Living Life Twice

  Promoting Student Ownership Of Writing Ideas  -Without Choice, You Won’t Get Voice   Upon discovering some young writers have endured a regular diet of teacher selected topics and genres, sentence starters, and story leads stretching across their short writing lives, it is hardly a surprise to hear they subsequently exhibit difficulty and anxiety when asked to self-select writing topics. It is little wonder they suffer a crisis of confidence when asked to rely on their own thinking and ideas.  They perceive the request as daunting because their independent thinking capabilities have been stifled and undernourished.  They have been denied important opportunities to develop motivation and initiative as writers. They remain inexperienced in the art of decision making and the critical thinking that surrounding choice and voice. Cognition will not take place where the young writer perceives the notion of topics resides solely with the teacher. They remain unawa...

Reflecting upon our writing lives, is a form of metacognition. We look back in order to discover. We may uncover truths. We may discover we are unconsciously skilled. We may also discover the need to redirect our energies, unpacking important details or revelations to guide our writing lives forward. Reflecting reveals  signposts essential to writing development. As teachers of writing, it is vital that we encourage the growth of these same understandings with student writers. We must assist them to develop a level of awareness surrounding their own learning. By teaching mindfully, the inexperienced writer is encouraged to learn how to think and operate independently. In this way, they can be assisted to be more aware of their thought processes. Attaining such a level of awareness will help them immeasurably as learners and in that process they become better writers. If we, as teachers encourage student writers to use reflection as a thinking tool, as well as a writing tool, we emp...

The effective teaching of  writing requires schools to commit to engaging in regular critical conversations around the teaching taking place. The flushing out the important issues surrounding writing development must be seen as a driver of discussion. The refining and review of teaching practice is the sign of a healthy learning environment. The most effective ways of nurturing agency and engagement must be viewed as central to arriving at an agreed understanding of what must guide a school's writing curriculum.  Where schools demonstrate a desire to develop agreed understandings and consistent practice around pedagogical approaches, it proves to be a powerful guiding force in the realization of improved learning outcomes for young writers and increased satisfaction for those fostering the learning. We must remember, we cannot control learning, but we most certainly can create the environment, the conditions, where it is more likely to take place. A characteristic of such...

  'I do believe strongly in being able to teach writing techniques, but it is not a substitute for the knowledge of self and place that the writer needs in order to have anything to write about.' Richard Powers, Poets & Writers Magazine, July/Aug 2000. I read this quote on Twitter recently and it set me thinking. It has implications for all writers regardless of their level of experience.  I began to think about our youngest, least experienced writers, who sometimes choose a writing topic without first considering the matters mentioned in the Richard Powers quote.  I recall a conversation I had with a young writer as I sat among a group of writers as we unpacked their preferred writing topics for the day. She informed me she wanted to write about pirates and i asked her to think about what she already knew about the topic of pirates. I encouraged her to discuss pirates with the other members of the group. During my roving conferencing I noted she was writing about her...

  Every learner- teacher or student needs to be conscious of their innate ability to learn and grow. The mindful awakening of awareness regarding the immediate world in which each learner operates unleashes the potential to develop further as learners, thinkers, readers and writers. The late Donald Graves wrote, 'The more I reveal a student's potential, the more I discover my own potential as a teacher.'  Graves believed such matter were inseparable. From this, the notion of  teachers sharing their individual learning stories within the classroom lays a sound foundation upon which both the teacher and the impressionable learner can raise expectations while sharing the learning journey. The sharing of learning stories provides the inexperienced learners with a model and a pathway to follow. When teachers are aware of what they have learned, the more likely they are to challenge and continue extending their personal knowledge. This frequently leads them to direct their ener...

  A Good Title Is Vital I once taught a young writer, Paul, who presented a wonderful true story he had written concerning the time he and his younger brother had been wandering through a muddy construction site in the midst of winter. Their youthful curiosity brought them to the edge of a large muddy hole. While peering down Paul (the author) managed to slip and fall into the muddy depths. He soon realized he was stuck when it proved impossible to scale the slippery muddy sides of the hole. He tried repeatedly to escape, but continually failed to negotiate his way out of the hole.  He urged his younger brother to run for help. His brother managed to enlist the aid of a security guard at the nearby shopping mall. The guard brought a ladder and the situation was immediately eased for the boy trapped in the hole. The story was well written and the young author had built the tension using a strong sense of voice throughout the text. The only problem was, he could not settle on ...

  A s far back as 1976 the legendary Donald Graves was writing and railing against what he called the ‘Writing Welfare System’ where student writers become dependent on their teachers. G raves   strongly opposed teaching of writing where the teacher controlled all phases of the process and consequently controlled the writer’s voice. I t concerned Graves that student writers felt an implied pressure to make their voices the same as their teachers. All authority for the writing rested with the teacher. In such circumstances  Graves  observed, the student writer relies entirely on the teacher’s decisions regarding: The need to write When to write What to write To whom they should write How to write How the writing should be judged   G raves  noted that teachers were seldom aware when they were encouraging thinking that closely matched their own. They were unwittingly extinguishing divergent thinking and originality. I n such circumstances the student writer ha...

  As inexperienced writers, students  frequently need extra guidance to develop that essential momentum and confidence necessary for successful writing. They are learning to trust their teacher, their surroundings, and their classmates. They are learning to trust their own ideas and make decisions about their writing intentions. There is a lot with which to contend. It takes time to adapt to  routines and expectations  What does this teacher expect of me as a curious learner?   How do we as teachers assist students to gain trust and develop momentum as writers? it requires an approach that employs a gentle leading forward. A supportive educator who offers a guiding hand and beckons the inexperienced writer to join them in the learning journey. A journey of discovery. A journey aimed at increasing ownership across time.  Used appropriately, Writer’s notebooks allow developing writers to make stronger connections to their immediate world . The harvesting...