Living Life Twice

When young writers are fully engaged in the writing they are doing, it carries with it the same habits of mind and heart one associates with the engaged reader. They display sustained attention to a particular writing project in the same manner a reader invests time in making meaning from a text. They remain focused. They accept that sometimes writing is quite challenging. It is this meaning making challenge these writers increasingly enjoy. The engaged writer seeks real purposes for the writing they do. They develop a growing awareness of the need to attend to the needs of their readers (audience). The engaged writer exudes a quiet confidence as they as they participate in the writing life. The engaged writer willingly engages with language. They see potential in words. They engaged writer is more likely to develop an appetite for reading. They appreciate the role reading plays in being a writer. The engaged writer handles confusion with per...

You are never alone out there… As teachers of writing we are surrounded by lots of authors we trust, respect and who are readily available to assist in the important task of developing young writers. When we allow these authors to become mentors, the sharing we do affords students the opportunity to acquire the craft of writing through exposure to rich literary models We must willingly and mindfully, the lessons learned from our trusted mentors. Encourage students to investigate specific aspects of the work of these mentors. Encourage them to imitate the style of these authors. In time we should guide our students towards identifying favourite authors of their own. The more we focus on the work of these mentors, the more we come to realize the critical importance the role of reading plays in the development of writing. We begin to read in a distinctly different way. We begin to read like writers. If we choose texts carefully, we enable the writing of others to influence u...

I have recently been involved with four teachers from Cairnlea Park Primary School   in Melbourne's west and their Grade 2 authors. The primary focus of their work had been on writing and publishing narratives. The work has required much persistence and patience from all concerned. This project began at the commencement of term 3 and culminated early term 4 with a publishing celebration. The relative inexperience of these student writers proved to be no impediment to their zeal,  persistence and all round ‘stickability.’ While they faced a the multitude of writing challenges, they effectively stared down those challenges as they arose. Why? These young writers were afforded both voice and choice in their writing. They had a strong sense of ownership over the writing task –and the task they were given was authentic. They were working towards publishing their own books in their own way. It was a chance to make a host of important decisions along the...