Living Life Twice

‘We have reached the most dangerous part of our lesson young writers’ I announce to the group of students seated before me. I lower my voice and lean towards them. ‘ We must be careful when moving back to our seats to start our writing. There is a danger of being ambushed and taken away from your mission. Do not let anyone distract you from commencing the writing mission you have just discussed with your writing buddy. Someone may try to strike up a conversation that may lead you off course. Who can make it back to their writer’s notebook safely without being drawn away from their mission? ’ They all smile knowingly.   It’s all a bit of a game, but the truth is I want to narrow the distance between the young writer’s intention and action. I want every writer in the room to have the best possible chance to address the invitation page offers, by capturing their most amazing words. So, they need to be aware of the possibility of being distracted from the task they have identified du...

Talk is an integral part of learning, and no less so within the writing workshop. The legendary writing researcher, writer and educator, Donald Graves, regularly encouraged young writers to think aloud and articulate their writing intentions. He wanted young writers to give voice to the intended direction of their, soon to emerge, writing. In some classrooms though, talk has unintended consequences. Because talk is not used strategically, it becomes an impediment to the flow of writing. For talk to play a supportive role in the writing process, it must be harnessed.  Talk has a great contribution to make during pre-writing. It can contribute to the sparking of potential writing idea. Equally, it can also assist the writer to clarify the direction they wish to take with their writing. It can used to reflect and review writing pieces already under construction.  It is said, the more we articulate our intentions, the more likely we are to actually pursue them. So, providing oppor...

Woke up this morning, I was feeling quite weird, had flies in my beard, my tooth paste was smeared - well not really. They're actually lyrics from an old song 'Mr Spaceman,' by The Byrds that had formed an earworm in my head as I began writing this...  I actually woke with an idea for sharing poetry with my neighbours. So I set about creating what I'm calling 'The Poet Tree Project.' I am trying to deal with my current lockdown life by responding positively and creatively.  I have long held the view that poetry possesses a capacity to be healing and transformative, particularly in stressful times. It frequently performs a gentle dance around our emotions engaging them and soothing the soul. It remains one of poetry's many gifts to both the writer and the reader. There's an old, gnarled eucalypt tree outside my back gate and I thought it would make a perfect partner in my quest to share some poetry in this time of Covid 19. I can see the tree clearly from...

It goes by several names. That brief few minutes at the end of the writing workshop. Sometimes it’s called ‘share time’. Some people refer to it as ‘share out’ or simply “share.” It’s that time at the conclusion of a lesson that all too often gets squeezed out, which is a tragedy, because it represents a critical stage in the lesson, -It’s the finale that’s provides closure to an effective lesson. It’s when the fat lady of writing sings. And the aria is in praise of the writing that has just taken place! Deny her time in the spotlight and you are diminishing the integrity of your writing program. We should never underestimate the intrinsic value of ‘sharing’ writing. It remains an incredibly valuable teaching and learning opportunity. It should be protected within the workshop structure, as one would protect anything of value. For the teacher, it provides an invaluable opportunity to provide feedback on elements of the lesson just concluded. Sometimes it’s a chance to c...

It goes by several names. That brief few minutes at the end of the writing workshop. Sometimes it’s called ‘share time’. Some people refer to  it as ‘share out’ or simply 'share.' It’s that time at the conclusion of a lesson that all too often gets squeezed out, This is a tragedy given it represents a critical stage in the lesson. The integrity of the writing program is diminished if these important writing matters are not reviewed. We should never underestimate the intrinsic value of ‘sharing’ writing. It remains an incredibly valuable teaching and learning opportunity. It should be protected within the workshop structure, as one would protect anything of value. For the teacher, it provides an invaluable opportunity to provide feedback on elements of the lesson just concluded. It is also an opportunity to link that day's workshop to future action the writer might consider. Sometimes, it’s a chance to celebrate a discovery, a breakthrough, a special moment where th...