Living Life Twice

As another school year commences here in Australia, an increasing number of t eachers are taking up the challenge of becoming teachers who write. As proof of this notion, they have committed to maintaining their own Writer’s Notebook.  If your writing life is just beginning to develop you may appreciate being alerted to possible types of entries. Notebook entries one might gather when starting out. Entries,  that will serve as examples to share with their students. Entries that will show students how you as their teacher interacts with the world. Once the writing habit forms, you will no doubt develop a greater sense of independence and self direction when it comes to collecting notebook entries. By then you'll hopefully be carrying multiple pens and seeing writing ideas everywhere you look.  If, for some reason you are experiencing trouble on the writing launch pad, maybe these ideas might prompt your thinking. They may spark a connection to a to...

Some weeks  in my writing life result in a large number of notebook entries. Entries varied and holding great personal satisfaction for me as writer, as a collector.  This last week has provided quite a harvest of potential writing ideas. I began the week writing about a brief encounter. I had been talking to teachers about assisting students to write about small moments and found myself thinking about a personal experience. An experience from my teenage years. ‘Sometimes you find yourself in the right place at the right time. I recall standing beside a creek not far from my childhood home. The forest around me was briefly quiet allowing the flow of the creek to be clearly heard. It flowed by, murmuring a soft flub-flub as it cornered the bank. Suddenly a mid –sized fish, a trout, I suspect, broke the surface of the stream, heaving its body upwards as if shot from a cannon. It disappeared with a watery slap of bubbles and foam. The surface of the water quickly...

UPDATED October 2025 I find it increasingly re-assuring to witness teaching practice that recognizes the importance of the pre-writing phase of the process. I am witnessing fewer cold starts where the topic is presented to a class of students and they are immediately instructed to begin writing. This cold start writing was a common practice during my primary school days. Sadly, it has not been totally extinguished from the pedagogical practices in some schools. I remain hopeful of its eventual extinction. Assisting students to' get ready to write' lays the foundation for producing an improved writing product and sets the writer up to be more successful. Pre-writing involves that critical time when thoughts are transformed into meaning and begin to be integrated into the writer’s action plan. It is the gestation period for writing ideas. James Britten says, ‘It is during pre-writing that the past experiences of the writer serve to colour facts according to the writer’s point...

I know this is some time off, but it presents a wonderful opportunity for young writers and not so young writers to meet authors and illustrators up close and personal. So I invite those of you in proximity to spread the word... Children's Book Festival: Family day Venue: State Library of Victoria   Sunday 3 April 2011, 10:00am - 4:00pm Cost     Free Bring the kids for this special celebration of children’s books, with readings, puppet shows, music and magic! Featuring everyone's favourite authors and illustrators, including Terry Denton, Bob Graham, Leigh Hobbs, Judy Horacek, Elise Hurst and Sally Rippin. The Children's Book Festival, presented by the Wheeler Centre and the State Library, is a first for Melbourne 's City of Literature ! This free family day, held on the front forecourt and lawns, will be followed by two days of programs for primary school groups. This event is presented with support from the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Helen McPherson Sm...

I have been buying magnifying glasses lately. I want my grandchildren to have one each so that they can discover and celebrate natural wonder. I recall how much fun I had as a small boy with my own magnifying glass. –Seeing snails and slugs up close, or watching ants and noticing their fine feelers, or exploring nature’s wonders in the fine lines and patterns on leaves. There was for me, a fascination observing the world through this magic portal; this round window. I want the natural curiosity my grandchildren possess further stimulated by the experience of seeing small wonders up close and personal. I hope such a simple gift as a magnifying glass stimulates their imagination and creativity. I hope they respond with wonderment and awe. A magnifying glass is not a piece of cutting edge techno wizardry, but it is a powerful tool for determining answers to questions that spring from every day experiences. Seymour Simon said ‘ I’m more interested in arousing enthusiasm in kids than in t...

Research has confirmed the fact that writing leads to improved reading achievement and reading leads to better writing performance and linking the two leads to improvement in both areas (Deford 1981, Smith 1994, Tierney & Shanahan 1991) It is for these reasons that we encourage our students as both readers and writers. Sacrificing writing to focus exclusively on improving reading scores flies in the face of the available research and teacher’s knowledge of the profession. Despite the available research, a study conducted in 2001 by Burgess, Lundren, LIoyd and Pianta found that most early years teachers devoted appreciably less time to writing. In this instance the teacher’s beliefs about writing appeared to indicate they considered it less important. Reading clearly had a stronger influence on their instruction. Teachers beliefs can sometimes drive instructional practice in opposition to findings of the available research. Last week I was in Sydney visiting my son and his family...

I have been reading Ralph Fletcher's book, Boy Writers -Reclaiming Their Voices in which Ralph puts forward the view that teachers need to broaden the circle and provide boy writers with greater choice if we want to more fully engage them as writers. Ralph articulates the view that boys come to writing with unique issues and perceptions of the world and if we want them to remain in the game, we need to understand the world in this frequently reside. This approach does not advocate promoting the interests of boys at the expense of girls, rather, there are approaches that can be incorporated into our teaching that will lead to boys more fully embracing writing. Each chapter of the book contains many practical suggestions under the heading, 'What Can I Do In My Classroom?' The aim of the book is to be practical, not political.The book also contains a number of samples of boys writing. They provide concrete examples of what motivates boy writers. They are included as models of...

The writer sits down to face the blank page, only to be greeted by the dazzling whiteness of the paper. The pen is tightly gripped as the writer stares at the empty page. There is hope that time will deliver the wondrous words desperately sought. The empty lines beckon. How to begin? If you have experienced this feeling, you will have greater empathy for your students and the feelings that sometimes overwhelm them as beginning writers. They often have a broad idea regarding their writing but have little idea where, or how to begin. They want to produce something that effectively conveys a message, but remain unsure of how to begin the process. We need to recognize that it is at this point we can provide meaningful support to allay their writing anxieties. Teaching students how to think of something to write, provides a way forward. This prewriting stage is the time for students to think and develop ideas- to find the words they need to move forward. It is a time for each writer to iden...