Living Life Twice

Getting Started With Writers As Mentors For some, the realization that we really do learn to write from writers might be new. For others, the idea of introducing children to mentor authors might also be new. Either way, a whole new raft of possibilities suddenly opens to us as educators. Possibilities that are simultaneously exciting and challenging. Katie Wood Ray, “Wondrous Words” (1999) reminds us, "Now that I know what I know, I have asked, How do I plan and present lessons, confer, assess, and respond differently? How do I teach in ways that cause my students to directly apprentice themselves to other writers?” (p. 208). A logical starting point might be to think about your own favorite authors, those who have influenced your writing. Bring these books into your classroom and share your love of these authors and the impact they have had on your own writing. Provide students with access to lots of books along with time to read and share their thoughts with each other. Then, wa...

I am currently reading Michael Morpurgo’s book, “Singing for Mrs Pettigrew in which the author outlines the journey he has taken as a story-maker. Morpurgo uses the text of various stories and essays to explain how and why he does things as a writer. He writes in the hope that this in-depth examination of his personal writing process will increase understanding of the storyteller’s craft. He writes about being a story maker: “I am a grower of stories. I farm them as surely as a farmer does his corn. I am a weaver of dreams, a teller of tales. I have through my mother reading to me, through my own reading, through inspired teachers, through my great mentors, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ted Hughes and Sean Rafferty, through years of practice, discovered my way of doing it. Every writer’s way is unique, I am sure, though perhaps we all have much more in common than we believe.” Singing For Mrs Pettigrew- A Story-maker’s Journey, Michael Morpurgo Morpurgo weaves his stories and essays though-o...