Living Life Twice

Revision is a phase of the writing process frequently ignored and commonly misunderstood. Because it is misunderstood, it is often glossed over. And yet it is in the revision phase that the writer has the greatest opportunity to lift the quality of the writing. Recently, I found myself reading curriculum documents that only referred to editing. Revision did not warrant a mention.  There are currently commercial companies pushing so called ‘writing programs’ to schools that only focus upon the surface features of writing- essentially editing. This lack of attention to revision means young writers are being denied the opportunity to appreciate how this important action assists them to noticeably improve the content of the writing. Revision is a lot more than the teacher merely telling the young writer they need to add more details, or they need to use more describing words. When teachers inform me students passively resist revision as a tool for improving their wr...

Finding writing ideas does not have to be difficult, but it does involve some thinking time. Sometimes using your senses can be a catalyst for writing ideas. Recently, as I sat in my favourite writing space, the sound of my neighbour's lawn mower buzzing and roaring triggered a memory. I had an idea, but then I had to think about the genre in which I wanted to write. A recount would have been easy, and also a little predictable. As a writer, you have options. In my mind I had numerous thoughts and memories triggered by a familiar sound. The challenge this time was not what to write about, rather how? Student writers need to engage with their peers and teachers around such ponderings. Once they have identified what they want to write about, what messages they wish to convey, the question of how needs to be discussed. Last week I found myself in a brief conversation with a young Grade 3 writer who had recently visited the Lerderderg Gorge situated...

 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not eve...

Quite some ago I purchased an old wooden box from shop called Quirky Interiors . the shop specializes mainly in antiques pieces. The inside of the box was divided into eighteen compartments, equal in size.  I knew the box had potential for my writing, but I was not completely sure how I would use it. So I waited patiently for inspiration.  Last week, the inspiration arrived! I decided I would use the box to encourage brave young poets to explore poetic possibilities. I labeled the box  'Poetic Possibilities.'  Into each of the compartments I placed words and phrases I harvested and typed onto cards. The words selected were from poems previously published.  Students were offered the challenge of selecting a card from the box. With that card, they were further challenged to use the word or words in a poem of their own creation. They could place the word or words anywhere within the poem- beginning, middle or end. They could also repeat the word/word...

‘ 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 going 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? Stay alert to the danger. It's all around you. ' They all smile knowingly. It’s all a bit of a game, but the truth is I am aiming to narrow the distance between the young writer’s intentions and actions. I want every writer in the room to have the best possible chance to fill the blank page with their amazing words.  So, it becomes critical they become aware of th...

How do we teach developing writers to independently use the different elements of craft that are discussed and taught in lessons? We begin by honouring the reality that terms like voice, sentence fluency, and writing with detail are descriptions of where we want our students to be, not next steps on how to reach those goals. We need to identify specific elements of craft when assessing student writing samples and use such revelations to help plan instruction that is both relevant and timely. If we adopt this approach to planning curriculum action we are able to teach students the specific craft techniques that will move them forward as writers.  Katie Wood Ray in her book, Wondrous Words provides an excellent guide for examining a text for its potential to teach craft elements to developing writers (See below) As teachers of writing we must develop a concrete process for noticing craft in writing so that craft lessons can be planned and developed Craft lessons based ...

  My earliest memories of writing are entwined around the weekly writing topics I was given in primary school. We wrote every Thursday afternoon, immediately after the lunch break. It wasn't even called writing. Our teacher referred to it as 'composition time.' We wrote for about twenty minutes in absolute silence in our 'composition' books.  At the end of the allotted time, we handed in our written responses, then waited an entire week to receive feedback for our labored efforts. It consisted of a mark out of ten and a page of red ink comments and slashes across the page. Then we sat and waited for the next teacher topic to be thrown our way. We wrote one day a week for twenty minutes. It wasn't much of a writing program by today's standards. It wasn't much of a way to learn writing back then either. I'm surprised we learned to write at all on such a starvation diet. I was just lucky enough to be the kind of kid who was driven to write in pl...

Poetry at Brighton Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia Last Friday I had the special treat of working with Year 7 poets from Brighton Primary School in Adelaide. During the day we closely examined a range of poetic structures and devices and applied them to our writing of poetry. With one group I introduced Suzanna Marshak’s  powerful book ‘I Am The Ocean’ to alert these enthusiastic poets to the potential power of writing through a mask and using personification. Another group looked at personification through their connection to things in the world around them.  Pre-writing discussion followed by intensive writing. Using the poem, ‘I Am These Things And More’ as a model.  Students were challenged to think about these important connections. A particular focus of the writing was to try to incorporate effective use of repetition, line breaks, simile and white space in their composed pieces. These young poets talked in groups and identified t...