Living Life Twice

  May Days Poems is a Poetry project where I am aiming to write a poem each day in the month of May.  Let's start at the very beginning... May Day has historical connections for workers and the wider labour movement  and commemorates the struggles made by workers to gain fair working conditions. It is observed in many countries on May 1. May day is also a distress call in times of emergency.  On my very first visit to London, a little over twenty years ago, I witnessed for myself the May Day march, when many thousands stepped out on the streets of London. I wasn’t working that day, but neither were they… May 1 Red Faced Winston The workers stepped out on the streets of London Brandishing banners and flags Singing and chanting About their struggles -A celebratory protest Fierce determined looks on the faces of many. The police watched on with frowns The marchers surrounded Winston Churchill Who was left red faced When paint was splashed all over him He didn’t move He ...

  One of the challenges facing writing teachers is how best to support student writers to move the writing focus beyond their writer’s notebook towards more intensive and sustained writing projects. We want the young writer to lift their gaze beyond the edges of the notebook and strike out in new areas with their writing.  The writer’s notebook is a tool for writing. It is not intended for the entries to become ensnared; trapped in a word prison. The notebook contains many beginnings and not all of them are destined to be launched beyond the notebook pages, but their presence affords the writer options.  The skill lies in identifying and lifting out that piece, or pieces, the writer feels have the most potential for developing into something beyond the notebook page. It will be a piece they can imagine themselves working on for a longer time. Engaging writers in conversations that encourages a desire to delve back into notebook entries, engage in some considered re-readin...

    I frequently find myself engaging in wonderful conversations with young writers. It is particularly evident in classrooms where a genuine sense of the writer's agency is apparent. It is the natural consequence of a lot of mindful teaching on the part of those teachers. They display a commitment to building a classroom dynamic that values highly,  student engagement.   These young writers are always keen to share their writer’s notebooks and the various pieces forming across the pages of their notebooks. They display an openness, and a quiet confidence, regarding the direction their writing is taking. Ownership and responsibility are most evident.    In one such Grade 5 classroom a writer informed me her writing concerned  memories of the toys she had when she was younger. She opened her notebook and quickly turned to a page which had a somewhat impressive title emblazoned across the top, - ‘The Headless Barbie.’ She smiled and informed me, '...

The question arises- How do we best facilitate lifting the writing out and up in order for it to be shared with a broader audience? How can we as teachers of writing support inexperienced young writers to successfully move from collecting writer’s notebook entries to identifying their own writing projects .  Helping the inexperienced writer avoid becoming trapped in a whirlpool of copious notebook entries (that never grow and develop into something more fully developed) remains a critical consideration, for those of us responsible for teaching writing. The writer’s notebook is a tool for writing. It is not intended for the entries to become ensnared; trapped in a word prison. The notebook contains many beginnings and not all of them are destined to be launched beyond the notebook pages, but their presence affords the writer options. The skill lies in identifying and lifting out that piece, or pieces, the writer feels have the most potential for developing into something bey...