Living Life Twice

  Some of my earliest memories of writing are entwined around the weekly writing topics I was given in primary school. We wrote every Thursday afternoon, immediately after the lunch break. It wasn't even called writing. Our teacher referred to it as 'composition time.' We wrote for about twenty minutes in absolute silence in our 'composition' books.  At the end of the allotted time, we handed in our written responses, then waited an entire week to receive feedback for our labored efforts. It consisted of a mark out of ten and a page of red ink comments and slashes across the page. Then we sat and waited for the next teacher topic to be thrown our way. We wrote one day a week for twenty minutes. It wasn't much of a writing program by today's standards. It wasn't much of a way to learn writing back then either. I'm surprised we learned to write at all on such a starvation diet. I was just lucky enough to be the kind of kid who was driven to write in pl...

 Wonderful, wonderful Words... Writers collect words. It is almost compulsive. I have always had a fascination for words.  If we can get the right word in the right place, you can give the reader a nudge and make then pay extra attention. For this reason alone words deserve our respect. I recently saw the word – skedaddle in a story. It’s a word I recall from my childhood, but I had neither seen or heard it for yonks (an indeterminate yet substantial period of time). I love the sound of skedaddle. I have been sharing it with young writers recently in the hope I can singlehandedly revive its use in common conversation. I vividly recall reading Colin Theile’s wonderful short story ‘ The Lock Out’ to a Grade 6 class I taught quite some years back and coming across the words ‘agog’ and ’gingerly.’ I wrote them on the board, and we discussed them and savoured the sounds they made. I encouraged the students to try and use them in their writing. In time these special words alon...

  By the time students reach Grade three they have been exposed to, continually reminded and alerted to the importance of using ending punctuation at the conclusion of sentences. However, if we look at the writing samples they produce early in the school year, we notice how intermittently such marks appear in their work. Punctuation often appears by chance rather than conscious effort. If we want developing writers to exhibit consistency in the use of punctuation, we need to teach them to value its use in their writing. The best case scenario is to have young writers using punctuation with thoughtful intent. How do we achieve this? Let’s start by initiating a close study of how such ending punctuation can be used to make writing more interesting for the reader.  The message needs to be- This punctuation helps to convey the writer’s voice!  Remind them to link their reading of their writing to an emotion - anger, happiness, frustration etc. The me...

Some initial reviews of my latest book -Notebook Notions sighted on various on line book platforms -Fishpond, Booktopia, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I am most gratified by these affirming responses. Let me tell you, I am happier than a dog with two tails... ORDER NOW @ Amba Press Karsan on February 15, 2026 'Alan's books have been a trusted companion in shaping how I support students’ writing through writer’s notebooks. Notebook Notions reminded me that writing must be lived, not just taught. Alan positions the notebook as more than a classroom tool... it’s a space for thinking, noticing and developing an authentic writing identity. His message is clear: if we want students to see themselves as writers, teachers must also write alongside them. And I've don't exactly that! I love the “Consider” sections at the end of each chapter, which provide prompts that translate into writing lesson ideas. Alan encourages collecting ideas, observations and sentences which support...

Quite some   years back, I found myself talking to a group of enthusiastic Year one writers keen to commence their writing pieces. As they stood up from the carpet to return to their seats, I realized that the spark of imagination that would fire my own writing ideas, had suddenly evaporated.  The students all seemed fired up and ready to create the miracle of meaningful marks on paper There I   was the most experienced writer in the room,  completely blank, unable to conjure up a single thing to write about. I was trying to will my brain into action. A damp foggy mist had descended upon my writing mind. An unexpected intrusion on my normally rich inner world of ideas. A small boy stood beside me at this critical juncture and casually announced, 'I’m going to write about the first time I went fishing on Saturday with my Dad.' 'Oh thank you,' I said with an audible sigh of relief. The bemused child looked at me unsure as to what he had actually done. 'You have ju...

  Sparking A Desire To Write Among Young Writers As the start of another Australian school year begins to settle in, the question arises –How do we most effectively engage my students in authentic literacy experiences? How do we encourage them to become lifelong readers and writers? It is important to remember that during the summer, many of them have not consistently engaged any considered reading and writing. For some, virtually no time has been spent on such pursuits. How do we rebuild their literacy muscles? How do we build their stamina for these critical literacy experiences? In these early days and weeks when students re-enter school, building personal relationships should be priority one, -finding out what defines them as literate beings. Students need an opportunity to talk and think about their reading and writing intentions. Some may need to draw, sketch create maps etc to further stimulate their thinking about potential writing ideas. It would make sense to...

Writing's Launch Pad in the Classroom As the start of another Australian school year begins to settle in, the question arises –How do I most effectively engage my students in authentic literacy experiences? How do I encourage them to become lifelong readers and writers? It is important to remember that during the summer, many of them have not consistently engaged any considered reading and writing. For some, virtually no time has been spent on such pursuits. How do we rebuild their literacy muscles? How do we build their stamina for these critical literacy experiences? In these early days and weeks when students re-enter school, building personal relationships should be priority one, -finding out what defines them as literate beings. Students need an opportunity to talk and think about their reading and writing intentions. Some may need to draw, sketch create maps etc to further stimulate their thinking about potential writing ideas. It would make sense to challenge them to create ...

Writing Creates Its Own Magic I spend a lot of time thinking about writing. Almost as much time as I do actually composing thoughts and ideas.  As a student I was taught what to write, rather than how to write. The teacher frequently said -here is the genre, here is the topic, now show what you can do.  As a consequence I have always striven to teach in ways that demystify writing, trying to build understanding through modeled, guided and independent practice.  Much of my teaching life has focused on sharing the knowledge I have gathered from my sustained writing life. I am keen to share what writing has taught me with young writers and their teachers. If what I share helps to set inexperienced writers up to be successful, to view themselves as confident writers, then my mission has been successful. Writers share. They willingly unpack their understanding about writing in the hope a less experienced writer may benefit from knowing important aspects of the craft.  You...

  Here are five of the most popular  Living Life Twice  posts for 2025. Thank you for your continuing support and interest in teaching writing and all it involves. Here's a chance to reconnect with writing ideas. Ideas you can easily carry forward into 2026.  Just click the blue links to discover more... Developing Personal Writing Projects In this post I wanted to challenge the long held practice that the first logical action after identifying a writing project is to always immediately start drafting. For generations schools have reinforced this approach. It does the young writer a disservice. It does teachers and learning outcomes a disservice too. Creating Opportunities For Kids To Publish A recent question from a teacher prompted me to think more deeply about  publishing student writing . She was searching for professional reading that dealt more deeply with the  publishing  phase of the writing process. My own search revealed that many of the avai...