Living Life Twice

Teaching the craft of writing requires teachers to be explicit in their work with students. Explicit and mindful teaching occurs when teachers are clear about what it is they want children to learn and when  a meaningful, focused program of instruction is provided.  This means conference notes and conversations, as well as writing samples are integral to the process of knowing what to teach.  The instruction provided by the teacher benefits from being informed by such insight.  Learning to look below the surface features and errors in the writing piece creates an opportunity to see the potential hidden beneath. Possibilities beyond grammar, punctuation and sentence structure emerge. When consideration is given to focused learning, student writers receive opportunities to make sense of the learning by creating purposeful connections between lesson purposes, tasks, texts, and lesson reflections. If these aspects of our lesson align, we increase our ...

My new poetry book  'What The Poemster Found' an anthology of verse for young poetry lovers is now officially available for ordering through Amazon: Follow the link to order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1504319524/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1… 'You are the jingle in my bells  The tick in my tock  The flash in my light  The spring in my time  The whirl in my wind  The tell in my tale  You are the ever in my lasting  The ginger in my bread  The life in my boat  It has to be said.' Alan j Wright 'While living in New York City, Alan Wright often visited a busy café serving a rich and hearty winter soup that warmed him on cold winter days. In his third anthology of poetry Wright compares the flavours of that delicious soup to the blending of a variety of poetic styles and subjects to create a pleasurable collection of poems to suit the tastes all ages. Wright's poems capture real-life experiences while exploring past ...

If you are still wondering about the efficacy of providing student writers with choice, these findings by Daniel Pink succinctly sum up the situation: ‘Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.’ (2009, p. 108). ‘Too often in schools, teachers own the work. We create and teach lessons, dole out assignments, and assess the results, leaving students feeling like worker bees, dutifully completing assigned tasks with little power or control. However, when we give choice, we both empower students and help them develop and take more responsibility for their own learning.’ Daniel Pink, 'How Schools Can Spend Time More Wisely ' (2009) Many Additional Benefits of Choice: Through choice, you can assist students self-differentiate their learning so work is more appropriately challenging. You can also combat student apathy, helping students connect with their strengths and interests and giving them more autonomy, power, and control over their work, ...