Living Life Twice

It remains vitally important the integrity of the writer's notebook be preserved if it is to retain a strong position as a writing resource.  How the notebook is perceived by both teachers and students is a critical consideration in establishing its effectiveness within a writing classroom. Its acceptance and ultimate health depend on the preservation of its integrity as a writing tool. With the start of another school year in Australia, my thoughts return yet again to the notebook and how it is presented within the writing program.  Donald Graves frequently wrote about the growth of orthodoxies surrounding the writing process. Many of these so called orthodoxies were based on misconceptions and distortions of the original intent and were unwittingly instituted by educators. The same thing is true of the writer's notebook. Its intent has too often been hijacked as well. Across the almost 40 years I have been using notebooks I have seen some quite disturbing assumptions regardi...

I recall a quote in newspaper a few years back regarding the teaching of writing. Professor Peter Knapp was quoted thus; ‘Kids come out of primary school without mastering the technical aspects of writing and yet secondary schools aren't equipped to teach writing or, in many cases, prepared to teach it.’ Let's unpack that statement a little... There appears to be a persisting belief that Primary Schools are expected to teach students to read and write, and Secondary Schools can then focus on reading and writing to learn. This falsehood has persisted since my teacher training days –many decades ago! It demonstrably fails to recognize the developmental nature of learning, and it certainly shows a disregard for students as learners. We learn at different rates. We don’t all learn to tie our shoelaces on a predetermined day. Why would we assume that all learners reach the same developmental point at the conclusion of Grade 6- and why would we discontinue teaching them ...

Learning to be observant is a valuable life skill. When one has a writer’s notebook it is such an advantage if the owner possesses keen observational abilities. The writer begins to  notice things in the world around them, more acutely. They consciously include sensory observations knowing they complement their writing efforts. The art of observation serves the writer well. A window is always available through which to capture a little magic. To assist inexperienced student writers develop a greater awareness of the value of including such sensory observations, requires mindful action in the classroom:  Share text examples where the writer includes sensory details. Details that enable the reader to visualize the scene. Where writers employ show, don't tell, the reader is more likely to visualize the events and actions described. The words are decidedly reader friendly.                         ...

One of our primary aims as teachers of writing is to assist the inexperienced writer to narrow the gap between their intentions and actions.  Going forward there are some specific actions we need to focus on such as assisting students to develop writing stamina and experience success.  Here are some issues that may arise with student writers and some suggestions as to how we might assist them to overcome these obstacles to writing success. If I see this… I might Strategies A student is just going through the motions with a writing piece. Assist the student to unearth topics to write down that provide genuine reasons for writing that go beyond just writing. Listing, gathering ideas, gathering artifacts. Talking to other writers. Students essentially write about the same topic time after time. Talk with students about other reasons that writers write. Consider writing about the topic in a different genre. Nudge them to try something that will move the...

The Full Story About Narratives Before young writers can begin to develop a more distinctive storyteller’s voice, we must assist them to understand that writing becomes more personal when the topic or focus of their writing is limited to a specific moment in time. The closer they can get to a small moment, the more the writing comes to life for the reader. Then, if they can link more than one of these special moments along a timeline, a sense of storytelling emerges for the reader.  Writers are essentially story tellers. They frequently tell their stories many times over before they are transformed into words. We must allow the inexperienced writers in our care to practice the art of telling their stories to different audiences. Doing this establish the story more fully in the mind of the writer. This is particularly important with our youngest writers.  If your students are writing focused and clear narratives but you are not gaining a sense of the storytell...

Unpacking a heavy sentence! Have you ever noticed how sometimes when you read, you come to a sentence that makes you keen to know more? Some sentences have a lot of ideas packed inside them. They prompt the asking of questions. You just know that if you were able to open them up like a suitcase there would be more interesting things to discover. If we can identify those sentences heavy with hidden ideas, we provide ourselves with opportunities to unpack them and share such magic with our readers. Student writers frequently write sentences begging to be unpacked. All too often, their readers are left hanging because the writer fails to unpack the loaded words. The curious reader is left unfulfilled.  Experienced writers undertake such craft moves regularly. Here are some heavy sentences written by Morris Gleitzmann. Notice the way Morris follows up and unpacks them in the sentences that follow. ‘I wake up. My neck is stiff and my eyes hurt in the sunlight...

When teachers look closely at the writing students produce; when they understand how writers operate, the forward planning they undertake endeavours to focus on the point of need for each writer.  The instruction that grows from such planning occurs on several levels- whole group, small group and individual. The planning doesn’t limit the young writer’s choice, nor deny them opportunities to add to their growing repertoire of craft strategies. John Hattie’s research has revealed that up to 70% of what teachers ‘present’ to learners, they already know. To avoid such a scenario, planning must aim to build upon prior learning and move the student forward. For this reason alone, examining writing samples and conference notes is critical to effective planning. This is planning that sets high expectation for teaching and learning. Planning that disregards such important considerations often places arbitrary limits on the student writer. When teachers plan using arbitrary o...

Noticings are a writer’s life source... Part of the writer’s role is to draw attention to the details of the world. For this reason writers need to develop a capacity for keen observation. Think for a moment what this means for teaching student writers. Teaching writing needs to delve way beyond structural considerations.  If teaching energy and focus remains solely on the mechanics of writing, the writing will remain functional at best. It will undoubtedly lack voice and precision.  A teacher who assists the developing writer to grow as an observer, to connect strongly to the world in which they operate, provides the student writer with vital skills they can apply, not just to the writing they undertake, but to learning in general. Developing the writer as observer, creates an all-round curious learner. To teach writing in this way, empowers the writer, empowers the learner. In order to achieve this, the writing teacher must practice detailed observation in orde...