Words that are Speaking to Me

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” –William Wordsworth

Guest Post: Threaded Adventures

Kevin Hodgson. Kevin teaches sixth grade in Southampton, Massachusetts at the William E. Norris Elementary School, where his students use technology for publishing and creation throughout the year. He is also the technology liaison with the Western Massachusetts Writing Project and a co-editor of the book collection Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change and Assessment [...]

Now This is Kinda Fun

Check out these top ten lists on Merriam-Webster Online. There’s things like: Top Ten Phrases from Shakespeare Top Ten Words for Things You Didn’t Know Have Names Top Ten Unusual Phobias Top Ten New Words for Old Things There is a clear explanation for each word, along with the history of the orgin. However, what [...]

Writing Heals

Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals. — Don Delillo Thank you for the kind comments you have left [...]

Ruth’s SOLS: Nate

Less than 24 hours after eating gummy worm brownies with Nate, Andy and I found ourselves standing in a hospital room with his family. Although Nate was young and strong, he had a weak heart. On Saturday he was doing some back flips off a boat and had a hard time catching his breath. He [...]

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What I Learned about Teaching Writing from Swim Lessons

Although this post isn’t what I intended to write today, it is the post that needs to be written today. Nate is a good friend of my husband and mine. He is quite simply amazing. He is 20 years old and every time I’m around him I learn something that makes me a better person. What makes [...]

Words that are Speaking to Me

For hours, she wrote, attempting each night to complete ten pages of her life. There was so much to consider, so many things in danger of being left out. Just be patient, she told herself, and with the mounting pages, the strength of her writing grew. — Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, p. 527

Guest Blog Post: A Blogging Adventure

Amanda Villagómez is a 6th-8th grade language arts teacher at a dual immersion school in Ontario, Oregon. She blogs about her teaching and learning at Snapshots of Mrs. V. Her current areas of interest include workshops, technology, and biliteracy. I am gearing up to blog with my 8th graders this fall, a venture I am [...]

There are teaching jobs out there!

Educators around the country have received pink slips due to budget crises in districts across the country.  That being said, there are jobs in education out there (though you have to be somewhat flexible with regard to geographic location). Subscribers to ASCD SmartBrief, an e-mail newsletter, receive education headlines five days a week.  Additionally, at [...]

How do you choose what to read?

I was sharing my goal to read 100 YA fiction books so I could begin to really understand the inner-workings of the genre when my friend (Hi The Other Ruth!) asked me: “How do you choose what to read?” I rattled off: My favorite authors that I would love to write like. A title that [...]

Ranting & Writing

My afternoon session, “Writing from the Heart: Finding Your True Voice,” at the TCRWP Writing Institute was taught by James Howe (aka: Jim).  During the course of the week Jim provided us with a variety of writing exercises, which lasted from 5 – 20 minutes, to help us write from the heart. One of the [...]

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Reflection after Returning the Manuscript

According to Merriam-Webster Online: Main Entry: copy editor Function: noun Date: 1899 1 : an editor who prepares copy for the typesetter According to me: Main Entry: copy editor Function: to prevent me from being embarrassed when my words are published Date: 19 July 2010 1 : a person who knows when to use “that” and when [...]

Words that are Speaking to Me

Your stuff starts out being just for you . . . but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right—as right as you can anyway—it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. —Stephen King

Listen Like a Writer: A Guest Blog Post by Annie Campbell

Annie Campbell is a third grade teacher in Richmond, Virginia.  She keeps a blog, Write Now in Room 204, which is a place for her to share her class’s daily experiences along with her reflections about teaching. “Tell us a story,” my sister and I would say to my father at bedtime. “And make it [...]

NWP: Call for Action

The education funding bill that relates to the National Writing Project (NWP) will be marked up in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee this week.  Please contact your senators to request continued support for NWP funding in the Fiscal Year 2011 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS and ED) Appropriations Bill.  If your [...]

Book in Progress

A few people have left us comments asking about the writing process for our forthcoming book, Day By Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice, since we announced that we were writing one last summer.  These folks have queried us about everything from how we went about writing the proposal for our [...]

Supporting ELL Students in Writing Workshop

One of the best closing sessions I attended at the Writing Institute was given by Amanda Hartman.  “Scaffolds and Supports We Can Put in Place to Support Our ELLs (K-2)” was a 45-minute session that provided teachers with practical ways to support English Language Learners, or ELLs.  While the session was targeted to primary grade [...]

SOLSC & Community

It’s funny how the Slice of Life Story Challenge has created a virtual community of writers.  In November, Ruth and I met up with Bonnie Kaplan and Kevin Hodgson when we attended the NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia.  Two weeks ago, I found myself in a session with Kelly Sandborn, who was one of our [...]

Purpose, Process, & Craft with Carl Anderson

Carl Anderson (aka: The Conferring Guy) has not only listened to the Beatles’ music; he has studied it.  He has determined by the Beatles wrote particular songs, how they wrote them, and what they did to write them well.  Carl shared what he has learned by studying the Beatles’ music with an audience of educators [...]

The Fun of Hard Work: A Guest Blog Post by Jen Munnerlyn

Jen Munnerlyn is a teacher, literacy coach, and international educator. Her family has been working in international education for 30 years beginning with her parents first overseas teaching assignment in American Samoa in 1980.  She is married to a man she met in 8th grade at International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has her [...]

The Power of the Parts

I’m slowly making my way through the keynote addresses from last week’s Writing Institute.  Today I bring to you my notes and some highlights from Roy Peter Clark’s speech, “The Power of the Parts: How Writers Learn and How Teachers Teach.” Clark wrote a book I’ve been reading for awhile now, Writing Tools: 50 Essential [...]

Do Your Best

So our internet is down … my husband’s flights were canceled yesterday … he finally arrived home around midnight after being in South America for the past two weeks … and today he went to the doctor only to find out that the spider bite from the Amazon is nothing to worry about, but he [...]

Why Writing Matters More than Ever

James Howe’s Keynote Address, “Only Connect: Why Writing Matters More than Ever in an Age When We’re Always Connected but Rarely Connect” resonated with me on many levels.  On an educator level, I constantly shake my head when I hear of children being babysat by video games instead of people.  Additionally, I’ve sat at many [...]