First things came first, though: we needed an audience for students’ work! Thanks to my vibrant…
When I’m asked to get specific about what it means to MAKE writing, I often find myself sharing stories that underpin four of the largest lessons I learned from watching young writers: When we take the time to learn more about what kids love to build, paint, code, engineer, craft, create, and make we no longer have to define writing topics for them. They’re often thrilled to write about what they are making, for other…
This month, I’ll be celebrating the second birthday of Make Writing, the little book that could. When I wrote it, I never imagined that I would get to meet and learn from so many of you who I’ve come to call my colleagues and friends over the last two years. This has been a rewarding journey, and each bend in the road has surfaced new and important questions about making and writing and the relationship…
Each new year in the writing workshop begins with relationship building. We establish routines and rituals that establish predictability and trust. We sink into conversations and writing experiences that help us come to know one another better. We invite writers to share their interests and needs. We let them see us, too. These are essential conversations. But I have to ask: What are the unintended consequences of inviting our students to reveal themselves at the…
Last week, I shared some thoughts about emergent curriculum design and specifically, the important role that constraints might play in getting it right. In my experience, how we pursue vision is critical. In fact, it seems that one thing that distinguishes emergent curriculum design from administrator or teacher or vendor designed curricula is that it’s fueled by a truly shared vision. This changes our intentions considerably, challenging us to consider context and nuance as we…
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to work through the design process and contemplate the relationship between making and writing with a brilliant group of teachers in Atlanta, Georgia. As we were discussing empathy, one of them made a stunning point: He said, “Empathy inspires us to really figure out what really matters to US as teachers and why we’re teaching to begin with.” My friend Ellen often reminds me that empathy isn’t all…
How might school leaders use this framework to design, launch, and work through varied iterations of their theories of change? How might teachers use this same framework to design, launch, and work through varied iterations of their curricular units and lessons? How might writers use this same framework to design, launch, and work through varied iterations of the pieces they are composing? How might makers use this same framework to design, launch, and work through varied iterations of…