Living Life Twice

When young writers first begin to gather ideas for writing, their ‘gatherings’ are quite often not all that extensive. That’s not so surprising, given their relative inexperience as writers. It provides a clear signal that some proactive input is required. The teacher responsible for guiding the writing development of these young writers assumes a critical role in shining a light on further possibilities. The goal being to broaden the view of where the developing writer might venture to unearth potential writing ideas. The terrain is vast, ideas plentiful… So where to begin? Here are some ways the writing landscape can be opened up and explored more thoroughly to reveal a host of potential ideas. Writers are thinkers. To stimulate thinking and expanding the vision is the driving factor here. These suggestions are presented in no particular order. They are presented to support the growth of possibilities for young writers. Ideas are a writer’s oxygen. These suggestions are l

     I have lost count of the number of times I have urged educators to mindfully share their literate lives with the students in their care.      The importance of being joyfully literate, as intially espoused by the late New Zealand educator, Don Holdaway, coupled with the critical nature of sharing our reading and writing lives with the students in our care, cannot be overstated.       When it comes to teaching, we must be in the stream with your students,. We can’t stand on the bank imploring them to swim faster! Our efforts must intially go into assisting them to remain afloat.       When we share aspects of our reading and writing selves, it adds extra depth to our humanity and strengthens the connection to what we are demanding of them. It makes us eminently more credible…      These remarks lead me to thinking about my personal situation as both reader and writer.       I recall reading that one of favourite educators, Professor Richard Allington, when speaking at a conference