Living Life Twice

  An extensive national survey of ‘Writing Practices in Australian Primary Education, Years 1-6 ‘ conducted by Malpique, Valcan, Pasternak & Ledger, and published in May 2022, revealed, among other matters, the following information regarding writing’s links to the home environment and current teacher practices. ‘ Results assessing reported teaching practices to extend writing to the home environment showed that the majority of teachers (64.8%) never asked students to write at home with the support of a parent/guardian.  The majority of teachers (77.4%) also reported that they asked parents/guardians to read/share their children’s written work as infrequently as once a year, or never.  The majority of teachers (63.9%) reported never, or infrequently encouraged writing, as a home task.  Communicating with parents/guardians to discuss students’ writing performance and needs, was reported as an infrequent practice by the majority of participating teachers (71.9%). ‘...

Here are five of the most popular  Living Life Twice  posts for 2023. Thank you for your continuing support and interest in teaching writing and all it entails. Writer's Notebooks -Some forward Planning Is Required Ownership, integrity and engagement are all enhanced when the writer's notebook a young writer is holding, is one they have personally identified as meeting their individual needs as a writer. Young writers frequently share their preferences for particular notebooks when we are discussing this important matter. https://livinglifetwice-alwrite.blogspot.com/2023/11/writers-notebook-some-forward-planning.html Using Strategic Talk To Assist The Developing Writer 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 sai...

Here is my latest video. It deals with making lists in our writer's notebooks.  In the video I share some of many ways making lists assists me to be a more effective  writer. Lists: Help me organize my thoughts Brainstorm new ideas and possibilities Help me plan my writing intentions Allow me to indulge in valuable wordplay Expand my thinking Expand my choices/options Allow me time to have some writing fun Challenge my current thinking Activate my thoughts before I write Across almost 40 years of using a writer's notebook the making of lists has been a constant feature of my harvesting efforts. When you create a list it is a most practical exercise for a writer to undertake. You are building your knowledge, harvesting potential and taking action that may eventually transform into something more meaningful.  Tip: Some writers leave a blank page opposite the list page. This allows them to respond in greater detail, should they feel the urge. 

  When writer’s notebooks are introduced into classrooms as part of a writing program it remains vitally important that the integrity of the notebook be preserved. How the notebook is perceived by both teachers and students becomes a critical consideration in establishing how it comes to be seen over time. It is not the role of the educator to tame the words that enter a young writer’s notebook. The notebook should at all times remain a slightly wild place for a writer to work with words. The young writer needs encouragement to roam the literary terrain in search of words and ideas, discoveries and the inspiration to write in that space. It is important to preserve a view of the notebook as a place to explore possibilities.   We must convince them through our own actions that the notebook they own is hungry to receive their words. Every effort must be made to avoid the writer’s notebook becoming something a teacher feels a need to claim or control. If young writers are t...

The effective teaching of  writing requires schools to commit to engaging in regular critical conversations around the teaching taking place. The flushing out the important issues surrounding writing development must be seen as a driver of discussion. The refining and review of teaching practice is the sign of a healthy learning environment. The most effective ways of nurturing agency and engagement must be viewed as central to arriving at an agreed understanding of what must guide a school's writing curriculum.  Where schools demonstrate a desire to develop agreed understandings and consistent practice around pedagogical approaches, it proves to be a powerful guiding force in the realization of improved learning outcomes for young writers and increased satisfaction for those fostering the learning. We must remember, we cannot control learning, but we most certainly can create the environment, the conditions, where it is more likely to take place. A characteristic of such...